Metro Bank

, which was London’s first new high street bank in over 100 years when it opened in 2010, has launched an artificial intelligence (AI)  tool to help customer with their money.

“It’s a feature to help customers better manage their finances,” said Parminder Mann, lead mobile product manager at the bank. “It’s for day to day financial management and day to day spending. It lets users create categories to analyze their spending.”

Insight, an artificial intelligence advisor for retail banking customers. The opt-in tool applies predictive analytics to users’ spending patterns, which is then translated into tailored prompts. It can generate alerts that anticipate customers spending and it provides a breakdown of where their money goes each month.

The in-app alerts include informing customers when — based on previous months’ activities — there is not enough money in their account to cover likely spend; when there has been a change in the amount of money paid to a regular supplier; and flagging to customers when they have been charged twice for the same item.

Push the Insight button at the bottom of the phone’s screen and it will display detailed Infomration on the user’s current account, savings and credit card. For customers who travel abroad, it also provides tips on currencies and conversions.

Mann said a small group of colleagues and customers has been testing the app ahead of this week’s launch. It will let customers see their spending by category, such as groceries and entertainment, and by the stores they have spent money at. Once it accumulates some history it can show when a customer’s spending is about to exceed expected income. It also shows when a free trial subscription is about to convert to paid, alert users to duplicate payments and ping them when a large payment has been received.

“Insights is all about using technology to make customers’ lives easier,

saving them time and providing a helpful nudge when they need it the most,” said Paul Riseborough, chief commercial officer at Metro Bank.  “Whether your account needs a top up to avoid you straying into an overdraft, you’re looking for a breakdown of how much you spent on a recent holiday or you simply want to know when you got that refund, Insights makes managing your finances straightforward.”

The tool launches with more than 20 individual insights, with more set to be rolled-out over the coming months.

Metro Bank, which was started by Vernon Hill who built up Commerce Bank on the east coast of the U.S., now has 59 branches, or stores as he calls them, with the latest opening in Bristol last week.