Plum Review

How does Plum work?

Automatic Deposits

• Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and automatically stashes it away for you.
• The app shows you an overview of your finances and analyses your spending to help you keep track of your money.
• Plum has some fun deposit features - Round Ups, Pay Days, 52-Week Saving Challenge, and Rainy Day Savings Rule. With the Rainy Days Savings Rule, Plum will set aside extra cash automatically, based on how many days it was forecast to rain in the area where you live over the course of the previous week.
• If you feel the app is putting away too much or too little, you can always adjust the amount.

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Automatic Investments

• Please note: As with all investments, your capital is at risk.
• When you subscribe to Plum Plus or Plum Pro (from £1 a month), you can choose to invest your money in a variety of funds.
• Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and invests that amount automatically.
• You choose your investments based on what matters to you. For example, you could choose to invest in emerging markets as well as technology, ethical, American, British or European companies.
• The risk level of each portfolio is shown with the 'chilli emoji' - and it goes up to 8 chillies.
• Money is invested in funds provided by established fund managers such as Vanguard and Legal & General.
• You can invest either through a Stocks and Shares ISA or a General Investment Account.
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  ‍Minimum ISA Deposit
  £1‍
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  Charges
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  Subscription Fee: £1 per month (first month free)
  ‍Annual Investment Cost: 0.48% (average)
  ‍Trading Fee: £0
  ‍Exit Fee: £0

Personal Pension (beta)

• Please note: As with all investments, your capital is at risk. You usually can't access the money in your pension pot until you are 55 years old (increases to 57 in 2028), when you can take 25% as a tax-free lump sum.
• Plum recently launched a public beta of its automatic pension product.
• The Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP) allows you to consolidate existing pensions in one place and invest in a choice of risk-managed or diversified global funds.
• Plum calculates how much you can afford to set aside and stashes that amount in your pension automatically.
• You can invest your pension savings based on your current age and target retirement date.
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  Charges
  
  ‍Subscription Fee: £0 (you do not need to subscribe to Plum Plus or Plum Pro to use the pension product)
  Product Provider Fee: 0.45% per year
  Fund management Fee: 0.25% per year (Average)

Automatic Utility Switch

• Plum identifies if you're overpaying on bills and can switch you to a better supplier automatically.  ️
• By referencing your outgoings against, e.g. utility tariffs in your area, the app ensures that you're not overpaying for things like gas or electricity.

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Smart Budgeting

• Plum makes managing your money easier. A total overview of your finances lets you track your regular payments and expenses to manage your budget better.
• Additional diagnostics tools contextualise your spending to help you keep track of your money, even allowing you to anonymously benchmark your finances against other Plum users with similar profiles.

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How much does Plum cost?

It’s free to download the app, set money aside using automatic deposits and Round Ups, withdraw as often as you like, and switch your bills with Plum. 

If you're interested in automatic investments or want to earn interest on your savings, Plum Plus or Plum Pro might be for you.

Plum Plus: £1/month (first month free)

Plum Pro: £2.99/month (first month free)

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Is Plum regulated by the FCA?

Yes, to carry out payment services activities.

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Does Plum connect to my bank account?

Yes, to personalise the amount Plum puts aside for you. Plum also uses the information on your incomings and outgoings to identify when you are being overcharged on utility bills. The app requires read-only access to your bank account through open banking.

Is Plum safe?

Your money is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) up to a maximum of £85,000. This means you can get your money back if Plum were to go bust. Note that the FSCS does not cover losses arising from the performance of any of your investments.

Can you withdraw money from Plum?

You can withdraw at any time, but it takes around 7 working days to sell your investments on your behalf and transfer the money back to your Plum account.

Does Plum have a referral scheme?

Yes. Earn £15 for every three successful referrals. Download the app and use the 'invite' tab in the Plum app to share your referral code.

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How do I get the Plum app?

Visit Plum's website here.

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Tags: Open Banking App; Best Budgeting Apps UK; Automatic Savings Apps; Automatic Investment Apps