Plynk launches money-messaging app at Web Summit

Dublin-based financial payments start-up Plynk, which recently raised €25 million in a Series A fundraising round, has launched its money-messaging app in the Portuguese market.

This marks the first step in the fintech start-up’s planned pan-European expansion. The announcement was made to coincide with the Web Summit, which is taking place this week in Lisbon.

Co-founded in 2015 by Charles Dowd and Clive Foley, Plynk has created a money-messaging app that lets phone users chat one-on-one or in groups and to send or receive money instantly and without charge from within the chats.

Plynk has a licence to operate across the European Economic Area, which includes the European Union along with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In addition to Portugal, the company also expects to launch in Spain in the coming months.

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“We’re doing one country at a time in terms of expansion. Portugal is our first non-English speaking market and it isn’t just a case of translating text. We have a very special tone with our customers and so have spent a lot of time and effort on making sure we that right for a new audience,” Mr Dowd said on the fringes of the Web Summit.

In July, Plynk announced one of the largest-ever Series A rounds in Ireland when it secured a €25 million investment from a private fund called Suisse Privee.

The Plynk app is targeted primarily at younger consumers. It has been developed to remove the complexities of money transfers among family and friends.

The app, which is linked to users’ social networks, allows consumers to open payment accounts, get a card and make payments in euro, with other currencies to follow.

Once a Plynk account is created, users receive a dedicated IBAN and virtual MasterCard for online payments. In addition, the application plans to integrate with both Apple and Android Pay, enabling users to spend their money across multiple outlets.