Welcome to Financere: An AI/Personal Finance Short Story

Authors note: When I first wrote Welcome to Financere: An AI/Personal Finance Short Story back in 2020*, I never imagined AI would be so normalised as it is today in 2025. To me back then, AI is the technology of ‘the future’.

But I guess that future is now; the present. As we speak, there are already fintech companies incorporating AI in their services. So I’m publishing this story hoping you can see how AI may affect you positively and negatively.

*this short story was included as one of the stories in Money Stories from Malaysians: Vol 2 (no longer selling; too tired to handle logistics haha)

Enjoy 🙂

—[Email]—-

Date: 15 June 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Welcome to Financere!

Dear Marina, 

Thank you for subscribing to Financere, your personal finance coach and congratulations on taking the first step towards financial freedom! 

Our goal is to make your life easy by helping you make the best financial decisions possible through big data and artificial intelligence. Our award-winning system won Malaysia Fintech Award 2019 and supported by the Ministry of Finance Malaysia!

You are enrolled in the Gold tier. As per your instructions, RM99.90 will be charged to your credit card ending with 8724. The billing cycle will start on the first of every month. 

You can review your settings here. 

Best, 
Financere team

---

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Date: 15 June 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Account Settings

Dear Marina, 

Thank you for completing your profile and money quiz. You have chosen the following features:

- Automate your savings
- Automate your investments
- Automate your bill payments

Receive notifications for financial advice and suggestions via email | text message

You can review your settings at any time here. 

Note: Your data is protected under Malaysian law. Click here to read our full privacy disclosure. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[Text message]—

You: Hey sayang
You: You up?

Aiman: hey babe
Aiman: Yeah just watching Netflix
Aiman: Waiting for laundry
Aiman: Sorted out your thing?

You: Yeah done-ish. Just need to wait for them to verify my account. Should get the notification by tomorrow
You: The quizzes were fun. Was expecting something more serious but it was nothing like that!

Aiman: How fun is fun lol

You: I mean
You: It was fun-NER
You: Ok for example. When I was creating my profile, it made me link all my banking accounts and social media profiles
You: And I had to take a couple of personality tests
You: I remember one of them is called the Big Five Personality test
You: You should take that btw, it was very insightful
You: And then by the time I got to what they call the goal-setting section
You: That part was super fast
You: It’s like they can predict my answers
You: It’s a bit scary actually
You: Or maybe my answers are generic Idk

Aiman: What did you answer?

You: Ok example
You: They asked what’s my financial goals right
You: And the top three answers in the list were something like, save up emergency savings, pay off my credit card bills and put some money aside for travel
You: All my current priorities kot?!
You: Lower in the list are things I didn’t even think about. Like an education fund for my non-existent children 

Aiman: OUR non-existent children ;)

You: Haha
You: Anyway

Aiman: Lol sorry sorry I know you don’t want to talk about that yet
Aiman: My bad
Aiman: Financere sounds really cool sayang

You: Right?
You: They gave me a plan. If I keep to it, I will have 3 months’ worth of emergency savings, clear off all my credit card debt AND able to take a small trip by the end of the year

—[text notification]—

Good morning, Marina!

We have calculated the safest route to your work location. Open Google Maps here. 

Accident-free drivers pay lower car insurance premiums!

Have a good day ahead,
Financere team

—[text notification]—

Hi, Marina!

Based on your online activity, you have made 7 non-essential online transactions in the last 3 months from the following shops: Zalora | Sephora

Click here to instantly unsubscribe from Zalora | Sephora emails

Doing this may help you save an extra RM132.88 per month

Have a good day ahead,
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 18 June 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Refer a friend and get RM50 cash rebate!

Dear Marina, 

We want to help you reduce your expenses. May we suggest you taking advantage of our referral programme and tell your friends about Financere? Each referral gets BOTH OF YOU RM50 each in Financere cash rebate!

Click here to get your unique referral link. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[Facebook posting]—

Marina Samad is feeling excited

Hey friends! I’m using Financere and its really cool! Use my link to sign up and get RM50 off your first billing! financere.com.my/ref/marinasamad

—[Email]—-

Date: 14 July 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Upgrade to Platinum tier

Dear Marina, 

Congratulations, you hit the 1-month mark with Financere! 

As a token of appreciation, we are giving you 50% off Financere’s Platinum tier! Get better financial advice for just an additional RM39.90 per month. 

