BillGuard Moves into PFM with New Analytics, Savings Features

Fraud technology startup BillGuard is adding analytics and savings add-ons to its iPhone app.

Both new features — Smart Savings and Spend Analytics — will give users a heads up when there are merchant discounts on items they usually buy, while organizing spending into expense categories.

The update to the company’s smartphone app will push the company into the PFM category, reports TechCrunch.

The company’s app was initially designed to shine a light on bogus amounts that sometimes show up when, for instance, you sign up for a free credit report and then get sucked into an annoying, monthly fee. The startup is one of Bank Technology News' Top 10 Tech Companies to Watch.

BillGuard started in 2009 when the company's chief executive Yaron Samid noticed a ridiculous $9.99 recurring charge on his wife's credit card bill. After some research online, he figured out it was a concert ticket vendor scam that cost him 60 bucks.

"I had the lazy man's idea. I wanted to be notified any time a transaction [type] on my credit card was repeatedly disputed by others. A system of collaborative data analytics," Samid said in an interview earlier this year.

The idea is based around the same technology you may be using to filter email.

"I was looking for a system of collaborative data analytics, but I found it in a parallel industry — anti-spam" software, says Samid. "We modeled BillGuard after this anti-spam methodology and we built the consumer service first."