Aussie investors bank AU$500k in Pocketbook

Aussie personal finance startup Pocketbook has picked up AU$500,000 in funding from a number of local investors.

The startup, which makes it easy to manage personal finances, began 12 months ago and already helps 40,000 customers track AU$7 billion-worth in transactions. It began as a market filler since Mint pulled out of the Australian market, but has since grown, with one of its investors, former Investec Bank chair and chief executive Geoff Levy, stating that it could become the next model for a consumer bank.

"Pocketbook is a potentially disruptive player in the banking sector. Originally Amazon only sold books, today they sell everything," he said in a statement.

Pocketbook co-founder Alvin Singh has high hopes for the startup, aiming to become a Google or Apple of the finance industry.

"We have been laser-focused on changing the interaction and experience Australians have with their banks and credit card companies. The key question we seek to answer is if Google or Apple were building a banking experience, what would it be like?" he said.

"Today, we provide a much richer experience than traditional banking, across your accounts and across banks — giving you a total uncomplicated view of your spending. And we have only started — we have some big ideas in the works. We're incredibly excited to bring on a team of extremely experienced investors to help us reach that vision."

The new injection of funding will be used to build out its team of developers and the necessary marketing to encourage growth.

Others backing Pocketbook include Tank Stream Ventures, which is the lead investor in the round, Sunrise's David Koch, Dimension Data Australia founder and former CEO David Shein, and SydStart founder Peter Cooper.