HOW WE CAN BENEFIT FROM PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC? THE POLISH CASE

The aim of this article is to determine if and to what extent sociodemographic factors are related to how home budget management applications are evaluated. The authors attempted to verify to what extent applications supporting personal finance management are beneficial and popular in Poland via a CAWI online survey. The architecture of the research covered the following areas: the name of the application used, its method of use, the level of complexity of the software installation process, evaluation of the application's transparency, intuitiveness, functionality, if it meets financial needs, the technical and substantive faults of the application, degree of satisfaction with the application as well as recommendations for further development, the advantages and disadvantages of the application, the use of PFM during the SARS-CoV-2 era. The study showed that users tend to use non-banking applications more often than financial managers offered by banks. A PFM benefit analysis shows that the applications are highly transparent, structured, intuitive and that the respondents have positive approach towards using them. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has given grounds to finding gaps in remote customer service, such as better adaptation to the needs of current settlements and payments, the incapability to scan documents, and the lack of advice and ongoing contact with a consultant.