WallyGPT: When Your Personal Finance App Meets AI

Wally, a financial management app, aims to assist those overwhelmed by excessive financial accounts in regaining control over their finances and achieving their financial goals, according to Saeid Hejazi, the Co-Founder.

In 2013, before Aramex acquired his online retail start-up Nahel, he manually tracked his finances on Excel, a laborious process involving copying and categorizing data from bank PDFs.

Following the acquisition, Hejazi recognized the need for a better solution, leading to the creation of Wally that he co-founded with his brother Sami in 2014.

Wally now serves as a global tool, connecting with 15,000 banks across 70 countries, offering users a centralized platform to automatically monitor their net worth, spending, and financial objectives.

The COVID-19 pandemic heightened concerns about personal financial matters, emphasizing the necessity of saving, maintaining an emergency fund, and planning for retirement.

A study in the UAE revealed that more than 80% of savers consider having an emergency fund crucial for enduring economic challenges, while 45% still need to commence saving for retirement.

Although Wally predates open banking, requiring users to manually track finances initially, it incorporated elements of machine learning to aid users even in its early stages.

In 2020, Wally introduced version 3.0, enabling users to link their bank accounts for automated tracking.

Initially launched in North America, it later expanded to 15,000 banks across 70 countries.

In the present year, the co-founders released version 4, known as WallyGPT, touted as the world's pioneering generative AI personal finance tool available in 70 countries.

WallyGPT is powered by machine learning and AI, allowing users to go beyond standard charts, offering research capabilities, goal setting, investment advice, and insights into financial services.

It offers hyper-personalized and instant assistance, even helping with event-specific financial planning, such as weddings.

WallyGPT's conversational interface positions it as a potential super app for finance, providing comprehensive financial guidance once a user connects their bank accounts.

Source: Deepthi Nair, The National