Blog

Astra is on a mission to automate personal finance and their app accomplishes this in two ways:

1. Allows you to link all of your financial accounts together
2. Enables automated transfers between those connected accounts based on smart triggers and routines

It might not be a good fit for those with very simple finances and not ready for financial automation. It is a great choice for those who want to simplify their budgeting and financial planning. If you have several financial accounts and would like to spend less time moving money between them, Astra might be the thing. It’s easy to keep track of your finances and budget in one place, so you don’t have to manually transfer money between accounts.

Let’s take a closer look and answer some questions. This will help us understand the issue and come up with a viable solution.

How Does Astra Work?

In short, this is how Astra works:

Download the App & Connect Everything

The first thing you need to do is download the application from the app stores. You will need to create an account and provide some personal information to start using the application. Once you are a verified user, you can make automated transfers between your accounts. Once you have completed the setup process, you will be able to take advantage of the features that will help you keep track of your expenses and save more money.

Adding your financial accounts to the dashboard will show you account balances as well as the status of your savings goals. When your account balance reaches a certain threshold, you can set up notifications to alert you.

Automate Transfers

Astra is all about simple financial automation, entirely handled through a mobile application. With a savings account and a checking account connected to Astra, you can set up clever automation to move your money to the optimum location with you having to do a thing:

• If you want your funds to automatically transfer to your savings account, set a maximum value on your checking account. This will help you reach your savings goals quickly.
• Use the individual charges on your main credit card to create round-up transfers from your checking account to your savings account. This will help you save money.
• If you set an alert for balance on your main credit card, you will get a notification when it hits a certain value. It will help you stay on top of your spending and make sure you don’t incur any unexpected charges.
• Save a percentage of every paycheck by choosing an account to monitor, how much of your paycheck you want to save, and an account to send that transfer to, no math or individual transfer setup is required. The process can help you build up your savings so you don’t have to worry about the future.

Some of the ways to set up transfers are based on income or transaction volume, while others are more standardized and of fixed amounts. Astra’s payment solutions are designed to be as convenient and secure as possible, so you can rest assured that your money is in safe hands. The platform is flexible and robust and whatever you are looking to do with the management of your cash, there is a good chance Astra can help.

Is Astra a Good Way to Automate your Money?

• If you want to start saving with clever routines, but don’t want to set up another bank account, Astra is a great option.
• It won’t be a good fit if you want to handle cash flow and individual investments in a single application. It’s best for people who want to manage their investments across multiple accounts.

Is Astra Federally Insured?

Money can be moved between financial accounts with the help of the Astra platform. With just a few clicks, users can transfer funds quickly and securely. Although you are able to save money in the Astra application itself which is not specifically FDIC insured, we highly recommend that users connect savings and checking accounts with the opportunity to collect interest (high yielding savings accounts can often be set up online without having to go to a bank) and should keep most of their funds in those institutions.

How much does Astra cost?

Powerful financial tools should be available to all, regardless of income level. Astra’s work is driven by her commitment to providing financial freedom for all. Astra is completely free to use, but each transfer may be less than $1,000. Money can be sent to friends and family in a safe and secure way. There is no limit on the total assets transferred.

What’s new with Astra?

As a young company, Astra is constantly rolling out new features and functions. New features will be brought in the future.

Some of their most recent features include:

• With higher transfer limits, you can move up to $1,000 per transfer in as little as 2 business days.
• A routine that automatically moves a percentage of an incoming payment to another account is called Percentage Based Transfers.
• You can fund your savings goals with creative routines from your financial accounts. Track your progress towards each goal with real-time updates so you can stay on top of your savings.
• Money can be moved from one account to another on a set schedule. Ensuring that you’re always on top of your finances and don’t miss important payments is something this can help with.

Pros and Cons of Astra

Pros

• Universally works across a wide range of institutions
• Allows you to use clever routines to automate the flow of funds between accounts
• Free for everyone!
• Intuitive mobile experience

Cons

• Only works in the U.S. This offer is only for customers in the United States, and may not be available outside of the country. with depository accounts
• Can’t use it to pay bills

Is Astra worth it?

Astra is free to use for everyone, and at that price, there is a lot to like. It also offers great customer support. The universal approach to consumer finance means that you can keep the banking relationships and accounts that you already have, but use modern automation to make those accounts interact in a seamless and intuitive way. It is possible to make informed financial decisions while still controlling your finances.

If you are just looking for a way to view all of your financial accounts in one place without hopping from one app to another or you are looking to automate some of your financial transfers, Astra can definitely help and the price is hard to beat. Even if you’re new to managing your money, it can provide a great starting point with a variety of features and services.

We did a test-drive of the app and loved it. We recommend Astra Finance for anyone looking to manage their finances better. Think it is a great idea. I’m really looking forward to this project. Being able to automate your finances across accounts using one app, gives you more opportunities to save.