This innovative, AI-powered money manager is a fully automated and intelligent solution that keeps money in the customer's Plum account earning interest, then streams a personalised weekly spending amount back to their bank account. Customers maximise their return while having an automatic budget set for them that is realistic and enforceable.

As the UK begins to open up and move out of the latest COVID-19 lockdown, the focus will be on how to keep building financial resilience as opportunities to spend return. A recent survey of Plum’s customer base found that 55% had saved more than usual during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, but an even larger number (60%) stated that they wish to continue saving more than they had previously once lockdown ends*. Plum’s Money Maximiser aims to make this easily achievable by replacing traditional budgeting methods with smart automation.

Money Maximiser’s AI works by scanning customer income and outgoings on payday, taking into account salary, balance, bills, subscriptions and Plum savings. The Maximiser calculates the available money the customer has to spend until the next payday, or ‘True Balance’, which is automatically divided up into a weekly amount with a suggested daily spend limit. The AI ensures that this amount is perfectly suited to that customer’s individual earnings and bills. The first weekly amount stays in the customer’s main account, ready to be spent over the next 7 days. The rest of the money is moved immediately to a FSCS-protected Plum Pocket where it starts earning interest at 0.40%.

With the majority of the ‘True Balance’ money tucked away in a separate Plum account, it makes the customer less likely to overspend, but they are still able to access their money easily in an emergency. It guarantees that spending money for the rest of the month is always earning interest securely and being maximised while it is not being spent. It is also flexible and intuitive, as the weekly amount can be edited on a week-by-week basis if the customer knows they will spend more that week, or automatically recalculated if the customer overspends**.

Money Maximiser is now available for all Plum customers as part of the company’s new Ultra subscription, which costs £4.99 p/m. Plum has three paid subscription tiers alongside its basic free platform designed with different profiles in mind:

• Plum Basic (free), for those new to saving: Automatic limitless savings, roundups, pay day savings, bill switching, 0.25% interest and FSCS protection.
• Plum Plus (£1 p/m), for investors: All Basic features + access to Plum’s investment platform and interest at 0.4%.
• Plum Pro (£2.99 p/m), for serious wealth building: All Basic and Plus features + unlimited interest pockets, saving challenges, diagnostics, cashback.
• Plum Ultra (£4.99 p/m), for ultimate automated money management: All Basic, Plus and Pro features + Money Maximiser and better cashback rates.

Plum is Europe’s ultimate money management app, with more than 1.5m customers. The company has noted a boom in savings and investments during the past 12 months, as COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have curbed spending for many people and Plum automatically saved more for them. Plum had saved more than $500m for customers by the end of 2020 and expects to have saved $1.5m across Europe by end of 2021***.

Victor Trokoudes, co-founder and CEO of Plum comments: “Keeping the savings habit going once the UK opens back up is going to be a big challenge. However it’s clear to us that many people have seen this period as an opportunity to do things differently. We’re very proud to be launching the Money Maximiser right now, to help people stay on track with their goals. It is a unique, active alternative to traditional financial planning and budgeting tools. It not only organises your finances, but actually does the hard work of saving for you by making sure your money is maximised when it’s not being spent. With Plum Ultra we’ve effectively realised our ultimate money management system, tailored to individual, modern-day needs. It’s spend management, saving and investing all wrapped up in one neat package, for the cost of a pint.”