PFM is far from dead — Penny App
It isn’t hard to find broad declarations that the PFM (Personal Finance Management) space is dead. Some will point to examples such as Mint.com and Level Money as being peak exit scenarios, while others will highlight all the numerous bank-driven failures. To be honest, it has been a while since I’ve come across a PFM that was compelling enough for me to want to link up all my accounts, set up notifications, and actively monitor my transactions; it seemed as though everyone wants to build the next Mint.com, instead of the next PFM.
Which is why when I first gave Penny a download, I was blown away at how unique the experience was. The key to a successful PFM is a unique combination of delight + utility (as with anything really…). Consumers now expect a lot more out of an mobile app experience, and the best way to exceed expectations is surprising through design. The bar has been set pretty low by existing financial institutions that a focus on design-driven development will go a extremely long way. PFM’s have gone from being “overview” driven (e.g. simply connecting all my bank accounts in a centralized manner) to being more “insight” driven, even to the point of being prescriptive/active (e.g. Digit actually moving money in and out of my account).
The new hotness in the valley seems to be messaged-based applications (e.g. Magic, Luka, Carla, etc), but this is the first time I’ve seen a completely message-driven PFM in a native app. Digit was one of the first apps I’ve actually used to implement a text-based mechanism to help me save money; there are significant benefits to being completely texted based including seamless onboarding (just need a phone number), a familiar end-user interaction model, ease of update as there is no app to update on the user side, etc. That being said, a picture is still worth a thousand words, particularly when it comes to simplifying a complicated financial insights, and that can still only be delivered through a mobile app for custom graphics (at least, cost effectively I think…)
My favorite features for Penny by far are the tailored charts that offer insight into my current spending habits and best of all, how my current projected spending compares against the past. Penny does a few things, but the key is that it does them extremely well and in a manner that is surprisingly pleasant (when was the last time you opened an application and though “wow this is cool” while looking at money you’ve spent way over budget??) The app is full of design-surprises and I really enjoy how the text based decision tree logic gives the semblance of choice/open-world to the user when in fact the boundaries are quite well defined.
Penny itself (herself?) is also surprisingly….pleasant to talk to! Alex and Mitchell have done an amazing job at hitting the right tone for communicating complicated and confusing financial concepts in a friendly, but secure, manner for both millennials and millennials alike (no more yo’s and dude’s please…) It’s also one of the more unique Plaid integrations that I’ve seen in a while, which is really cool :) Great example of abstracting away complexity through design from both a UI and UX perspective. Give it a download, yo.
