Youtility raises £4.5 million in funding round

Fintech innovator Youtility has successfully completed a £4.5 million funding round that will be used for developing new product lines and the continued evolution of its data insights platform.

The investment round was led by city entrepreneur, Michael Spencer, and Barclays. Mr Spencer founded interdealer broker ICAP then NEX Group and has recently been appointed chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies. He invested via his private investment company, IPGL.

Other investors included Ascension Ventures’ Fair-by-design Fund which invests solely in companies tackling the Poverty Premium, reducing costs for low-income households across the UK.

Launched in November 2018, Youtility utilises open banking technology, behavioural science and data analytics to help consumers switch suppliers and take control of their finances.

Last year, co-founder Charlie Quigley told Open Banking Expo how Open Banking is allowing customers to access data within their bank accounts to get a better utility deal. Launched in 2016, Youtility uses information from customer bank accounts to identify whether they are paying too much for their bills.

“For us, it is essential to have access to that data to understand when the best time is to prompt a user, providing a notification at the right point,” he said at the time.

It comes as customers in the lower age groups, continue to report that they don’t believe they have a good grasp of their finances. Research published by insurance comparison site GoCompare at the start of the year found that just 29% of 18 to 24-year olds and 26% of 25 to 34-year olds feel their finances are in good order.

Key targets for reduced expenditure, according to the research, included food shopping, TV subscription services, utility bills and insurances.

In this week’s announcement Youtility co-founder Quigley said the funding will allow the team to “significantly expand” the services available and help more people take control of their home finances.

“Since our launch we’ve made big strides towards helping consumers move onto competitive tariffs but there are still millions of people at risk of spending too much on their home finances,” he said.

Investor, and CEO of Barclays Ventures, Youtility’s technology and the products they develop have the potential to “deliver significant value to customers”.