Aw, its just plain wonderful to see a dating relationship result in a marriage. KeyCorp, a multi billion dollar asset company, is going to fully acquire HelloWallet which it got via a partnership.
HelloWallet, is a fintech company with a personal financial management product that Key has been offering its bank clients for years. There will most likely be a whole lot more acquisitions like this as many of these fintech firms that have partnerships with established institutions get absorbed. No terms disclosed but you can bet the HelloWallet investors are smiling.
(Bill Taylor/CEO)
"KeyCorp liked a technology it got through a partnership so much that it decided to put a ring on it.
The $134.5 billion-asset company announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire HelloWallet, a personal financial management product it has offered its bank customers since 2015, from the investment research firm Morningstar. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. About 36 HelloWallet employees will join Key and will continue to work from Washington and Chicago.
HelloWallet’s software scores its users financial health by looking at factors like whether they have a credit card balance and how much equity they have in their home. From there, the app offers tips on how to improve the score.
“It has been a huge success for our clients,” Dennis Devine, head of Key’s consumer and business banking segment and co-president of community banking for KeyBank, said in an interview. “It’s taken off."
Devine says the service is used by “hundreds of thousands” of customers. He said users report that they feel more confident in their finances, too. For instance, the service has helped them realize they need to establish an emergency fund or spend less than they earn.
The success is a rarity. Personal financial management tools, often lost in a tab of online banking, have taken heat over the years for failing to generate use. In the last year or so, however, banks have been investing in technology aimed at helping consumers improve their finances in an attempt to offer something they will actually use.
The HelloWallet scores, which are visible on a mobile banking app or within online banking, also show customers how they compare to their peers. As part of the experience, KeyBank connects customers to bankers — by phone or in branches — who offer additional tips on how to improve their financial wellness scores. Devine said the digital-first experience is like a doctor’s checkup but for finances, and said it has helped make customer engagement less transactional. Employees are now trained to discuss financial wellness and how to improve the score, and that Devine said that has led to a employee morale boost..."
Source: American Banker