MindMagnet to launch personal finance app worldwide

Romanian software agency MindMagnet will make its personal finance management application CashControl.ro available to international users as of next year, when the company is targeting a turnover above USD 1 million.

The app has been online for one year and has around 11,000 users, out of which more than 10 percent are power users, who give five to six inputs daily, according to Sandu Babasan, manager of CashControl.ro and CFO MindMagnet.

MindMagnet wants to exceed 100,000 users in Romania in the next two to three years. An English version of the app will be launched in January 2013. Germany, France and Austria will be the first foreign markets to get a tailored app in their native language. The countries were chosen due to their high level of financial literacy. The Cluj-based agency wants to reach up to 300,000 users on each foreign market it enters.

“In the US, there is already a competitor which has interconnected bank accounts. This will be tougher to implement in Europe and Romania,” said Babasan.

The bulk of the company’s clients come from the US and Canada, while in Europe it has clients only in France and Germany.

Monetizing the app remains a challenge for the agency, which wants to promote it in an innovative manner. A pro version of the app, which contains four new features, is provided for a monthly subscription fee close to EUR 4. The company wants to maintain this price on international markets as well.

“We believe the direct revenue from the software app will be recovered in five years,” said Babasan.

The MindMagnet CFO said the financial app represents an asset for the agency, and hopes it will attract new clients. At the moment, the business is evenly split between the development of customized web solutions and e-commerce.

The agency is set to reach around USD 700,000 in turnover this year. It has over 30 employees and plans to increase the headcount by 10 percent next year.