As of yesterday, 22Seven officially exited beta stage. Their current customers who were using the money management service for free, will be given notice and as of next month, a R70 fee will be charged. “This was originally formed around behavioural psychology. We tend to overestimate our own abilities, and underestimate what will happen,” Founder of 22Seven, Christo Davel, explains.

“We don’t value free things as much as the things that we pay for” Christo says. This is why the free trial period for new users will only last one month. Even though they know that it takes users a good 2-4 months to fully benefit from the service, one month is long enough to determine whether or not the service will impact your thinking. “It does take 2-4 months for one to actually change their spending behaviour and notice the impact, however one month is long enough to be able see that this product will benefit you.”

The 22Seven money management service is now accessible through all banks, despite the initial battles. And for those of you out there who are still concerned about the security of your money when handing over your banking details, Davel reveals that there will soon be a security API in order to access the relevant information, without going through the ‘front door’. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when.” This is sure to ease a large number of fence-sitters who feel that this issue is holding them back from a great product.

“This product allows for our rationalities, it simply creates awareness. It is designed to be intuitive and make sense, so it is not just for techies.” Christo says. Families can now also link accounts and therefore experience a greater benefit.

Although there are many opinions on their use of Flash, their choice to stay away from HTML5 was purely because “HTML5 is still in it’s infancy.” Simon Dingle, head of product strategy and IT support, explains. However they will phase out of Flash, as time goes on. The end goal is to allow for 22Seven to be easily accessible on mobile.

“This is old school budgeting, set in a very sexy way.”

Read more posts by Wendy Tayler

Wendy is the Editor in Chief at Heavy Chef. After 3 years cooking up a storm at UNISA studying English and Communications, Wendy decided to mesh her passion for writing with her love of digital. She firmly believes the world is moving into the online sphere and can be found writing, tracking down great names for interviews, or singing her heart out at the World Wide Creative studio.

Follow Wendy on Twitter

Related posts:

1. Heavy Chef February Session: 22Seven Explained By Christo Davel
2. 22seven’s Entry Into SA’s Financial Arena: The Christo Davel Interview
3. Heavy Chef Session: Christo Davel Of 22Seven – Irrational Behaviour, User Experience & Design
4. Is Social Investment a Crock?
5. A Big Bite Out of the Apple