UCL startup Kalgera launches app to protect vulnerable people’s finances

Many people who are self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic have become more reliant on online services and so are particularly vulnerable to fraud.

The Kalgera app uses neuroscience and machine learning to detect unusual activity on a bank account and securely alert the account’s owner, as well as their trusted family and caregivers, helping prevent fraud.

The first people to join Kalgera’s waiting list will now have early access to the beta release of the app. This access will be free initially, after Kalgera signed up to the C-19 Business Pledge to do whatever it can to help those most affected by the pandemic.

Kalgera’s CEO Dr Dexter Penn (UCL Dementia Research Centre), who founded the company in 2017, said: “Our mission has always been to help people be more financially resilient by recognising vulnerability early so they can do something about it.

With many more people accessing a variety of different services online at this time, there has unfortunately been a sharp spike in reported scams globally as fraudsters attempt to cash in on the Covid-19 outbreak. Our technology will help safeguard those who matter most to us, both now and in the future.”

Safeguarding against fraud  

Dexter came up with the idea for Kalgera through his clinical work in elderly care after seeing patients fall victim to scams. Each year, around five million older people in the UK are approached by fraudsters, collectively losing an estimated £1.2 billion.

Dexter obtained financial support, mentorship and guidance from UCL Innovation & Enterprise. This enabled him to complete market research and to build a world class team to develop Kalgera. The company scaled-up at the dedicated startup space in BaseKX, UCL’s entrepreneurship hub. The startup space plays host to a community of the university’s most promising entrepreneurs, providing free, tailored support to fast-track startups to success.

Jerry Allen, Director of Entrepreneurship at UCL, said: “The importance of financial safeguarding online was already growing prior to the coronavirus crisis, and takes on added resonance now. Kalgera is one of a number of startups from the UCL community whose products and services are providing benefit to society at this time, which is central to our mission at UCL Innovation & Enterprise.”

Gearing up to launch the service 

In November 2019 Kalgera was awarded £100,000 as part of the Open Up 2020 Challenge run by Nesta Challenges in partnership with Open Banking Limited. 

Kalgera is an FCA-approved agent of fintech scaleup TrueLayer and has also been collaborating with major banks and building societies to further develop and grow its technology capability. 

The company has also established a stakeholder working group consisting of real carers and experts in accessibility, fraud, cyber-security and financial regulation to ensure the use of best practice to safeguard those most vulnerable. They’ll continue to iterate the product based on user need, adding additional features to the beta release, and will move to offering a subscription-based service later in 2020.

Dexter said: “We’ve learnt a lot during the user testing period and have put that into the product. We found that most people do not consider themselves to be vulnerable and struggle with this term even though they need support. The numbers of people in need will only rise off the back of the economic hit posed by Covid-19.”

The Kalgera app has also been listed in Which? as one of the best apps to manage money and mental health during coronavirus lockdown.

Links

Find out more about:

• Kalgera
• Which? article about best apps to use during coronavirus lockdown
• How we support entrepreneurship among UCL staff and students
• UCL Dementia Research Centre

Photo © Kalgera