The fast-growing Fintech helps customers build wealth over time by learning about their income and spending habits to automate personalised financial decisions for each individual.

According to the Bank of Ireland Saving and Investment Index for Q2 2020, more than half (51%) of people in Ireland saved money regularly in the last 12 months, but 47% felt they weren’t saving as much as they would like to*. Furthermore, saving has increased during the COVID-19 outbreak as spending dropped by around 45% during the height of the Irish lockdown**.

In these fast-changing circumstances, Plum offers an alternative to traditional money management by using APIs made available by the EU’s PSD2 regulations to make the process of saving easy and effortless. Irish customers can link accounts to Plum from four major banks (Bank of Ireland, PTSB, AIB and Ulsterbank) as well as digital bank Revolut Ireland. Once linked, Plum’s AI kicks into action and starts setting aside small amounts every few days, depending on what the customer can afford. The money can be withdrawn from Plum anytime with no limits or charges, and is sent back to the bank for them to process within five minutes.

Irish customers will also be able to subscribe to Plum’s premium tier, Plum Pro, which offers extra features that help customers be better off even more quickly for €2 per month. In addition to saving rules like the 52 Week Challenge and Rainy Days, which stashes extra when it rains, Pro subscribers can save into multiple customisable pockets. By the end of 2020, Irish customers will be able to get Cashback when they buy from certain retailers as part of a Pro subscription. Plum’s investment platform will be available in Ireland in the first half of 2021.

The company’s launch in Ireland comes at the end of a year that saw Plum reach many major milestones, including raising its biggest round of funding yet ($10m) in July. Lifetime funding in the company now stands at $19.3m. The app now has more than one million sign ups, and aims to reach 5 million more across Europe by the end of 2021. Launches in France and Spain are coming in the following months, with further European expansion planned for 2021.

Victor Trokoudes, co-founder and CEO of Plum, comments: “The people of Ireland already know how important it is to save. But they face the same problems we all do across Europe — a rapidly changing financial landscape with an increased need for long-term financial resilience. We built Plum to tackle that, and make sure your money management is automated and looked after for the future. Plum’s intelligence makes it the perfect partner in fast-changing circumstances, something we’ve seen more profoundly during the COVID-19 outbreak as Plum automatically stashed more money in response to a drop in spending. We’re really excited to be landing in the Republic of Ireland and helping even more people be better off over their lifetime!”