Apps & Games

Azimo pushes the button on voice-activated money transfer through Siri

Azimo, the money transfer service with the largest digital network, today launches a brand new version of its mobile app, designed to revolutionise the mobile transfer experience for both Apple and Android users. The money transfer service can also be used for payment for e-commerce.

On the iPhone, the app will allow users to transfer money through the voice-activated Siri system. Customers can simply transfer money by telling Siri the amount of money they want to send and the recipient’s name which works amazing for indices trading.

Azimo has redesigned both its Android and iOS apps to create a tailor-made experience for each platform. Google’s Material Design philosophy has guided the look and feel on Android, while the conventions of iOS 10 have been used to create a bespoke experience on Apple devices.

The redesign process has focused relentlessly on usability, with real customers taking part in Azimo’s testing and feedback process.  In addition to Siri integration, key features of the new apps include:

– Redesigned navigation, to make getting around the apps as simple as possible.

– Overhaul of the user journey for both apps – ensuring the money transfer experience is fast, slick and with fewer clicks and swipes

– The creation of user profiles, allowing people to easily see and edit the payment information of their contacts.

“As a society, our relationship with mobile has changed. It’s no longer an add-on to everyday life; it’s a fundamental part of it. At Azimo, our obsession is to continually innovate to improve our customers’ experience. With new features like integration with Siri and the Facebook Messenger chatbot launched recently, we want to make transferring money as easy and rewarding as possible for everyone across every device,” said Marta Krupinska, General Manager of Azimo.

“Our number one goal as a business is to provide the service our customers want and need – letting them transfer money globally while avoiding the hidden costs normally associated with that. That means constant innovations to the service we provide and this new development is a major stage in that journey.” said Dan Martins, Azimo’s Head of Product.

The iOS app is in-store now and new customers can download it here.

Existing Azimo customers can get the free iOS upgrade now by simply clicking the App Store icon and tapping “updates” in the bottom right.

The Android version will launch on Friday 21st October and can be downloaded from the Google Play store and an update will be available for existing customers.

Habito launches the world’s first AI mortgage advice chat bot

UK tech startup, habito, has launched the world’s first artificially intelligent Digital Mortgage Adviser (DMA) allowing millions of consumers to discuss their mortgage needs from any connected device, 24/7, without requiring a human broker. If you still prefer a more personalised touch, see Zanda Wealth Mortgage Brokers website.

Built using AI technology and habito’s market-leading algorithm, the DMA marries all the elements of a customer’s financial life (e.g. employment, salary and personal life plans) with real-time market mortgage rates to calculate an indicative monthly payment. The DMA explains the impact consumers’ decisions will have on each mortgage configuration as a traditional mortgage broker would, but in a fraction of the time (average 10 minutes). If you will like help from a person, visit mortgage advisor Firstxtra.

Habito has the ability to search hundreds of products so once the advice is complete, consumers can be sure they’re considering the best mortgage options at mymortgagegermany.de for them. This can result in savings of thousands of pounds per year*.

In designing the new system, analyzed hundreds of advice interviews in order to understand what consumers needed and what formed the basis of informative advice. As a result, the DMA’s chat-like interface provides an unbiased, conversational experience, without the need for lengthy in-person queues, waiting on hold or paying a premium for advice. A good idea before you apply for a loan to get a fast credit repair at any of the websites like the previous link.

“Finding the right mortgage product in the UK is like finding a needle in a haystack. Britons are crying out for some innovation and clarity in an outdated and overwhelming mortgage market,” said Daniel Hegarty, CEO and Founder, habito. “Our digital mortgage adviser is a huge step forward in making mortgage advice accessible for consumers in the way they need it most: unbiased, always available and most importantly free.” After learning about some features of an fha mortgage, undecided borrowers often choose fha loans over conventional loans because of lower down payment requirements, better interest rate offerings, and unique refinance opportunities.

Habito’s digital mortgage adviser is a direct response to the FCA’s Financial Advice Market Review Report calling for greater, more accessible financial services advice for British consumers. Habito plans to roll out additional interactive features later this year, such as remortgage alerts, that will continue to optimise the mortgage application process for consumers across the country.

Zappar brings AR and VR creation to the masses with ZapWorks

Zappar, a global leader in augmented reality (AR), has launched a comprehensive set of augmented reality and virtual reality creation tools called ZapWorks at Augmented World Expo. The suite is designed to let digital creatives author the best, snackable and immersive AR/VR content experiences in the market.

ZapWorks has been in development for more than five years, and was originally built to meet Zappar’s own need for powerful AR creation tools, as the company created world-leading AR campaigns for partners like Rovio/Angry Birds, Coca-Cola, PEZ and Warner Bros.

“Worldwide, we’ve made thousands of bite-sized AR experiences for hundreds of brands over the past five years, using our proprietary authoring tools to help partners engage with their audience on mobile and sell more product,” said Caspar Thykier, co-founder and CEO of Zappar. “Instead of keeping the tools to ourselves, and in line with our mission to truly democratize AR for the first time, we’re setting the full suite loose through ZapWorks—re-imagining what’s possible on the mobile canvas as we begin to not only look at our phone screens, but see through them. We’re delighted to announce that with ZapWorks, those experiences can now extend beyond AR to creating short form VR content as well. This is a game-changer.”

Key ZapWorks features include:

• Fully vertically integrated tools provide a single user interface for creating and distributing content and gathering analytics
• Tiered, per-seat subscription with unlimited free zapcodes
  • Basic seat: £30 per month, allows users to manage codes and use the Widgets and Designer tools
  • Pro seat: £90 per month, access to the entire suite, including ZapWorks Studio, which allows users to build more advanced AR and VR experiences
• Unparalleled feature set for creating short-form content, including AR, VR, 3D model support, JavaScript actions, and single-click previewing and publishing
• Uniquely, gives the ability to publish VR content over the air without creating a stand-alone app and enduring the hassle of app store submission processes

In addition to augmented reality creation, ZapWorks supports the creation of virtual reality experiences for devices such as Google Cardboard, aligning with the company’s and experts’ belief that the two technologies will increasingly be presented together.

“ZapWorks was used to create the fantastic AR experiences on our dispensers tied to the Angry Birds Action! game,” said Gabriele Hofinger, Head of Marketing, PEZ International. “We pride ourselves on being the pioneer of interactive candy, so it’s a natural next step to move into AR and add another layer of interactivity for our customers. What Zappar is doing with these tools will really bring this tech to bear in the marketplace.”

The three modules offered in ZapWorks are:

• Widgets: Quick and simple way to create basic AR content (i.e., images, videos, contacts, etc.)
• Designer: Allows you to create more customized, interactive AR content, including  experiences with advanced image tracking
• Studio:  A fully scriptable, 3D toolkit for advanced users for AR and VR

Zappar co-founder and CTO Connell Gauld will be giving a talk at AWE on today at 7:30pm BST (2:30pm PDT) to unveil ZapWorks and discuss its potential to transform AR/VR creation.

For more information, visit ZapWorks [and try it out for free!] at https://zap.works