EXCLUSIVE: How Peach Is Pioneering The Road To Autonomous Finance

There is no doubt an increased emphasis on the digitalisation of finance to help society become clearer, cleverer and more transparent with our money.

Antony Pink, founder of the Fintech company, Peach, said that ‘‘Autonomous finance is the next frontier of personal finance and being able to aggregate your entire financial life is a prerequisite to achieving this vision.’ With this in mind, Peach is changing how society thinks and plans for its financial future, as well as pioneering the way to truly autonomous finance.

The ‘Google Maps for Money’ thesis – Nowadays, life is so often simplified for us. If you’ve got some free time and want to go somewhere new, you’d look for directions on Google Maps. Before you know it, the app has your location, has planned a route accounting for traffic along the way and even offers you other options of where else you could go instead. It’s convenience, choice and clarity provided instantaneously. What if that same predictive software existed for our finances, our credit card debt, our mortgages? This is what Peach is currently building.

‘Two thirds of UK adults are looking for greater control and consolidation over their finances through an app. It seems then that Peach has that ability to be the go-to application for a portion of the market whose financial landscape is too complex for budget apps but who also do not fit the HNW (High Net Worth) client profile of a traditional advisor, yet still want to fulfill life’s potential’, said Pink. From this, the goal of autonomous finance is achievable for all with the help of Peach. There’s a sense of a promise for financial inclusion, to not leave anybody on the outside and to help the average consumer through groundbreaking development in software, AI and machine learning.

How far has autonomous finance reached already? – To some, this may not seem like a new concept at all, but previous examples of auto-finance have not gone all the way. A popular example is auto-saving apps. These apps can enforce a new saving behaviour into ordinary activities; it’ll see you spend £2.89 on a coffee but round up the purchase to put away £0.11p into savings, and little by little, that saving pot will add up and serve to help you. It may not be life changing, but it does show financial assistance in a form that was often not recognised in a digital fashion.

Robo-advisors, such as Wealthfront and Betterment, are also good examples for showing how auto finance has helped investors by suggesting specific stocks, advising how to rebalance them and executing complicated strategies like tax loss harvesting. In recent times, this has been furthered with companies like Expersoft and Bitpanda making wealth management and 24/7 trading as transparent as possible. But Peach seems to be committed to pioneering the space, creating ‘an intuitive, consumable and real-time experience that analyses your ever-changing financial picture and shows you how to win at the game of life.’

Future possibilities – The space is continuously evolving for Peach to exploit, but some of the best avenues to expand into include:

Student Debt: As a graduate fresh from university myself, I can personally say that understanding the repayment structure of student loans and the implications of them are extremely confusing, yet extremely important. Developing software which could both evaluate all of the available government-sponsored programs and how to apply them would be extremely beneficial in helping students understand, visualise and control their student debt, which is often made so poorly visible to them.

Debt Settlement Plans: Creditors cannot advertise debt settlement plans, which means individuals are confronted with the intimidating experience of unsuredly solving the issue, phoning various collection agencies just to understand what options are available. Software could be developed to show the best way for individuals to settle and their real downstream credit score effects. This would minimise the anxiety of a tense financial experience due to opening up data.

Revenue Optimization: escaping the rat race, achieving financial independence and retiring early, are largely promulgated as the goal for many workers in this era. After all, life is for living. This often sees individuals try and take on extra jobs to earn more money. Developing software that suggests you the best jobs to maximise revenue in the time you have available could be the key to allowing you to achieve financial freedom and true autonomous finance.

Understanding the humanity behind money – Whilst the COVID pandemic affected many companies for the worst, it seems that Peach has benefited from the cultural realisations people have had. Many have begun to realise the importance of protecting what they have, the people around them and their future prospects. In many ways, it has been a reset for what we value the most. Pink notices this change, and believes that Peach ‘is a product that is as much about fulfilling your life’s potential than it is about tracking your finances.’ There’s a supportive and personal humanisation to the process that has the potential to be an accessory to society’s day-to-day processes.

Although Peach is very much in its infancy as a service, it is clear it has the characteristics and desires to be hugely successful. Over the next few years, Peach will be focusing on creating the best consumer experience for managing finances and bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to get to in your life.