Dyme is helping people save with one click

Helping people save

Staying on top of bills can be tricky. Subscriptions to services like Netflix and Spotify can pile up quickly, and determining whether you’re getting the best deal on utilities eats up a lot of spare time. It’s no wonder that wasting money and falling behind on payments can happen so easily.

Joran Iedema, CEO of Dyme, noticed these issues and decided to create a solution. Dyme is a powerful and easy-to-use app that provides a clear picture of users’ fixed expenses, letting them see where their money is going. With a glance, they can find old subscriptions they no longer need and cancel them with a single click. It also makes it simple to switch energy providers and slash bills. Dyme claims that their average user saves €530 each year.

A clear and simple financial overview

Iedema and a few of his colleagues originally ran an online rental platform for bicycles. The venture was a success and eventually, they sold it to an American company. However, they were all driven by a desire to do something even bigger – something that could make a positive impact on peoples’ lives.

“More and more people are in debt currently. In 2018, one in three Dutch households suffered from late payments issues. At the same time, the global subscriptions economy is growing, so we have more and more subscriptions cluttering our financial overview. We try to help people who don’t have an [understanding] of their situation. We connect to their bank account and show them a very clear [summary] of income and expenses. We show them what they’re paying for – their contracts and variable payments – and then we focus on actionable insights."

Saving money is just a click away

Dyme concentrates on the changes people can make to improve their finances. Instead of showing a confusing graph or making suggestions people might not know how to act on, Dyme takes care of the legwork. With a click or two, users can make a change that results in more cash in their bank account every month.  

“We show them how they can save, and instead of telling them ‘hey, you can do this, good luck’, they can press a button and we take care of the admin. We do the cumbersome work that comes with cancelling a contract, renegotiating your rates, switching to a different provider, all those kinds of things.”

A journey through the startup ecosystem

Like any new company, Dyme has gone through ups and downs. The greatest difficulty it's faced has been obtaining a PSD2 license, which provides it with read-only access to customer accounts after receiving consent.

Along the way, Dyme benefitted from Amsterdam’s startup ecosystem. The company participated in a programme at ACE Incubator, which helps new companies improve their business model and test their viability, and worked from the Startup Village in Amsterdam Science Park. When the time came to raise money, Dyme succeeded with the help of ASIF Ventures and Peak Capital (and it’s just secured another €600,000 in a seed round). Whether they needed guidance, cash or support from other entrepreneurs, Iedema and his colleagues found it in the Dutch capital. 

Making life easier

Currently, Dyme is operating from a cosy office near Egelantiersgracht and is growing quickly.

“In the long run, we want to focus on the legal rights people have with their purchases and the services they are using. For example, if you buy something in the EU, you can always send it back within 14 days if you don’t like it. A lot of people are not aware of that, so what we want to do, is if you purchase something, we’ll let you know after 10 days, ‘Hey, are you sure you want this? Because you can still send it back’, and we’ll help you do that.

"There are also warranties for a lot of products. We’ll check in with you after 2 years and say, ‘You still have warranty, maybe [the item] is broken and in your basement. We’ll get your money back’. We’ll make people more aware of the rights they have so they can act on it with a single click.”

Asking the right questions

It’s little surprise that an app that empowers people to make a positive change is proving popular. “Right now, around 30,000 people are already using Dyme, and this amount is growing on a daily basis. Many people seem to recognise the problems we’re tackling and see a solution in the product we’re offering. In our marketing efforts, we ask people if they know what contracts and subscriptions they currently have, and many of them realise they aren’t entirely sure, so they download Dyme and find out.”

Ask, show and help. It’s a simple formula, but one that’s already taken Dyme this far, and will propel them into the future.