The international launch of Tandem in Singapore was equally adept at accentuating the personal. From the Indian ex-pat sending money to help pay for his parents’ new roof, to providing some not-too-tough love to a free-spending son newly at college, the Yodlee presentation succeeded in turning the abstraction of “financial circles” into something the average Mom, Dad, son or daughter can understand and appreciate.

• Tandem showed how it can help individuals and families manage those personal relationships that are also financial relationships. As the market for PFM solutions becomes more competitive, Yodlee’s demo based on regionally-familiar use cases helped distinguished the international launch of this new entrant to the field.

• Tandem is as attractive as any other personal finance management app on the market. But what helps to set the solution apart is its embrace of the “shared finances” concept. As Katy Gibson, VP of Applications, points out in our brief conversation below, managing shared finances “is something people all over the world have to do.” Tandem honors the privacy and sensitivity of those relationships while making it that much easier to negotiate them.

Katy Gibson: At its core, Tandem does something very simple – it makes it easier than ever to talk about and manage shared finances which is something people all over the world have to do. Financial relationships are different wherever you go, of course, but we’ve designed Tandem to be versatile and flexible so that it can accommodate international differences.

Gibson: Relationships to finances are very different than the general social relationships found in Facebook and Google+. When it comes to money, relationships are more private and more sensitive – and differ drastically between different people. Circles is the best convention to define those relationships. Separating relationships and their associated conversations and transactions into circles make them much easier to keep track of, maintain and define – especially when a large group of people is working on or talking about something at the same time.

Also, many of people’s financial relationships don’t overlap. So separate financial circles let you talk about and manage money very easily without sacrificing any privacy or security.

Gibson: It’s hard to pick just one!

Ultimately, because it’s to banks’ benefit to give their customers tools they love, that make their financial lives easier – which Tandem does in spades. Customers who feel supported by their bank stay loyal to their bank, so by offering a unique tool like Tandem, banks can keep their customers happy.

Also, the more customers use Tandem, the more insight banks gain into their financial habits and needs – who they manage their money with, how and why they’re spending money instead of just what they spend it on. So banks are able to present their customers with extraordinary relevant offerings across their entire range of products and solutions – which is great from a sales perspective, and once again increases loyalty by giving customers comprehensive, personalized support.

Gibson: We’re always innovating and looking for ways to make our products and services more powerful, and though we’re not ready to make any announcements at the moment, we look forward to surprising you with what’s next when we’re ready!