What is Plum?

With Plum, you can connect all your bank accounts and credit cards and get a clear overview of your money in one place. This can help you manage your income, spending and debt and make any spare money work harder for you.

Plum also provides a flexible way of saving small amounts of money towards savings targets that you set, in a manner of your choosing. You can also save for the medium- and long-term using an Individual Savings Account (ISA) and personal pension, known as a SIPP or Self-Invested Personal Pension.

Is Plum safe?

Yes, Plum is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which protects your money up to a maximum of £85,000 per person, per banking institution.

The app supports face and fingerprint ID and uses 256-bit TLS encryption to keep all your details secure. It is also authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is the UK’s personal finance and money watchdog.

Can Plum help me save?

Plum offers an Instant Access account which enables you to save, but also to access your money and withdraw it whenever you want.

Plum also offers a savings account which is an Easy Access Interest Pocket provided by Investec Bank and currently pays up to 0.4% AER (or 0.25% with a basic account). You need to give one day’s notice in order to access the money that is in this account, but there is no withdrawal fee.

The interest rate you get depends on your subscription level. Everyone gets a Primary Plum Pocket (savings account). The better rates of interest (up to 0.4% AER) are available to Plum Plus (£1 per month subscription), Plum Pro (£2.99 per month) and Plum Ultra (£4.99 per month) subscribers.

The paid-for subscriptions have extra features like savings challenges, including altering your savings goals depending on your mood. You can also access games and support to help you save.

Can Plum help me invest?

Plum enables you to invest in the stock market or a pension and you can start with as little as £1.

For example, Plum offers a feature called the Weekly Depositor which lets you arrange a balance transfer for a set amount each week. The aim is to get you into the habit of saving regularly.

You can also choose to invest in the stock market. You have the choice of either a Stocks & Shares ISA or a General Investment Account. Remember that, unlike a simple savings account, an investment in the stock market can rise and fall and you may not get back all of the capital that you initially invested. On the other hand, shares are better at beating inflation over the long term than cash savings accounts. You can also invest in a pension called a SIPP.

Can Plum help me budget?

Plum enables you to save money on your bills because it can show you where you are overpaying and helps you switch to a better deal.

You can get an overview of all your spending and savings, your bills and your credit card debts, all in one place. You can also track your spending in real-time, which is handy if you want to know exactly where your money goes each day, or how much you have got in your bank account and on your credit card at any one time.

It analyses your bills like gas and electricity and looks to see if you might be paying too much. Then it sends you a notification, asks if you would like to switch, and organises the switch for you.

How much does Plum cost?

It is free to sign up to Plum, but there are additional subscription services if you want extra support and features. 

How does Plum work?

When you first log onto Plum you will need to give your name and address and link your bank account to the Plum app.

Some people might wonder why Plum needs to access your bank details. This is because it uses the information from your current account spending to make automatic savings deposits for you. It also means Plum is able to identify where you are being overcharged – for example, if you are spending too much on a utility bill.

By linking your bank account, Plum can create a direct debit which you can use to deposit money into your Plum account.

You need to give permission for Plum to look at your bank account, view your transactions and work out whether you are overpaying on bills and how much you can afford to save.

By clicking the “Allow” permissions, the Plum app will take you directly to the login page of your own current bank account.

Plum is run by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm which automates deposits and helps you build up a savings nest egg over time.

Does my bank link to Plum?

When you set up a Plum account via the Plum app (available in the App Store), you will first need to link to a current account.

Most, but not all banks can be linked to Plum. The banks that Plum currently supports are:

Barclays, Danske Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, M&S, Monzo, Nationwide, NatWest, Revolut, RBS, Santander, Bank of Scotland, Starling, Tesco, TSB and Ulster Bank.

Plum can also give you an overview of your money by linking to your credit card. The credit cards that are linked to Plum are:

Amex, Barclaycard, Capital One, MBNA, TransferWise and Virgin.

Can I link my business account to Plum?

Business accounts are not supported by Plum. It is only for personal current accounts. In addition, Plum does not support Channel Island banks.

Can I use Plum if I have a joint bank account?

Joint accounts can be used as additional accounts alone. Plum cannot make auto deposits from them yet.