The Pocketbook and Zip team with David Koch in 2017. Source: LinkedIn/Pocketbook.
A personal finance app owned by Zip, Buy Now, Pay Later, is closing next month, 10 years after it was founded with a goal of helping Australians manage their money better.
The Pocketbook team informed users Thursday that it had made the “difficult decision” to shut down the Pocketbook app and web service effective August 5, while thanking them for “all the support and feedback on the.” Path”.
Founded in 2012 by Bosco Tan and Alvin Singh from a single spreadsheet in Sydney, Pocketbook aimed to make personal finance “ridiculously easy” by allowing users to monitor their bills, minimize bank fees and late payment penalties and their budget and track their savings goals.
The startup quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of users, became a finalist in several startup competitions, and set about raising capital in 2014.
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It was acquired by Zip in 2016 in a reported $7.5 million deal but continued to operate as a standalone app led by Tan and Singh, who in 2017 decided to address negative feedback by posting a video demonstrating the team read out mean comments from customers.
According to information published on the Pocketbook website, the startup had more than 800,000 users in 2020.
While information released on the company’s website doesn’t indicate customers will be moved to the Zip ecosystem, it does say Pocketbook will be shut down “so we can focus on improving some of the features you love about Pocketbook, to rethink and implement, via the Zip app”.
Similarly, when Zip unveiled its updated brand in July 2021, it stated in a press release that it “plans to integrate features of its 5-star personal finance app Pocketbook into the Zip app.”
This would allow Zip customers in Australia “to track spend across multiple bank, credit and Zip accounts, giving them a holistic view of their financial status and upcoming spend,” the company said at the time.
Pocketbook users can continue using the app and website until August 4, after which their accounts will be closed. As of August 5th, the app will no longer be available for download and users will no longer be able to sign in to the mobile app or website.
The company said that starting August 5, all personal information provided by users will be deleted, including names, email addresses, cell phone numbers, and personally identifiable account and transaction details.
Users who wish to keep a copy of their own data can do so by extracting a CSV file before August 4th.
“We’re proud of the product we’ve built, but even more grateful for the part you’ve played in making it grow and improve over the past 10 years,” said the Pocketbook team.
SmartCompany has contacted Pocketbook and Zip for comment.
There’s more to come…