CommBank's new apps want to empty your wallet

Everyone loves saving money with a good coupon. Now the Commonwealth Bank's trying to bring the concept into the 21st century via its new CommBank Offers app, which could be very dangerous for anyone with a weakness for impulse purchases.

The app, which is starting as a targeted pilot with a limited rollout to selected geographic areas, will see CommBank partnering with the Scentre Group – owner and operator of Westfield in Australia and New Zealand – and offer customers an opt-in service that notifies them of deals when they visit their local Westfield.

Notifications for deals will appear on the customer's smartphone and they can swipe left or right depending on whether the offer appeals – like Tinder for shopaholics. Customers can also choose to save a deal for later by tapping a heart icon in the top right of the screen.

Over time, the app will learn the sort of offers each customer enjoys and tailor suggestions accordingly.

Buying your loyalty

The Commonwealth Bank is also adding to it's original CommBank app, with the introduction of a new Loyalty feature. This aims to lighten your wallet by relieving it of its countless loyalty cards, rather than just emptying it of dollars and cents.

Scanning the barcode of a loyalty card will make a virtual copy within the app, and most popular loyalty programs (Flybuys, Woolworths Everyday Rewards, etc) are supported. Additional programs can be added manually, too.

The Loyalty function is currently only available on Android phones, with the bank promising iOS support will arrive within weeks.