Hurry, this deal will only last for 24 hours!

Simply click here to enrol. You will get access to Platinum tier benefits immediately and only be charged the next billing cycle. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 15 July 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: 3 hours left! 

Dear Marina, 

Only 3 hours left for you to get the 50% off Platinum tier upgrade and we’d hate for you to miss out on this amazing deal! How about a cool 75% off? 

Remember: Financere subscriptions are eligible for tax rebates. 

Simply click here to enrol. You will get access to Platinum tier benefits immediately and only be charged the next billing cycle. If you change your mind before then, you are free to cancel the upgrade without any penalty.

Try it out! Click here to take our Home Purchase Assessment for FREE.

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 15 July 2019
From: marina_samad@gmail.com
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Fwd: Home Purchase Assessment

A, 

I need a new job before I can afford that condo :( 

Love, 
M

[Forwarded Message]

Date: 15 July 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Home Purchase Assessment

Dear Marina,

Please find the results of Home Purchase Assessment below: 

Home price: RM500,000
Downpayment: 10%
Interest rate: 4.5%

This purchase will:

- Increase your net worth by an estimated RM3 million in 30 years
- Significantly reduce your monthly savings. 
- Add on 20 years of working years before reaching retirement

Recommended action (auto-activated): job search. Please see attached your first job listing of higher-paying jobs in your field which matches your work experience and skillsets. This attachment will be sent weekly until you complete the process. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—

Date: 15 July 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Platinum tier benefits

Dear Marina, 

Congratulations on your upgrade to Platinum tier! From now on, you may receive more notifications than usual - that is normal! Edit your settings or click here to browse actions you can take. 

We’re happy to help you lead the best financial life. 

P/s - Don’t forget to visit our award-winning Relationship & Money section

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 15 July 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Relationship assessment

Dear Marina, 

Please find the results of relationship assessment between [Marina Samad] and [Aiman Lukman] below. 

Result: Incompatible
Chances of divorce: 75% (high)

Trigger points: 

- Mismatched love language. We identified your partner’s main love language as gift-giving, which is your least preferred love language. If you continue dating [Aiman Lukman], we recommend you activate action: automate gift purchase. Click here to receive a weekly list containing under-RM50 gift recommendations that your partner might like. Click here to send [Aiman Lukman] a questionnaire designed to improve gift recommendations selection. 

- Mismatched expectations. Based on your chat history with [Aiman Lukman], you do not appear to share the same desire to have children and experience motherhood. 

- Different earning trajectory. Your skill sets are highly valuable within your industry and you are on track to earn 5x your income level in 10 years. Marriages tend to be shakier when wives outearn their husbands. 

A detailed assessment based on education level, family background, health and value system can be downloaded at this link. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[text notification]—

Aiman: Can’t wait to see you this weekend, beautiful :)
Aiman: I’ll pick you up at 3pm okay?

You: Hey.
You: Sorry, something came up
You: I can’t see you this weekend
You: Another time okay

Aiman: Oh. Okay.
Aiman: How about Wednesday? 
Aiman: I’ll come see you during lunch :)

You: Need to check
You: Will let you know

—[text notification]—

Aiman: Hey babe!
Aiman: So… see you for lunch tomorrow?
Aiman: Can take you to that place you like :)

Aiman: I’m downstairs, where are you?

—[text notification]—

Aiman: Are you angry at me?
Aiman: Sayang?

[missed call]
[missed call]

Aiman: Talk to me

[missed call]

Aiman: Pick up the phone

—[text notification]—

Aiman: I don’t deserve this

—[r/relationships]—

Posted by u/throwaway2435_ms 2 days ago

2.7k upvotes

Should I (28F) marry my bf (28M) if our chances for divorce is high?

Writing this from a throwaway account. 

My bf and I have been dating for almost 3 years. We get along REALLY WELL. He’s a really sweet and considerate guy, I’ve never been more in love. My family and friends love him too. We have no immediate plans, but we’ve always assumed we’ll end up marrying each other.

About a month ago, I took a relationship assessment from one of those big data platforms. And it turns out that we’re not as compatible as I thought, not for the long-term. The software predicts 75% chance of divorce. 75%! 

And now I’m at a loss. I know that there is a 25% chance our relationship could work and defy the odds, but taking that chance feels like gambling to me. The practical thing to do is to break up with him and find someone else I’m more compatible with, but I don’t know if my heart (or his) can take that. Yet maybe we could save ourselves a lot of heartaches sooner rather than later, before our families and possible children get involved (that’s another thing. He wants them, but I’m still unsure!)

