3 years ago we tested Numbrs in the UK, allowing selected users to add their UK bank accounts to the Numbrs app. While we were ready – as was our technology – the law makers and many of the banks weren’t. Now, fast forward 3 years later, the Open Banking standard for financial institutions in the UK has reached a solid technical level and we are now ready to take another leap beyond the mainland. Simply put, we can’t wait to enable our German and UK users to connect with banks all over Great Britain. And we already have a plan, too.
Planning the Market Entry
Every app launch into a new market follows a road map with set milestones. In the past months we have worked very hard to create a comprehensive plan for a possible UK launch – from a technical side as well as from a legal and organisational standpoint. Before a new app version can be released, however, it has to go through several stages.
The Alpha Test
This test includes a very small group of select users, mostly family and friends. In our case, they would be enabled to use the Numbrs UK Alpha version at a very early stage. While this stage is also used to identify final bugs and errors in the app version, its main purpose would be to test the sophistication and stability of the Open Banking infrastructure and the connectivity with UK banks. If we cannot provide users with a seamless experience for a specific market, we don’t enter.
The test begins with the basic features, such as account aggregation, analysis and creating budgets. As it progresses, features such as sending money and loyalty cards are activated to investigate their functionality in the new environment. Once we are happy with app features and the connectivity to all major banks in the UK, we progress to the Beta test.
The Beta Test
When the beta phase starts, the app build is in a nearly final stage. We take this as an opportunity to give our fans as well as early adopters access to the new features, to get in touch with our community, to listen to their feedback, and in this case – enable them to use Numbrs with their UK bank accounts. At this stage, we usually do not expect any critical errors and are wrapping up last preparations for the official launch.
The Launch
A launch marks the date, from which the general public can download the new release of the Numbrs app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The build is now final and in a flawless state, providing users with all the new features, just the way they were intended by our team.
A New Level of Convenience
For our UK release we plan several new features. While UK residents will be able manage all their finances by adding all their UK Bank accounts to Numbrs, the technology behind it allows for even more:
- UK users will be able to add German bank accounts in addition to their UK bank accounts
- German users will be able to add their UK bank accounts in addition to their German bank accounts
- The UK bank compatibility will include multi-currency accounts by banks such as ‘Revolut’
- Managing your Coinbase or Bitstamp crypto portfolio with Numbrs will be possible for all users, regardless which of the two countries they live in
No doubt, these features look great on paper, but they become even better when imagining them in practice. Using the Numbrs app could soon look like this: You easily transfer funds from your 'Deutsche Bank' or 'Barclays Bank' account to your 'Revolut' multi-currency account, just before checking the course of your newly purchased crypto assets with our 'Bitstamp' and 'Coinbase' integration – all with just one app. How convenient is that?
If you want to be among the first to benefit from our UK bank compatibility in the near future, simply download the Numbrs app now and receive the update as soon as it becomes available. In the meanwhile, you can stay up to date on our progress by activating our Numbrs Newsletter inside the app.
Numbrs is available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store and is entirely free on both systems.
