After a Decade Designing for Global Brands, He Built a Finance App That Doesn’t Touch Your Bank Data
Toheeb Popoola didn’t set out to be a founder. For more than a decade he solved problems with design at Publicis Groupe, DDB, X3M Ideas, Vibra One, Deposits Inc, and most recently Bybit, the crypto exchange with over 60 million users. But a recurring frustration nudged him in a different direction.
“I kept trying to get a handle on my money,” he says. “I’d download a budgeting app and the first thing it asked for was my bank login. I just want to track what I’m spending. Why do you need access to my entire financial life to let me do that?”
He couldn’t find an app that fit. So he built one.
An app that says no to your bank
Trackii is a personal finance app for freelancers, gig workers, and 9-to-5ers. What sets it apart is what it won’t do: it never asks you to connect your bank account. No Plaid, no open banking, no third-party access to statements. You enter transactions manually.
That might sound old-school, but for Toheeb it’s purposeful. “Freelancers don’t earn like people with regular jobs,” he says. “Money comes from three or four clients at different times. Most budgeting apps assume one salary landing in one account on the same day each month. That’s not how it works for us.”
Trackii supports income from multiple sources, lets you set and manage budgets by category, and shows spending through an analytics dashboard. Cheddar, its built-in AI advisor, analyzes the data you enter and gives personalized guidance but it never sees your bank statements.
Built by one designer, engineered by AI
Toheeb is a designer, not an engineer. He holds an MSc in 3D Design for Virtual Environments and a UX Design certificate; his toolkit includes Figma, Cinema 4D, and the Adobe suite. He tried no-code platforms first but needed finer control, so he used an AI-assisted development tool — Claude Code, from Anthropic — to turn his designs into a working Flutter app. He wrote the product spec, designed the UI and design system, defined Cheddar’s behavior, and directed the AI to generate the code.
“People hear ‘AI built it’ and imagine a single prompt and a finished product,” he says. “That’s not how it works. You still need to know what you’re building, why it should behave that way, and the exact details. The AI executes at your pace.”
Why “no bank data” matters
Toheeb’s security argument is simple: if you never hand over bank credentials, they can’t be leaked or sold. In markets where trust in fintech is fragile, that’s a compelling stance. Manual entry also captures cash payments, mobile-money transfers, and split income sources that automated syncing often misses.
Early traction
Trackii is live on iOS (Apple App Store); Android is coming soon. Early metrics are promising: the app converts about 40% of App Store visitors into downloads (industry average: 15–30%), and roughly 1 in 13 users convert to paid within the first week. The sample is small, but early retention among paying users has held so far.
A product shaped by dual perspectives
Now based in the UK, Toheeb builds from global hubs while staying connected to Nigerian experiences that shaped his thinking: distrust of sharing bank credentials, irregular income patterns, and a mix of digital and cash payments. The result looks like a global-quality finance app with product decisions rooted in lived experience.
Trackii is available on the Apple App Store. For press or partnerships, contact Toheeb at [email protected]
