In a time of increasing inflation and rising costs of living, people around the world are increasingly looking for ways to save money on their daily expenses. Fortunately, many startups are developing solutions to solve this problem and help people better manage their personal finances.
These companies use technologies like AI and ML and leverage behavioral and data science to provide affordable alternatives to traditional services and help consumers get more value for money.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the startups that can help you save money and live more frugally. Apps that help you build better financial habits, paying off debt and eliminating unnecessary spending, these startups are looking to change the game when it comes to personal finance.
Our list is constantly growing, so please contact us and let us know your suggestions at (email protected)
Country: United Kingdom/Greece
What theyre doing: Plum is a smart app that uses artificial intelligence to help its users manage their finances. Greek entrepreneur and Harvard economics graduate Victor Troukoudes founded the company in 2017.
Plum’s app analyzes its users’ banking transactions and advises them on how much they can save or invest each month. Through its AI-powered saving and investing tools, which streamline the process of building and diversifying its clients’ portfolio, Plum has enabled its clients to save and invest a total of 1, £2 billion.
Country: Czech Republic
What theyre doing: Patron is an app with advanced AI and ML solutions that can detect unnecessarily high costs in a customer’s bank account and offer them the best solution.
Founded in 2020, the startup aims to make financial management stress-free and streamlined, and has over 40,000 users to date.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Digit is a personalized savings app that automates the daily work of managing all personal finances, including banking, saving, budgeting, investing and retirement.
Launched in 2015, the app uses machine learning to scan its customers’ linked bank account every day, access their spending habits and balance, then automatically withdraw any money they can save and deposit it into their Digit savings or retirement account. According to the company, the app has saved its members more than $7 billion to date.
Country: Sweden/United States
What theyre doing: Qapital is an app designed to help individuals and couples save, invest and spend by integrating financial planning into their daily lives.
The app combines behavioral science and the power of automation and allows users to set savings goals and use Qapital’s savings rules to transform almost any activity, such as shopping or write social media posts, into a savings trigger to automatically save money.
The app has over two million members and has so far helped them collectively save over $3 billion.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Long Game is a gamified finance mobile app that aims to help people save, learn and engage with their finances. The startup seeks to increase bank customer engagement by using casual games to motivate smart financial behaviors and better financial habits. The app also offers financial education games through which players can earn prizes and “coins” to learn about finance.
Long Game’s products are built around prize-linked savings, a concept where someone puts money into a savings vehicle for a chance to win money. Founded in 2015, Long Game was acquired last year by Truist, the sixth largest bank in the United States.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Qoins is an automated micropayment platform that helps people use their currency and pay off debt faster. The app asks users to link the accounts they use to make purchases, then round to the nearest dollar and deposit that difference into their account on the app.
According to the company, while there are many apps focused on building wealth, there are only a few solutions that help combat debt and develop healthy financial habits, and this is one of the main objectives of Qoin. Founded in 2016, the app has so far helped its customers pay off over $30 million in debt.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Mint is an app that helps its users organize and monitor their accounts in one place. Users can connect all of their different bank and credit card accounts, in addition to any loans and investments they have as well.
The app also helps users track their expenses and categorize them into budget categories. Users can also set limits for these categories, and the app lets them know if they are approaching these limits. Mint also helps its users pay off debt and save money by providing them with information about their financial habits.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Acorns is a micro-investing platform that allows customers to gather change from their everyday purchases and invest those sub-dollar amounts into a professionally managed portfolio of index funds.
Users can connect any credit or debit card and a checking account to the platform, then spend money as they usually do and watch your wallet grow with the market. The app also allows its users to invest any amount, at any time, with no commissions or minimums.
Founded in 2012, the app raised $300 million in a Series F funding round last year that brought a 2 billion dollars assessment for the company.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Billed as the mobile banking app for Gen Z, Pluto Money combines behavioral economics and AI to guide Gen Z toward their financial goals starting in college and beyond. The app analyzes its users’ finances to create a personalized and fun financial plan consisting of various money-saving challenges.
Founded in 2016, Pluto Money also allows its users to anonymously compare their finances with those of their peers, and also allows them to easily transfer their savings into the app and provides tips and tricks for adopting better financial habits .
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Earny is a personal assistant that automatically collects money for its users on almost every purchase they make. The app takes advantage of the price protection advantage offered by major credit card issuers and e-commerce stores.
The app automatically tracks its users’ online purchases, finds better prices, and files complaints on their behalf. Founded in 2015 and with total funding of $11.5 million so far, Earny aims to expand further into verticals such as hospitality and car rental.
The company is also working on new products such as live chat and voice-activated bots, as well as prototyping an ML service to optimize reimbursements and implementing a real-time streaming platform. real for messaging between robots.
Country: UNITED STATES
What theyre doing: Current is a financial technology company that offers its users a 4.00% annual percentage yield on up to $6,000 in savings, which exceeds the interest rates offered by many traditional banks.
Founded in 2015, the Current app offers a fully online banking service, offering multiple products in addition to various budgeting tools, like automating savings with roundups. Its main products are bank accounts and savings modules that earn a 4% APY and can hold up to $2,000.