Free financial advice – there’s an app for that – Eccho me

Paul Ryan, one of the original founders of Wizard Home Loans has developed an app that allows you to ask any financial question and seek answers from finance experts near you or across the country.  It’s actually pretty bloody cool.

Ok so the concept is simple, there’s a bunch of pretty smart people out there operating in the finance industry – mortgage brokers, stock brokers goodness knows what other sorts of brokers – and then there are mugs like me who have rarely given much thought to if they were getting a good deal or what to do when your Fixed Rate expires.

So, download Eccho me – sound simple right?  In-App purchases to get advice? Nope.  All Free.

What’s the catch.  Well, as best I can see having registered and asked a question it’s a matter of being ok with the app developers having a bit of your personal info.

And by a bit – I mean a tiny bit.  Facebook login was super smooth and simple, and rightly it only requested my basic info and email.

I then had to enter a phone number and postcode.

Now this info seems pretty simple to me, especially if it does result in free advice!

And the logic here is simple right – it plays on basic human nature, if you feel comfortable with what someone tells you or how they engage with you, you’re more likely to call them for formal help – so a mortgage broker answering questions here is more likely to get the odd call up.

I browsed a few questions and answers, and found that I can simple click to call any of the financial experts.  No barrier, that simple.

You can browse all the questions that have been asked and just learn by reading the responses.  So damn simple.

Then when it comes to asking a question – simpler still.  Pick a category and ask away.

Within 30 mins (in the time I’ve been writing this) my question has been answered.

And someone else has “ecchoed it” – meaning they too want to know the answer.

Now Nicole ends her message with “happy to discuss” because hey, she’s in the business of selling mortgages, and that’s bloody awesome – I can click her profile and call – easy as that.  And I assume that is the upside and revenue model for the app.

Often with these new startup apps their downfall is lack of scale.  Lack of people.  In this case there’s clearly been some great groundwork to get things started.

Well worth a look, oh, and while writing this – another two people have responded to my simple question.

iTunes: Eccho Me