Penny
Penny is a “smart” savings bot that chats with you via text about your monthly spending habits — kind of like if your mom had access to your bank account. Last week Penny texted me to say, “You went to the movies four times last month and spent an average of $30 on each visit.”
The “chatbot,” programmed to mimic text conversation, offers an interactive alternative to more static overviews in apps like Mint and Qapital. Within the app’s chat feature, Penny breaks down account activity by category over different time periods to show spending habits, including average daily spending and recurring purchases like bills and subscriptions.
PennyShe gets “smarter” the more you use the app, and can tell you facts like whether you spent more at Starbucks or Peet’s Coffee this month, how much on average you spend on lunch, and what bills you could cut out to save money. Penny keeps up on the news, too — after the recent Wells Fargo scandal, she prompted me to check my accounts since I bank with the company.
Unlike Qapital or Acorns, Penny doesn't touch any payments but simply explains existing activity to the user. The app is free for now and raised $1.2 million in funding this year, but says on its website it will eventually have to charge users so it can make a profit. She is a cute personal finance assistant that helps users get an overview of their spending habits, but many consumers may prefer to opt for a more comprehensive budgeting service, even if it doesn't talk back.
