The Pocketbook and Zip crew with David Koch in 2017. Supply: LinkedIn/Pocketbook.
A private finance app owned by purchase now, pay later stalwart Zip will shut subsequent month, 10 years after it was based with a mission to assist Australians higher handle their cash.
The Pocketbook crew knowledgeable customers on Thursday that it made the “tough determination” to shut the Pocketbook app and net service from August 5, whereas additionally thanking them for “all of the help and suggestions alongside the way in which”.
Based in Sydney in 2012 by Bosco Tan and Alvin Singh from a single spreadsheet, Pocketbook aimed to make private finance “ridiculously easy” by permitting customers to observe their payments, minimise financial institution charges and late fee penalties, and observe their funds and financial savings objectives.
The startup rapidly attracted a whole lot of hundreds of customers, was named a finalist in a number of startup competitions, and set about elevating capital in 2014.
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It was acquired by Zip in 2016 in a reported $7.5 million deal however continued to function as an app in its personal proper beneath the management of Tan and Singh, who in 2017, determined to handle detrimental suggestions by releasing a video with the crew studying out imply feedback from prospects.
In response to data posted on the Pocketbook web site, the startup had greater than 800,000 customers in 2020.
Whereas data posted on the corporate’s web site doesn’t point out prospects will likely be moved to the Zip ecosystem, it does state that Pocketbook is closing “in order that we are able to focus effort on reimagining and rolling out among the options you could have come to like in Pocketbook, by way of the Zip App”.
Equally, when Zip unveiled its up to date model in July 2021, it acknowledged in a press launch that it “plans to combine performance from its 5-star private finance app Pocketbook into the Zip App”.
This may permit Zip prospects in Australia to “observe spending throughout a number of, financial institution, credit score and Zip accounts, giving them a holistic view of their monetary place and upcoming spending”, the corporate stated on the time.
Pocketbook customers will be capable of proceed to make use of the app and web site till August 4, after which era their accounts will likely be closed. The app won’t be accessible to obtain from August 5 and customers will be unable to log in to the cell app or web site.
The corporate stated all private knowledge offered by customers will likely be deleted from August 5, together with names, electronic mail addresses, cell numbers, and personally identifiable account and transaction particulars.
Customers who want to make a copy of their very own knowledge, can accomplish that by extracting a CSV file earlier than August 4.
“We’re pleased with the product we’ve got constructed, however much more so, we’re grateful for the function you could have performed in making it develop and get higher during the last 10 years,” stated the Pocketbook crew.
SmartCompany has contacted Pocketbook and Zip for remark.
Extra to come back …
