Linked to individual Facebook accounts, Plynk users can send money as a message to a single contact or in group chats instantly and with no fees. Once a Plynk account is created, users receive a dedicated IBAN and virtual Mastercard for online payments. In addition, the application plans to integrate with both Apple and Android Pay, enabling users to spend their money across multiple outlets.

Plynk was developed at the Bank of Ireland startup Workbench in Grand Canal Square, and was soft-launched in January with EUR725,000 in seed funding from the Irish bank alongside Delta Partners, Enterprise Ireland, NDRC and a number of angel investors.

Plynk has so far picked up 6,000 users across Android and iOS within the Irish market and has plans to expand further into Europe with eyes on Spain and Portugal next.

Says Dowd: “Our growth plan is simple: ‘become a verb, in every European language.’ Over 2017, we will use this secured funding to expand into new markets as well as add GBP to our platform. Hiring will also be a priority, adding more team members to continue development on our core product and to build more features unique to the social payments industry.”

Now a team of eight, Plynk has over 20 roles in engineering and growth to fill in the next 18 months.

“The intersection between social and payments is an exciting area because there is still a customer need," says Dowd. "Today sending a photo, video, or chat to a friend has become second nature to students, graduates and young adults. With Plynk, users send money to a name, not an account number. This turns a normally formal and uncomfortable task into a transparent, instant, social interaction. This is the change we are looking to make.”