Following success in the Netherlands and Germany, Dutch fintech startup Peaks continues its expansion, launching now in Spain and later this year in France. This will make Peaks one of the first micro-investing apps available in four European countries.
While many investment apps focus on active investors or people with significant wealth, Peaks is looking at the bigger picture. Founded in 2016, Peaks allows you to easily set aside small amounts, such as your spare change, on a regular basis and invest them in a globally diversified portfolio of socially responsible index funds. Tom Arends, the CEO of Peaks says: “Our goal is to make investing as simple as possible, so that it is accessible to everyone”.
Arends sees plenty of opportunities in the European market: “More than 80% of Europeans are worried about their financial future. Most of them are struggling to save money and around two-thirds do not invest, although many would like to do so. The investment world as we know it today is complex and mainly centered around traders or wealthy individuals. The average consumer does not know where to start and what is the sensible thing to do. Along with the often high entry fees, the threshold to start investing is very high for many Europeans”, explained Arends. “That’s a pity, because if you set aside and invest money on a regular basis, you can build up a good nest egg in the long term. Especially if you are young and have your whole life ahead of you.”
In 2019, Peaks was the first financial services provider in the Netherlands to be granted a PSD2 licence. This allows consumers and businesses to give third parties access to the transaction data in their payment account. This makes new innovative financial services such as Peaks possible. Thanks to the harmonising of this legislation throughout Europe, Peaks has been able to expand quickly, offering you the chance to invest your spare change in several countries.
The Peaks app can be downloaded for free via the App Store and the Google Play Store in the Netherlands, Germany and now Spain. The French version of the app will be available in Q4. The Peaks app has now been downloaded more than 500,000 times.
