Wally, a lifestyle app for insights into how your money behaves, announces its highly anticipated launch on Android with Wally+.
Wally first launched in 2013 on the iPhone where it maintained a global average 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Apple App Store, reached the #1 finance app in 22 countries, and reached the top 10 in 52 countries (with India, China and the US as the top 3 markets). Wally has been lauded by users and critics alike for using machine learning to adapt to user behavior, giving them real-time insights into their spending patterns, and using a design driven approach.
The team behind Wally is launching the completely redesigned Wally+, exclusively for Android users. Built by millennials to address the issues facing their generation, Wally+ gives Filipinos unprecedented perspective into their financial lives.
Filipino millennials are overall distrustful of financial institutions. They know that money management is important; over 68% of them (aged 15-29) agree that they are “strongly interested in future financial planning.” However, they feel excluded from financial institutions; only 15% of Filipino millennials saved at a financial institution in the past year. With over 91% of Filipino smartphone owners using Android devices, Wally+ helps this generation of youth better understand and control their money.
“Millennials’ financial lives are becoming more fragmented and complex, with each person juggling several accounts, various payment methods, and different forms of debt. Wally+ gives people a comprehensive picture of their money by allowing their past expenses, present financial situation and future aspirations to come together holistically.” says Saeid Hejazi, Wally founder and CEO. “Unlike other personal finance apps, Wally does not require any details about your account numbers or banking passwords to work.”
People have been conditioned to feel guilty about spending money, and are resultantly apathetic towards reviewing their expenses. Wally+ addresses this by allowing people to treat expenses as experiences. Users can attach photos and tag their friends, allowing them to capture the people and moments associated with each expense. “Adding dimensions of why and who allows us to appreciate each experience. It inspires us to keep our money in check, so we can continue to enjoy them in the future” continues Hejazi.
“Our financial lives have always been private and un-discussed, which keeps us from having information on where we stand financially.” says Nicole Abi-Esber, Wally’s behavioral economist. Using the power of its community, Wally+ uses aggregated, anonymous data from similar users to give unprecedented context. “Any financial tool can tell you if you spent 15% of your income on dining out but Wally+ goes further. It uses these peer comparisons to let us answer questions like ‘Are my spending patterns typical? Do I save more or less than people like me?’” continues Abi-Esber.
Regarding the decision to release Wally+ on Android first, Hejazi remarks: “We’ve spent a year focusing exclusively on iOS and when it came time to build for Android, we had the opportunity to apply everything we’ve learned and build something magical from the ground up. After getting requests from around the world, we decided to build across 18 languages.
The reservation system for access to Wally+ Beta is now open and accessible via the Android app stores for free. Users are urged to reserve their spots in line to obtain access to Wally+ Beta.
