Douugh shares remain elevated after the company announced the official US launch of its financial wellness app.

The newly listed ASX fintech edged higher to 36c in morning trade.

Shares in Douugh (ASX:DOU) have consolidated their gains following a hot IPO in October.

The American dream

Investors have responded positively to Douugh’s value proposition, which is based around two key aspects:

1. A capital-light model, partnering with existing banks for balance sheet and licensing purposes; and
2. A direct focus on the US market.

The company raised $6m in its IPO and Douugh shares listed at just 3c, giving pre-IPO investors a 12x return on their money so far.

At the time of its listing, Douugh was moving towards the end of an 18-month beta trial with its partner banks in the US market.

This morning, the company announced the official launch of its financial wellness app to US customers.

Speaking with Stockhead in September, Douugh CEO Andy Taylor said the end goal was to become a subscription-based “financial control centre” for the customer.

Operationally, the aim is to combine transaction banking services with additional partnerships that allow for streamlined access to simple investment products such as exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Leveraging its partnership with North Dakota-based lender Choice Bank, Douugh will offer its customers a federally-licensed bank account and debit card services.

Customers will be able to utilise the Douugh app which includes features such as the Bills Jar, a budgeting tool that lets users automate and track their expenses.

Taylor said the Bills Jar launch was a result of market research during the beta phase, where customers highlighted pain points around tracking expenses — particularly subscriptions.

“Users also have the ability to connect their existing bank, investment accounts and credit cards to get a single view of their financial position through open banking,” the company said.

In his comments to Stockhead, Taylor said the US regulatory backdrop around open banking is already quite advanced.

However, other banking practices — such as the ongoing use of cheques instead of digital payments — are still ripe for disruption.

To help build market share, Douugh says it will deploy the use of Google’s “AI-powered ad bidding platform to target profitable customers”.

In addition, the company will adopt an affiliate distribution model where members are incentivised to sign up other members.