Plum says customers can maximise their return by having an automatic budget set for them that is realistic and enforceable. It claims it can “replace traditional budgeting methods with smart automation”.

Plum is a savings and investment smartphone app and Money Maximiser is available as part of its Ultra subscription which costs £4.99 a month.

Money Maximiser’s artificial intelligence (AI) works by scanning users’ income and outgoings on payday, taking into account salary, balance, bills, subscriptions and Plum savings.

The Money 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 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 seven days. The rest of the money is moved immediately to a FSCS-protected ‘Plum Pocket’ where it earns interest at 0.40%.

The weekly spending 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 can also be paused at any time, which will transfer all the money from Plum back into the customer’s main account.

With the majority of the ‘True Balance’ money tucked away in a separate Plum account, Plum says this makes the customer less likely to overspend, but they are still able to access their money easily in an emergency.

Plum subscriptions

Plum has four subscription tiers:

• Plum Basic is free and aimed at people new to saving. It offers automatic limitless savings, roundups, pay day savings, bill switching, 0.25% interest and FSCS protection.
• Plum Plus is £1 a month and targeted at investors. It offers all the Basic features plus access to Plum’s investment platform and interest at 0.4%.
• Plum Pro is £2.99 a month. It includes all Basic and Plus features as well as unlimited ‘interest pockets’, saving challenges, diagnostics, and cashback.
• Plum Ultra is £4.99 a month. It includes all Basic, Plus and Pro features, and also Money Maximiser and enhanced cashback rates.

Victor Trokoudes, co-founder and CEO of Plum, said: “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.”