Juggling expenses, income, debt, and funding desirable endeavors can be daunting and confusing, especially in times of uncertainty. We just want our money to work for us, without us having to be on top of our finances constantly. Making money work for us implies that we allocate it in systems that allow money to grow, rather than stagnate in a bank account. 

Just as Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, states, “It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for.”

Typically, we grow our money by sending capital funds to financial institutions that exercise expertise in investing, trading, and purchasing appreciating assets. This is referred to as smart money, where financial institutions have control over our capital investments, with the aim of developing our wealth. However, technology today enables us to monitor and manage our finances through applications focused on financial technology.

There are ways that this can be achieved on an individual basis, however growing our wealth requires extensive knowledge of markets, and an understanding of financial literacy. Doing so demands ample time and effort that some cannot afford due to rigorous daily schedules, and balancing social and professional aspects of life. 

Today, the rise of financial technology, fintech, helps us keep an eye on our spending habits and helps steer us towards our financial goals. The rise of fintech is becoming increasingly prominent. 73% of financial sector executives believe that fintech is disrupting consumer banking, according to a PwC publication.

Fintech simplifies our personal finance management processes as it leverages technology to offer more accessible, convenient, and often lower-cost financial services. This enabled the development of a range of innovative products and services, such as mobile payment apps, robo-advisors, peer-to-peer lending platforms, and digital banks. The increasing use of big data and artificial intelligence in fintech has allowed for more personalized and data-driven financial services, creating favorable developments for individuals.

These technological advances paved the way for innovation in consumer banking. One such innovation is Plum Fintech, a Cypriot founded, London based money management app that was founded in 2017 by Victor Trokoudes. He boasts broad experience in finance, from trading floors, to driving TransferWise’s overseas expansion from when it was just at its start-up phase, to ultimately founding Plum. 

In an interview with Endeavor Greece, Trokoudes recalled how his father encouraged him to be cautious with his finances and to seek methods to invest. Although this principle is generally preached by all, following this principle is challenging, and oftentimes complicated. When Trokoudes connected with Plum’s co-founder, Alex Michail, they discussed how they wanted to have better control over their personal finances, and wanted to keep it simple.

Thus was born the idea for Plum, and they launched a messenger-bot in 2016, keeping individuals informed on their current account balance. As 2017 approached, they realized they had to adjust the way the information was shared with consumers, and so began the development of Plum’s app, moving away from a chat-bot approach. 

The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the need for personal finance management, and it gave way to Plum’s rapid growth. This rising need can be seen in the household saving rate in Europe. Prior to the pandemic, the household saving rate was consistently under 13%. Then, as the pandemic hit, it spiked up to 25%, only to steadily decrease to 15% in 2022. 

Consequently, in July 2020, Plum succeeded in raising $10 million through Global Brain, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and VentureFriends to provide a more holistic money management experience to its users, and expand to new countries. It can be inferred that people were enthusiastic to travel and spend again, losing interest in saving. However, in relation to rising interest rates and inflation rates, there have been a multitude of cautionary tales hinting at people's need to save and invest. 

Today, Plum’s multi-award winning app uses AI to help their 1.6 million users across Europe navigate their bills, save money, and invest, enabling them to set aside approximately €1.7 billion across all users since its inception. In January 2023, Plum expanded its reach further to an additional five European countries -Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands - which means it’s now present in 10 European markets. Plum users across Europe are now able to invest in stocks, and, due to Plum’s partnership with Bitpanda, users can buy cryptocurrencies as well.

Victor Trokoudes, Founder and CEO of Plum explains, “Bringing Plum to Cyprus was personally important to me, as a born and raised Cypriot. I feel very proud to come back to my home country with a product that can help my fellow citizens build their wealth over the long-term.

As the need for long-term financial resilience has never been more important, people need tools to help them ensure that their money management is automated and works for their future.

Our presence in Cyprus will continue to grow as we are committed to empower Cypriot users with a complete money toolkit, giving motivation to their money and helping them take control of their finances through automation.”

Returning to his roots, Plum’s CEO is looking to help Cypriots develop financial resilience with Plum. Combatting political and financial uncertainty for the past decade, Cypriots now have a simpler solution to their personal challenges. Plum can connect to an individuals’ bank accounts to gather their weekly transactions, and move them to a Plum-managed ‘wallet’. Users can also automate their savings by allowing the app to set an amount aside based on their income and expenses. Plum also offers users the ability to invest in and trade stocks, helping them grow their finances. 

Plum recently won “Best Personal Finance App” in the highly prestigious British Bank Awards. According to TechCrunch’s senior writer, Romain Dillet, “Plum could become a financial hub that lets you access several features and services. Unlike many consumer fintech startups, it doesn’t try to replace your bank account. It acts as a companion app and a sort of mini marketplace.”