Money Dashboard goes for bumper fintech crowdfund

Money Dashboard has unveiled what it says is the largest-ever Scottish fintech crowdfund, and made a high-profile senior hire as it looks to further scale in the next year.

Steve Tigar (left) and Peter O'Higgins of Money Dashboard. Picture: Stewart Attwood.

The Edinburgh-based personal finance app – which helps more than 200,000 users meet goals such as paying off debt or saving for a house deposit – will see its biggest-ever fundraise on Crowdcube launch next week, although the amount was not disclosed.

The move comes 18 months after raising £1.4 million in an oversubscribed round from more than 1,000 users of the app – and follows news of a strategic partnership with price comparison site GoCompare and the launch of a platform that gives third-party developers access to enriched data from hundreds of UK banks and other financial institutions.

The GoCompare tie-up followed data-sharing partnerships with challenger banks Monzo and Starling Bank.

Money Dashboard – which was launched in 2010 by Gavin Littlejohn and says it is the number one personal finance app in the UK – has signed up Peter O’Higgins, former chief financial officer at digital bank Revolut. He will lead the finance and operations function and support the next growth phase.

Money Dashboard chief executive Steve Tigar said: “Peter was part of Revolut’s top team and saw the business grow from 200,000 to over 4.5 million users during his three-year tenure.”

Tigar also said Revolut’s chief executive credited O’Higgins as being key to Revolut’s success. “We’re excited to have Peter on board as we enter our next phase of growth. Our aim is for Money Dashboard to be one of the UK’s next big fintech players.”

O’Higgins said he is a longstanding Money Dashboard user, adding: “I’m very excited to have the opportunity to join the team and contribute to the future growth of the product. There is a huge market opportunity for Money Dashboard. I joined Revolut at a similar stage in its trajectory and it would be great to repeat some of its well-documented success here.”

Fintech Scotland chief executive Stephen Ingledew said: “The Scottish fintech scene is booming. In the past year alone, the number of fintechs operating in Scotland has trebled.

“Money Dashboard’s appointment from a London-headquartered fintech is a strong signal that Edinburgh and Scotland more generally is a fintech hub to be reckoned with.”

Money Dashboard generates revenue by creating “insightful” market research from anonymised bank statement data, for example by helping hedge funds predict revenue announcements of listed companies. It has raised more than £10m in equity financing.

Last week saw the unveiling of the FinTech Alliance, billed as the first community-driven digital platform designed to stimulate growth among UK fintechs and raise the profile of the sector overseas.