Plum savings app

[surlycurly]

Morning... was just wondering if anyone is using this? Would love to hear your experiences...

I'd love to use something like this but I cannot imagine the data breach of having random app access to all my savings and stuff, one hacker could get everything.

Clearly a downside with all online banking apps!!! From what I can gather they take money using the direct debit system so you're protected by the direct debit guarantee system.

I love it. Saved £2k in six months. The app is intuitive, their customer service is great. I don't have data/hacking concerns n they've covered by all that they need to be. I wouldn't be without it now.

Yep I've been using it for about 3 months, I'm on a low income but have still managed to save nearly £500, it's brilliant!

Wow sounds great. Could either of you give me a we summary of how it works? Does it have a monthly cost?

I've been using it since this time last year, in that time I've saved over a grand. Spent bits here an there but overall I am saving. .

You sign up to plum and link it to your bank account. You set the 'mood' of how you want to save. Balanced, ambitious or beast mode. Plum uses algorithms to calculate how much you can afford to save weekly. It sends you a message to let you know everytime it is going to take money out of your acc. They have a website and are backed or approved by a lot of recognised agencies.

You can pause savings too and withdrawing is really quick. Usually they say next working day but sometimes it quicker.

Only pain is the banking system they use is something like Sweden so their transaction processes are affected by their bank holidays etc. Not a huge issue.

If you have an overdraft you can set it so plum won't save calculating that as disposable cash.

There is a plum users fb page for all things plum. If you fancy signing up I can send you a sign up link. I only need one more refferal

Oh an no costs! There is a investment feature that takes a fee but that's an option and not needed. Plum is still growing and bringing in new features all the time

It also categorises your spending so you can see roughly what your outgoings look like. Its very user friendly imo

Hahahahaha @FlorencesHunger that sounds great! Send away with the link!

Ah so I've downloaded it but when it comes to connecting my bank account, I've bottled it!!!

I did that surly. Got to the connecting point and ran away lol

I have never heard of Plum before and have done some googling:

It's not backed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
It says: "FSCS was created to protect consumers against the risk posed by banks lending out their deposits. ... Savings with Plum are held as “e-money” in protected bank accounts protected by the electronic money regulation. Because Plum is not a bank and savings with Plum are held as “e-money”, FSCS cover does not apply to us."

I have no idea what that means. If they are taking deposits I would think they should be in the Scheme.

Per Money saving expert:
"Plum deposits your money into a wallet operated by MangoPay, an EU-regulated financial institution. Any money you save with Plum is held in a Barclays instant-access savings account. This means that if Plum were to go bust, you’d be able to recover your money from Barclays.

However, if Barclays were to go under, your money may NOT be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, so you could lose your cash – you need to decide if you’re happy to take the risk."

They are also, as far as I can see, not regulated by the FCA. This is the latest info I can find:

"Plum is currently not independently registered with the FCA, but in the final stages of applying for a registration as an Account Information Service Provider. ... Plum works with regulated payments institutions, and is itself registered with the FCA as an appointed representative for two of its partners." (info dated March 2019)

Again, I'm not at all clear what that means. I personally wouldn't touch it until it got it's independent registration.

surlycurly

'Ah so I've downloaded it but when it comes to connecting my bank account, I've bottled it!!!*

That's OK , there are other saving type apps that might appeal to you more can't remember names but they have been around longer and might have more street cred than plum.

I haven't got the app as its not available on android yet. Do some independant research maybe on money saving expert, you might find other ways to save that way too.

I have honestly not had an issue with it.

It's got good reviews on the app and online. The others, eg moneybox etc, all look pretty similar tbh. It's just the idea of the actual handing over of my bank details.

I would be careful about linking things to my bank account. Go with your gut.

Sounds a bit like Chip, but I don't think that's regulated either. I think it's supported by Barclays though.

Pretty sure it's fine I have family members who have been using it for a year. It's just the thought of giving my login and password that worries me.

It asks you to give out the login and password to your bank account?
No wonder First Direct told a pp that it was against their terms and conditions.

Thanks! Just been talking to a friend who uses it, and another who uses moneybox and everyone seems positive about it.

.. or I read that somewhere else on another forum.

Seriously people - never give your bank account password out!

If they are operating via your password, as if they were you, that is completely different from a direct debit, backed by the direct debit guarantee system.

Been using it for about 8 months and I love it. I have never managed to save anything before but saved £800 in 4 months without even really noticing. So that was my holiday spends. Now I'm back up to £280 towards new kitchen stuff and Xmas. I save in beast mode and also add the extra odd amount between £15-50

These things all seem fine - until something goes wrong. Then you are up a gum tree with no protection. The regulatory system and compensations schemes are there for a reason.

And would you hand your PIN number and card to a stranger?
That is what you are doing by handing over your bank details, password and login. Is that really how this scheme works?

You don't hand over your password

KurriKawari Phew - thank goodness! Thanks for clarifying - I couldn't believe I was reading that.

To clarify it doesn't ask for your bank details directly you link your bank account by logging in to your account. It's like a direct debit request via bank log in.all it gets is data/numbers. It does not have any access to your personal bank details.