Lloyds Banking Group said it’s launched a new suite of features to its mobile banking apps to help customers stay connected to their finances.

The high street bank’s customers, as well as those of the Halifax and Bank of Scotland, will be able to receive mobile notifications which can be customised to track their spending and transactions.

The alerts can let users know when they receive money from a friend or contact, when refunds are credited or when standing orders or bills leave their accounts.* They will be able to change settings to which alerts they want to receive.

Advanced machine learning

Lloyds said that new pilots are also being tested that use advanced machine learning software to alert customers when a regular bill is higher than usual or when they are charged for the first time on a card subscription.

Later this year, customers will also be able to use these alerts to show how much they will have left to spend each month after regular bills, as well as when they are due to leave the account.

“These latest features have been designed around things that our customers tell us make mobile banking better for them, helping track their account activity and creating opportunities to save”, said Stephen Noakes, Retail Transformation Director, Lloyds Banking Group.

“We are working hard behind the scenes in our technology labs, constantly testing out innovative new ideas to create more choice and control for customers.”

Pound to save the pennies

The bank also said that from this month Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers will be able to register to a Save the Change service on mobile apps.

This means that every time they shop with their debit card, the amount will be rounded up to the nearest pound and put straight into their savings account.

Customers can already sign up for Save the Change in a branch or through internet banking, with almost a million registrations since it was launched.

Easier cashback

Lloyds added that since 2013, its Everyday Rewards programme has paid out more than £40 million in cashback to customers, making it one of the biggest card-linked loyalty programs in Europe.

This has functionality has been improved, with new filters allowing customers to search offers by category, helping them to earn more cashback and see the total cashback they’ve earned in an easy to use summary.

New push alerts to notify when cashback has been paid will be introduced later this year Lloyds said.