Academy Bank Research Reveals How Budgeting Apps Enable Financial Success - and Where They Fall Short

Budgeting Apps Help Users Stay on Track, but True Impact Requires Feature-Rich Solutions to Address Common Financial Challenges

Academy Bank's new financial management tool, My Finance360, provides smart budgeting and automated savings to address key pain points of overspending and income fluctuation

KANSAS CITY, Mo., June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- While budgeting apps help people stay on track with their finances, their true potential lies in offering smarter features that tackle everyday financial challenges and support lasting financial literacy. That's according to research from Academy Bank, a family-owned community bank in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri.

In its just-released white paper, "Budgeting in the Digital Age: The Role of Apps in Financial Wellness," Academy Bank shares insightful findings about people's budgeting habits, the role apps play in financial management and the challenges users face when managing their money.

The report is based on a survey of more than 300 U.S. adults who reported these key sentiments:

• 83% said they follow a budget to some extent;
• 45% use a budgeting app or digital tool;
• 98% agreed that budgeting helps them achieve their financial goals; and
• 86% cited overspending or income fluctuations as the most common obstacles to successfully managing finances.

While the effectiveness of budgeting apps varies based on user adoption, habits and financial literacy, Academy Bank's research highlights their greatest potential value: helping people manage spending and navigate income fluctuations. More than half of the survey respondents (56%) listed "overspending" as their biggest financial challenge, while 30% said "irregular income" disrupted their budgeting. Lack of financial knowledge (28%) also poses a challenge. By addressing these obstacles, budgeting apps can move beyond basic expense tracking to become powerful tools for long-term financial growth.

"Our research findings reinforce that while consumers recognize the importance of budgeting, many still lack the right tools to effectively manage their finances," said Jodi Vickery, Chief Digital Officer at Academy Bank. "Banks and fintech providers that prioritize intuitive, feature-rich budgeting solutions stand to capture a growing market demand, and that drove our development of a new digital tool we call My Finance360."

My Finance360: A Smarter, Simpler Way to Manage Money
In response to the survey insights and a growing demand for user-friendly, comprehensive digital money management solutions, Academy Bank launched My Finance360 – a personal finance tool designed to help their clients better understand their spending, build healthy money-management habits and reach financial goals.

The Kansas City-based bank leveraged in-house innovation and pioneering technology to develop the My Finance360 app, which offers customers a modern, secure, free financial management tool seamlessly integrated into their banking experience. Academy Bank is consistently recognized for its commitment to innovation by such outlets as FORTUNE magazine, which has named the financial institution to its prestigious list of America's Most Innovative Companies two of the last three years – in 2023 and in 2025.

My Finance360 Key Differentiators:

• Real-time tracking of income, expenses and debt
• Smart budgeting and automated savings
• The ability to link external accounts for a full view of finances
• Personalized transaction categorization
• Goal setting and bill payment reminders
• Net worth tracking
• Easy-to-use interface
• Bank-level security
• Fully integrated with Academy Banks's mobile and online banking

Academy Bank survey data shows strong consumer interest in features like those offered by My Finance360 – such as easy-to-use interface, expense tracking and categorization, goal-setting tools and bill payment reminders – which respondents identified as the most valuable characteristics of budgeting apps.

As the financial landscape continues to evolve, Academy Bank is leading the way in delivering smart, user-centric tools that empower consumers to take control of their financial futures. My Finance360 sets a new standard for digital financial management. By combining innovation, insight and accessibility, Academy Bank is reinforcing its role as a trusted partner in helping clients successfully navigate their financial journeys.

"True financial success requires a combination of the right tools, knowledge and support. Academy Bank empowers people to achieve their financial goals by providing resources that encourage smarter money management and promote financial literacy," said Paul Holewinski, CEO of Academy Bank.

Read the full white paper here.  For related articles, see Popular Ways to Budget in 2025 and Why Budgeting Apps Are Gaining Popularity in Personal Finance.

About Academy Bank
Academy Bank is a full-service commercial bank with $2.9 billion in assets and more than 75 banking centers in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri. Academy Bank provides a wide range of financial solutions for business and individuals, including commercial and business banking, treasury management and mortgage services. Academy Bank is privately held and family-owned by Dickinson Financial Corporation, a $4.3 billion holding company headquartered in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Academy Bank's sister bank, Armed Forces Bank, headquartered in Leavenworth, Kansas, proudly serves active and retired military and civilian clients around the world with more on-base locations than any military bank in the country. For more information, visit www.academybank.com.

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SOURCE Academy Bank