Building Touco together

Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do at Touco.

From our company name and team ethos, to what we build and how we build it— we’re all about working together for the good of all involved.

Since the beginning, we’ve sought to build products that meet real needs of real people. That means spending time with them, listening to them, and working with them to identify problems they have and come up with solutions together.

We did this as Toucan, and now we’re doing it as Touco.

Using feedback from our first app, we’ve built an even better one. It’s now available to download for free from the Apple or Android app stores.

More about the new app below. It’s designed for carers and family members to protect their loved ones from financial harm, and to see what they’ve been spending.

In case we haven’t met, I’m Nikki — Community Lead at Touco by day and an advocate for underdogs by night. Although the two often blend into one as my role gives me the pleasure of listening to people’s stories and ensuring they’re represented in our product decisions.

In the nearly six months that I’ve been part of the Touco team, the world has changed and so have we. Let me tell you why.

Version one and your voice

The first version of our app was developed for and with people who experience difficulty managing both their mental health and their finances.

In 2019, our team worked with the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute to pilot the app with their Research Community of experts by experience. From concept to design, the voice of the community shaped how the app was built.

Of the 200 people who responded to our survey on third party support with finances, 96% said they would find third party money alerts useful when they’re unwell. A further 89% said they would find them useful day-to-day, and 60% said a simple ‘red flag’ style alert would be most useful for their trusted friend or family member. So, the team built an app around alerts.

For the first version of the app, people could connect the app to their bank account via Open Banking, and set up alerts around unusual spending activity which they could choose to share with someone they trust. If a user’s balance went below a specified amount, for example, alerts would be sent to them and their trusted person. No personal information was disclosed, it simply offered an opening for conversation.

Early users found the app helped them get the support they needed to tackle their finances, and reduced their anxiety around money.

“That was the really powerful thing about the app, I think, prompting a very gentle conversation.”

“I think the app is brilliant. It definitely helped me be more aware of my money.”

— Pilot feedback, 2019

Journey to version two

Our mission is to help carers and those they care for better manage their money together. Our first app, with third party alerts, was always a first step on the way to building out what should be a much more flexible platform for delegating safe access to someone’s financial life.

What we wanted to achieve with the first app and our pilot was to see the effect of collaboration around money management on people who are vulnerable, and their family members and friends. The results were really encouraging, with lots of brilliant feedback. But from the insights we gathered from users, we knew we had to take the next step.

Some people felt the alerts weren’t detailed enough, while others said they’d feel uncomfortable knowing more. Some enjoyed the freedom of setting up and editing alerts whenever they wanted to, while others thought it was important to have some friction for effectiveness.

Some third parties themselves felt they needed support, too. It was important for them to be clear about their responsibilities and maintain boundaries for themselves. Others wanted more context to the alerts, so they can better understand and support their loved ones. They wanted to be able to understand past patterns of their loved one’s spending to feel less ‘in the dark’. This has implications for consent, which was another theme in our findings.

Taking all this feedback into consideration, we went back to the drawing board to brainstorm concepts for the next version of the app. Many hours of research, surveys, interviews, user testing and reviewing feedback later, we’ve created and launched version two!

The new app gives us a great foundation for building new features for carers, like our Care Card, so they can share the burden of managing and supporting the person they care for with money matters.

What to expect in the new app

Although we have a new name and a new app, we have the same mission.

We are building Touco both to empower those who need extra help managing their finances, and to make the lives of carers and family members easier. As our CEO Bailey has said, it’s about changing the dynamic between the cared for and the carer, making them a facilitator, not a dictator.

Whereas before we built the app for the person being cared for, we decided to build the second version of the app around carers instead. Our research found that it’s harder to ask for help when we need it, so we’re in a better position to be helped when we have a carer who is proactive in trying to help before crisis.

When we spoke to carers about what they need from Touco, they gave us inspiration for what we’ve now turned into version two.

“I wouldn’t have to look at the account so much. I spend a lot of weekends going through their bank statement, checking stuff out.”

“We could set up separate logins for everyone and they can access and look, as well, what is happening in the account. Actually that would really help us.”

“The main thing I’d love is the Care Card. At the moment, I’m transferring money from her account to mine.”

“Seeing who’s done what would be very good… if there’s any mix up, with wrong transactions.”

— Carer interviews, 2020

We’re now building out the app to meet these carer needs, while also protecting and giving support to the person being cared for.

Our new app makes it easier for carers to care, starting with a read-only view of banking transactions of the person they’re caring for. It’s a safe alternative to sharing sensitive details which could be used for fraud or abuse.

The app allows anyone to safely delegate access to their financial lives without compromising safety or giving up control. They’ll be able to choose which accounts they want their carers to have access to, and what they can see. And as it’s powered by Open Banking, a secure bank-grade technology, consent will need to be refreshed every three months. Read our step-by-step guide to learn more about how it works.

This version of the app doesn’t have the alerts we tested before, but we want to bring this back in future since many of our early users found it helped improve their financial health and lowered their anxieties.

Talk to Touco

Just because we’ve now released our new app, doesn’t mean we stop listening to those we built it with and for. In fact, we want to hear more from you.

The conversation never stops. We’re building a community that we’ll continue listening to and learning from. As we prepare to release a Care Card later this year, we’re keen to hear from carers and those they care for to shape how we deliver the product.

Please get in touch with us if you’d like to test and feedback on our products, or if you’d like to partner with us to roll out the app with your service users or in any other way. We’re on hello@usetouco.com or you can sign up to our community mailing list.

Touco talks, but we love to listen. So, download our app, and talk to Touco!

Interested in having your voice heard in how we design our products? Sign up to join our community for opportunities to get involved!