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BNZ app extends toolbox to get money savvy

Using facial recognition tools, BNZ has launched EmotionScan, an online experience developed by BNZ in partnership with psychologist Stuart Carr and Swiss emotion recognition software company nViso, to help customers figure out how they feel about money.

In what BNZ refers to as a world-first, the experience aims to help customers understand how they feel about their finances.

Massey University Professor of Psychology Stuart Carr says that emotion is becoming an increasingly recognised factor in financial decision-making.

“We think we’re rational about it, but we’re now recognising that emotions influence our financial decisions more than we realise,” he says.

EmotionScan uses advanced emotion recognition software to analyse facial expressions as participants listen to a series of scenarios designed around eight financial areas of interest; cash flow, budgeting, mortgages, retirement, financial security, financial control, debt, dependents, donations and savings.

“We know that only nine percent of people strongly believe that they are competent at managing their finances so we wanted to provide them with a way of honestly assessing what areas of their financial planning they need to address,” says BNZ chief marketing officer, Craig Herbison.

The software was initially developed to help with researching reactions to advertisements and new product development ideas and this is the first time it has been used to people’s emotional response to their financial situation.

BNZ hopes the app will prompt people who use it to come to a branch to talk about the areas of their finances they’re concerned about.

On its website if offers participants a money review, part of its campaign with agency Colenso BBDO to help people “Be Good with Money”.

“We think that if we can help New Zealanders to face up to how they really feel about money, then we can help to set them on track in addressing any areas they’re concerned about and putting them more in control of their money,” says Herbison.

The bank is also targeting small businesses with the soon to be released PayClip, a card reader that connects to a mobile device using the headphone jack to accept mobile payments. The offering is built on Mint Wireless’ mobile payment platform Minterprise.

“The PayClip solution will allow businesses to take payments on the spot and funds will be in their account as early as the next business day,” says BNZ’s head of small business Harry Ferreira.

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