I’ve been going over these thoughts over and over in my head and avoiding him (I really shouldn’t, but I don’t know what to do or what to say!). What should I do, reddit?

Tl;dr - Should I break up with my bf now, to avoid a divorce later?

—[Email]—-

From: marina_samad@gmail.com
To: aimanlukman@gmail.com
Subjectline: [No subjectline]

Hey…

I’ve been shitty. I have no excuses. I’ve said it a hundred times, I will probably say it hundreds more time, but I’m sorry. I’m truly, truly sorry. 

Please don’t contact me anymore. I’m not good for you. You’re right. You don’t deserve this. 

M

—[text notification]—

Hi, Marina!

We have assessed your Food and Groceries related purchases in the last month.

Your diet is high in simple sugars, saturated fats and sodium. 

Keeping this up is not only expensive, but you may also develop health issues and incur high hospital bills in the future!

Please check your email for our suggestions. 

Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 5 August 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Heath suggestions 

Dear Marina, 

We have assessed your Food and Eating Out related purchases in the last month. Your diet is high in simple sugars, saturated fats and sodium. 

The consequences of continuing your current diet:

- An increase in monthly health insurance cost 
- A reduction of monthly savings
- An additional 15 more working months before reaching retirement 

Based on the in-built time tracking feature, it appears you are spending a lot of time on Entertainment. May we suggest dedicating a few hours per week for meal planning instead? It’s a great way to improve your health and lower Food and Eating Out expenses!

For your convenience, we have attached a 30-day meal plan tailored to your diet preference. Click here to automatically purchase and deliver all the ingredients you need. 

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 10 August 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Save RM2,942.33 in your upcoming trip

Dear Marina, 

It looks like you’re taking a trip soon! How fun! However, you’re also taking a big financial hit!

Here are some suggestions to lower your travelling expenses:

- Terminate your personal loan. Financing a trip with a personal loan is almost never a good idea. We can help to terminate your personal on your behalf - click here to activate this action. Doing this will save you RM833.13 in interest fees.

- Select another accommodation. Your current hotel booking costs higher than the average cost of accommodation at the location. Click here to cancel your booking so you can select another. For your convenience, we have attached 5 budget-friendly hotel recommendations in this email. Hurry, the free cancellation period ends in 3 days! Doing this will save you RM2109.20.

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 12 August 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: [REMINDER] Save RM2,942.33 in your upcoming trip

Dear Marina, 

In case you’ve forgotten, here are some ways you can reduce your expenses on your upcoming trip!

Here are some suggestions to lower your travelling expenses:

- Terminate your personal loan. Financing a trip with a personal loan is almost never a good idea. We can help to terminate your personal on your behalf - click here to activate this action. Doing this will save you RM833.13 in interest fees.

- Select another accommodation. Your current hotel booking costs higher than the average cost of accommodation at the location. Click here to cancel your booking so you can select another. For your convenience, we have attached 5 budget-friendly hotel recommendations in this email. Hurry, the free cancellation period ends in 1 day! Doing this will save you RM2109.20.

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 27 August 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Job search

Dear Marina, 

We are sorry to hear about your job loss. But keep your spirits up! We can help you!

Step 1: We have auto-activated job search. Please see attached a listing of good-paying jobs in your field which matches your work experience and skillsets. This attachment will be sent weekly until you completed the process. 

Step 2: List of government and state assistance. Please see attached a list of available help that you can take advantage of! They will be very useful in reducing Groceries and Transportation expenses.

Step 3: We have auto-activated a repayment plan to help you pay off your credit card balances and personal loans, therefore reducing your total interest payments. As long as you don’t take on any more debt, and pay your balances on time, you’ll be fine!

You can do this!

Best, 
Financere team

—[Email]—-

Date: 15 September 2019
From: do-not-reply@financere.com.my
To: marina_samad@gmail.com
Subjectline: Goodbye

Dear Marina, 

We have taken the liberty to use funds from your emergency savings account to pay off all of your credit card balances and personal loans. Your new balance is RM5.72. 

Unfortunately, based on our records and projections, we find that you will not be able to commit to future Financere monthly payments. Therefore, your subscription to Financere has been terminated, effective immediately. We wish you well. 

Best, 
Financere team