Citi-backed personal finance site adds tools

By Maria Aspan

August 27, 2010 1:24 AM EDT

Bundle.com, an online personal finance site that counts Citigroup Inc among its backers, is unveiling new features to compete in a growing market for Internet banking and budgeting advice, its chief executive said on Thursday.

Bundle, whose other backers include Microsoft Corp and Morningstar Inc, currently allows consumers to compare their spending habits with those of other users, based on data from government sources and Citigroup's credit card unit.

But until now, it has not provided consumers with information about their own financial accounts. On Friday, Bundle will start allowing users to view their own financial information, from multiple bank accounts, in one place, Chief Executive Jaidev Shergill said in an interview.

It will also start providing budgeting advice and goals based on its users' spending habits, he said.

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Banks are increasingly looking to develop such online tools as a way to draw more business, especially from young depositors who can be served cheaply online.

Online financial planning services have drawn over 3.5 million users to the budgeting website Mint.com, now owned by Intuit Inc.

Even Citigroup, which invested in Bundle in January, has since started looking beyond it to invest in a new set of online personal financial tools with fuller capabilities, sources said in July.

The new features could help Bundle compete for more business from Citigroup, but Shergill also has his eye on other partners.

"The money management component is just one aspect of it. There's also socially generated data," said Shergill, a former Citi executive who developed Bundle at the bank's growth ventures unit. "Not only Citi but other banks and other media companies could be interested in partnering with us."

Bundle did not receive an additional round of funding for its new set of features, Shergill said.

While Bundle has no revenue yet, it plans to start selling advertising in October, a spokesman said.

"Citi is keenly focused on client-centric innovation and partnering with leading companies and start-ups," said Citi spokesman Steve Silverman.

"We were pleased to nurture Bundle and are excited that it is growing and adding new and compelling features for its expanding customer base."

(Reporting by Maria Aspan; editing by Gary Hill and Andre Grenon)