Lloyds Launches Subscription Management on Banking App

Need to Know

• Lloyds Bank has added a new feature to its mobile app, allowing users to manage subscription services such as streaming platforms and food box delivery.
• When the pandemic hit in March, over a million Lloyds customers added new subscription services, but that number had dropped significantly by May.
• The new feature notifies customers of new charges, price changes, and allows them to cancel their subscription directly from the banking app.

Analysis

To help customers better manage their spending, Lloyds Bank is adding a new subscription management service to its mobile app. Britain’s largest bank will launch the new feature in the UK in the coming months after first testing out a pilot program.

The new mobile app feature will allow Lloyds’ 12 million mobile users to manage subscription services, which boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as television streaming and food delivery boxes. The new feature is mainly aimed at convenience, but it also is an easy way for the bank’s customers to more easily control their finances.

Over 1.3 million Lloyds Bank customers added new subscription services when the pandemic hit in March, but the number dropped back down after users began to assess their finances during the pandemic. Plus, many customers may have signed up for a one-month free trial and then forgotten to unsubscribe after the first month, resulting in an unwanted charge. 

The new mobile app feature provides customers a snapshot of the subscriptions linked to their debit card and sends push notifications to keep them informed about charges and price changes. They can also now cancel their subscription within the banking app. 

“Customers have been able to manage direct debits and standing orders online for some time,” said Nick Edwards, digital service director of Lloyds Bank. “With the growing popularity of subscription services we’ve launched this market leading service to respond to our customers’ desire for more control and flexibility in the ways they manage their money.”

“With over 16 million customers online and 12 million using our mobile app, this is one in a series of new and exciting features we are launching this year to continually improve customers online experience.”

In 2019, Americans each spent a yearly average of $640 on digital services like music and television streaming. This number is likely to increase as we become increasingly dependent on digital and cloud-based services. The update from Lloyds makes it easier to track these subscriptions—and easier to cancel them.