TD Bank is enhancing its personal finance management tools and looking to AI-driven predictive analytics to help consumers control their spending in a real-time, automated fashion.

The Cherry Hill, N.J.-based bank is looking at a proactive approach to personal finance management rather than a reactive one, Barry Baird, head of payments capability and delivery, told Bank Automation News. To do that, “we’re going to need to lean into [AI] fairly heavily to get more into the predictive insights.”

AI helps bring consumer behavior to life, Baird said. For example, with visibility to transactions data, checking account activity, debit and credit card activity and all other products a client has with TD, the bank can show clients categories of where spending is happening and how to control it.

The technology can bring “a more holistic view of where the money is flowing in and out of your financial relationship across the board,” he said.

Through automated predictive alerts, clients would have an idea of their spending based on their behavior, he said. “We’re certainly not there yet, but that’s a big piece of where we’re going.”

For now, the bank’s alert system can be set to monitor different thresholds, Baird said. For example, clients can be notified when an account balance is low and be prompted to take action, whether it’s transferring money or learning how to reduce spending.

Personal finance management roadmap

The bank’s personal finance management efforts follow a 20% year-over-year increase in tech spend in the first quarter to $499 million and its May launch of two credit cards as clients were looking for simpler solutions to credit.

The bank launched TD FlexPay and TD Clear credit cards to help clients access credit, Jennifer Garrett, head of product development and loyalty, credit cards and unsecured lending at TD Bank, previously told BAN.

FlexPay allows clients to skip a payment once a year; TD Clear is a monthly, subscription-based card, according to a TD release.

The recent credit card launches helped clients “in terms of managing [their] financial life,” Baird said.

The bank continues on its personal finance management tool roadmap, and the predictive analysis capabilities aren’t ready yet, but the timeline will “become more clear in the next handful of months,” he said.