Payoff.com LLC plans to launch its personal financial management website Monday, ending a six-month beta test.
The Los Angeles company built its site around the premise that financial management should be fun and structured like a game. Payoff uses this game-like presentation to encourage customers to set and track financial goals.
Payoff's customers earn badges for particular achievements, such as paying off a credit card balance or saving for a vacation. Scott Saunders, Payoff's founder and chief executive, said that many consumers are not accustomed to being rewarded for the way they conduct their financial lives. As such, the achievement feature became one of Payoff's most popular during its test period, he said.
Payoff also lets consumers connect to each other using a Facebook link, which lets them "friend" one another to share common financial goals and dreams. About 80% of users have opted to share their Payoff profiles via Facebook, Saunders said.
"People really engaged around this and expressed a willingness to share multiple dreams," Saunders said.
Payoff has about 3,000 users, he said. About 60% are women.
