numo, PNC’s fintech incubator, announced its first product — a “smart banking” tool called indi that’s designed for self-employed people, freelancers, contractors and others in the gig economy. This segment of entrepreneurs is expected to grow to include the majority of American workers within a decade, according to a study called Freelancing in America.
indi gives users a single, FDIC-insured account that handles mobile banking, tax savings and expense categorization.
“We looked at the changing ways people are working in the country and the more we got into it, the more we really felt there were pain points we could help with,” says numo CEO David Passavant. “As a mobile-first product, indi offers real-time income and expense tracking features that alleviate some of the pain points experienced by 1099 workers.”
The service is still in beta testing with around 100 users and more being added weekly.”We have many times that number signed up for the waiting list, which is great,” Passavant says. “We’re just controlling letting people in as we feel we’re ready.”
What makes indi appealing is this: Gig economy workers don’t generally have taxes withheld from their paychecks. To make sure they set money aside for tax payments, users can program their indi account to automatically save a percentage of their income for taxes.
And when making purchases, users can mark any expenses that are tax-related to make organizing deductions at tax time simpler. The app also lets users capture receipts and upload them for safekeeping, making life less stressful at tax time.
About a year and a half in the making, Passavant says that it’s actually hard work to make a product that seems really simple.
indi is one of three products numo is working on: The second is Chart, also in beta mode, an enterprise software product for the commercial real estate market. It’s an analytics platform that helps customers make smarter business decisions, Passavant explains. Currently, about half a dozen customers are working with numo to help test Chart.
The other product is enterprise software for policy management and compliance — “an idea sparked as we built indi,” Passavant tells us. “It helps manage very complex policies that places like PNC have to manage.”
While they are “very early on” in their journey with these products, numo’s goal is to create spin-offs of companies that will be a growing part of Pittsburgh’s tech scene, says Passavant.
numo just moved into new offices in East Liberty — a “beautiful and historical building at Highland and Centre Avenue,” he adds.
Want to join the beta test waiting list for indi? You can sign up here. After signing up, you’ll receive a code for downloading the app via the App Store or Google Play.
