A smarter app is viewing your wallet

As natural language processing, part of artificial intelligence, becomes more sophisticated, some of these applications are forging relationships with their users. Charlie, an app focused on debt relief, is a chatbot-based penguin who acts as a support friend.

“Charlie celebrates your progress, no matter how big or small. “One thing we’ve heard over and over is that people want a non-judgmental environment.”

If you want something positive to help keep your costs down, some companies have services looking to lower your payments or cut down on nasty charges. Trim is one of the more known tools – a rare website-based rather than app-based tool – among other things that define recurring fees, such as subscriptions, to secure say you still want them. It is also possible to negotiate with your internet, cable and phone company to reduce your payments.

Paul Kesserwani, the company’s founder and chief executive officer, said Cushion scans users’ downloaded credit cards and bank statements (frequency depends on how much subscriptions you pay), finding earn overdrafts and additional fees.

Cushion then negotiates with financial institutions, through secure banking (if the client allows), through online chat on the bank’s website or even via traditional mail if needed.

“The terms of service of banks and credit cards are so complex that people often accrue fees easily,” Kesserwani said.

It took four years to build data sets and technologies, he notes, to accurately detect bank fees, figure out which fees to negotiate, determine how to approach each negotiation, and then self-negotiate. communicate with the bank on behalf of the consumer.