Buddy, the budgeting app for Gen Zers with 3M users worldwide, has integrated with Plaid, an open finance service provider, in order “to provide Buddy users with the ability to securely connect their financial accounts and automatically track their spending.”
Buddy claims it is “entirely bootstrapped and is one of the fastest-growing budgeting apps on the App Store for Gen Z, with 25,000 five-star ratings to date.”
Buddy currently “operates in 175 countries, and is currently one of the top ranking personal finance apps in the US and Canada.”
As noted in the update, Plaid’s open finance APIs enable Buddy’s users “to securely connect their financial accounts to the app which allows them to effortlessly monitor their account balances and expenses all from one place.”
On the Buddy app, users “can easily track their spending, understand their habits and increase their financial visibility, helping them to make smarter, more informed financial decisions.”
With this integration, Buddy’s users will “have the option to automate their savings without having to input their spending manually; however this is still an option if users choose to do so.”
The open-finance integration will “provide users with a more comprehensive and personalized view of their finances.”
Olle Lind, Buddy Founder and CEO comments:
“Budgeting apps have become increasingly important among Gen Z and Buddy is making it convenient and joyful to manage their finances. By using apps like Buddy, younger generations can gain better control over their finances and make more informed decisions, helping them to develop healthy financial habits that will serve them well in the future. By teaming up with Plaid, we are making this process quicker and more painless than ever before, helping millions across the world budget and plan for the future they want and deserve.”
As mentioned in the announcement, Gen Z is “facing an array of financial challenges, with inflation driving up the cost of living, including housing, food, and gas prices, while tuition fees also continue to rise yearly across the US.”
Rising prices are “depriving Gen Z of life milestones such as buying a home or starting a family, as it has become increasingly difficult to build a solid financial foundation for the future.”
Buddy’s integration with Plaid aims “to alleviate these roadblocks, and sets Gen Z on the path to an improved financial future.”
Founded by Olle Lind (CEO) in 2017, Buddy is described as “a personal finance app catered to Gen Z and millennials, with 3M users worldwide and is the fastest growing budgeting app on the App Store for Gen Z internationally, garnering 25,000 five-star ratings.”
Buddy is “headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, where the company employs a team of four, and is entirely bootstrapped.”