An Post will widely publicise its spending analytics and money management tool for current account holders, similar to those of digital banks such as Revolut, as it seeks to gain traction in the fight for switching Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland customers.

The postal service has some 110,000 customers for its €5-per-month An Post Money current account, and hopes to attract more with its Money Manager product as the two rival banks prepare to exit the Irish market.

Customers can use Money Manager to categorise their spending, set budgets, receive weekly and monthly spending insights as well as alerts for nearing budget limits and unusual transaction patterns. Like Revolut, An Post Money can also multiply and save change from their transactions.

An Post Money is available for iOS and Android devices, compatible with Google Pay, Apple Pay and Fitbit Pay, and boasts security features such as the ability to freeze and unfreeze debit cards and order emergency cash from the post office.

The app, which was made available to An Post Money customers last year, and the company recently partnered with Tink to open it up to Open Banking, so users can pull in spending data from accounts with other banks, from August.

In Association with

A free version of the app will soon launch, which An Post hopes will be a hook for acquiring customers, and the company is set to roll out a major publicity campaign across digital, TV, radio, out of home, and print publications over the summer.

With Revolut having exceeded 1m customers in Ireland two years ago, its status as the dominant digital challenger bank is not in doubt, but an An Post says this is a long-term play that it hopes to build over time with a whole suite of An Post Money products.

The company is aiming to grow the product prudently and sustainably, and it also has the advantage of 900 branches nationwide, which is three-fold any of the pillar banks, allowing customers to make lodgements, which they cannot do with Revolut.

It has also launched the MoneyMate dual account for parents and children aged seven to 15, which gives kids a proper current account, a MasterCard debit card while allowing parents oversight.

An Post said MoneyMate has an advantage over Revolut in that children, who are frequently gifted cash for birthdays and other occasions can make lodgements in their local post office, with the government having put on €30m in additional funding for the post office network.

A survey of 1,000 people by An Post and RED C found that eight in 10 people will monitor spending more closely this year amid cost of living pressures caused by near-record inflation, while two in three people don't use a management app, but half are interested in using one.

(Pic: Getty Images/An Post)