Chase Shuts Down Finn

Barely more than a year after banking giant JPMorgan launched an effort to bring younger clients into the fold — through digital means and specifically through a digital banking app — the firm is killing that particular nationwide project.

The pilot program began in October 2017 and a nationwide rollout began in June of last year.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the company started telling clients yesterday (June 5) that it is shuttering Finn, which had been rolled out as no-fee banking app that had been fashioned to target younger clients. Those customers, according to the financial publication, are having funds transferred to other Chase accounts, across savings and checking options.

The move comes, of course, as banks are bringing digital offerings (especially mobile ones) to their portfolios, as banks branches, the physical kind, are on the decline. The Finn offering has been noted to be a hybrid offering, as it revolved around a digital app and also featured branch access to those consumers. In one feature set, Finn consumers had free access to a partner network outside of the Chase ATM network. Beyond that, the competitive landscape had been marked by Goldman Sachs and Ally Financial, among others, noted for offering higher interest rates on their accounts — a feature JPMorgan eschewed.

Unnamed people “familiar with the matter” told the news outlet that the bank ultimately decided that Chase, rather than Finn, was best equipped to deliver those hybrid services to consumers.

Now, Finn users will have to download the Chase app and get a new debit card, though the site noted the account details will  not change. They also will not pay service fees that are levied alongside the basic accounts. The number of Finn users in place has not been publicly disclosed.

The shuttering comes as JPMorgan has spent heavily on technology with $11.5 billion tagged for this year and with significant focus on Chase mobile and digital efforts.