Up wins banking innovation award in the 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards

Up wins banking innovation award

At a time when spending, saving and transferring money can all happen at a touch of the fingertip, finding a banking app with all the right features has become a priority for many deposit customers. 

But without widely exploring your banking app options first, it can be difficult to know which providers are on top of innovation. That’s why Mozo has done the hard work for Australians, today announcing winners of the 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Banking Apps & Technology.

As part of these awards, Mozo’s expert judges thoroughly assessed 74 different banking apps in order to find the ones with leading functionality for users. 

This year, neobank Up rose above much of the competition, winning two 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Excellent Banking App and Banking Innovation. The digital bank joins a cohort of much larger players like Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie Bank in the 2021 Excellent Banking App category, while it’s the only provider to snag the Banking Innovation title this year.

Why Up has won big for innovation

Mozo’s Expert Judge, Peter Marshall said Up stood out with its extensive range of app features.

“We looked at more than 30 features across all apps and Up managed to tick a large number of those boxes. It’s got all of the basic features, plus some very nice advanced functions that not every provider has,” he said. 

“For example, Up is one of only a few apps that lets you export data, so that you can further analyse your own information outside of the app. It also connects with a huge range of payment platforms, and offers a variety of useful savings features.” 

As the sole winner of Mozo’s 2021 Banking Innovation award, Up also wowed the judges with its novel ‘Covers and Forwards’ concept, which was introduced to its banking app in March last year. 

For context, ‘forwards’ allow the user to easily send a specific deposit or payment from their Up Everyday Account over to their Up Saver Account. Meanwhile ‘covers’ work in reverse, giving customers the ability to use their Saver to top up their Everyday Account with the exact amount they need for a purchase. 

“While there are a lot of products out there with sweep functions, the way that Up has implemented its ‘covers and forwards’ means it’s a lot more powerful, a lot more flexible and a lot easier for people to engage with and actually make use of,” Marshall said.

“We were impressed with the way Up has taken a concept that’s been around for a while and made it into its own and really turned the focus on making it relevant to people’s lives.” 

Up’s head of product, Anson Parker said their app features are all about going the extra mile to help customers manage their own finances. 

“We’ve always aimed to be more than just a better banking app. We’ve sought to completely reimagine people’s relationship with money - from looking at how we can help them stay better connected to their spending through to establishing good savings habits, even if they’ve never saved a cent before,” he said. 

“At Up we believe that the future of banking lies in innovation, not just iteration … We’re lucky to have the culture and backing to support our innovation-led approach, even though it’s admittedly not always the most comfortable path to travel!”

Best of 2021: Up’s award winning products

Up’s winning streak doesn’t stop there. The neobank also snagged 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Awards for Exceptional Everyday Account and Regular Saver. These awards place Up in a first-class position of not only offering one of the best bank accounts, but also one of the best ongoing savings rates out there. 

To determine the winners of those categories, Mozo’s judges did extensive research into the market, comparing 144 bank accounts and 185 savings accounts in total. 

Curious to learn more about Up’s award-winning accounts? Read on for the snapshots.

Up's award-winning products

Up Everyday Account
  • 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Award for Exceptional Everyday Account^
  • Roundup feature to help you save
  • No ongoing fees
Find out more

With the Up Everyday Account, you can say hello to fee-free banking whether you’re withdrawing money from a Bendigo Bank ATM or making an international purchase online. Up also makes it super easy to boost your savings, thanks to its optional roundup feature that automatically rounds up your purchase and transfers the difference to your linked Up Saver Account. And if you prefer leaving your physical card at home, the Everyday Account can connect to a wide range of digital wallets including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay and PayID. Just remember that because Up is a neobank, it has no branch or phone access so you’ll need to be comfortable with mobile banking. Interested in signing up today? Use the code MOZO10 to get a $10 bonus.

Up Saver Account
  • 2021 Mozo Experts Choice Award for best Regular Saver^
  • 1.10% ongoing rate (conditions apply)
  • Ability to set savings goals with multiple Savers

The Up Saver Account has one of the most competitive ongoing savings rates in our database, available for balances up to $1 million - all you need to do is make five card purchases a month via your linked Up Everyday Account to snag this offer. It’s also got plenty of other features to help you grow your savings, like automatic roundups, the option to create and name multiple ‘savings buckets’, as well as scheduled transfers to and from your Savers. Once again, be mindful that you’ll only be able to access your account via the Up app. If you’re a new customer, sign up today with the code MOZO10 for a $10 bonus.

^Interested in seeing who else took home an award this year? Catch the full list of winners over at our Mozo Experts Choice Bank Accounts Awards and Savings Accounts Awards pages.

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