Quirk wants to help Gen Z with their money using personality tests

Quirk, a personal finance app that uses personality testing to help its users save, is set to launch to the wider public this week after hitting 10,000 beta users.

The Generation Z focused firm says it uses personality type testing based on “Big Five” traits to help customers by providing advice tailored to their specific personal situations and psychological profile.

Developed in the 1980’s, the Big Five methodology groups personalities based on extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism

The news comes after Quirk scooped up £300,000 in a pre-seed funding round in January 2021.

Last year’s investment was spearheaded by SFC Capital, which has previously invested in fintechs such as identity verification firm Onfido, defunct personal finance management app Bean, and freelancer-focused pension app Sixty.

Quirk says it uses open banking to understand each customer's financial situation, which it then uses to provide educational support, budgeting and planning tools, as well as personalised financial guidance.

Quirk has also been dipping its toes into the world of insurance, partnering with digital insurance broker Anorak in July 2021 to help younger people learn more about the world of insurance. 

Talking exclusively to AltFi about how Quirk can help young people fight the cost-of-living crisis, Quirk co-founder and chief product officer Nafeesa Jafferjee said that the start of all financial well being is being clear about where your money is going and tracking your spending.

“We try to keep our users informed as much as possible about their spending, keeping users up to date about changing energy prices and informing them about when their bills go up,” said Jafferjee.

With soaring rents and bills hitting young people’s mental health hard, Nikos Melachrinos co-founder and chief executive at Quirk touched on how the app’s design can help the anxiety stricken among us.

“Against the best interests of some venture capital (VC) firms, we don’t go for daily engagement, which could create anxiety in people already prone to it.”

Melachrinos said that mental health was considered “deeply” when it came to designing Quirk’s underlying user experience (UX) and language.

“Quirk doesn't budget a spending plan. People don’t keep to budgets and they aren’t very pleasant – Quirk doesn’t shame you for your decisions.”

Jafferjee touched on what she felt other firms are getting wrong when it comes to their engagement with young people

“Gen Z go to social media before they go to their parents, so we’re very active on social and we’re very careful about the way in which we curate content,” she added.

Jafferjee then said that “no one size fits all, managing one's finances is a lifestyle decision at the end of the day”.

“Many of our competitors are just putting a layer over traditional banking, but this generation wants things to be fun and they want to be kept in the know about things like Web3 and side hustles”.