TECHNIK FinQuest

Main Screen
Add Transaction
Friends' Progress
Transaction History
AI Financial Advisor
Prizedraw Screen
Subscription Management
Profile Screen

Inspiration

Managing finances as a student is tough. Between tuition fees, rent, groceries, and social life, it’s easy to lose track of spending and even easier to develop bad financial habits. We’ve all been there - checking our bank balance and wondering, where did all my money go?

Our team wanted to tackle this problem by making personal finance engaging and rewarding. Instead of just another budgeting app, we envisioned a tool that gamifies financial management while providing AI-driven insights to help students and others develop better money habits.

What FinQuest does

FinQuest is more than a budgeting app. It’s a financial game where users earn points for smart money decisions, track their progress through achievements, and even compete with friends to build better financial habits.

Here’s how it works:

AI-Powered Financial Score – Every user gets a personalised financial score based on their spending, saving, and budgeting behavior. The better your habits, the higher your score.
Gamified Spending & Saving – Users earn achievements and unlock badges for hitting financial milestones—like saving a certain amount, logging expenses consistently, or staying under budget.
Prize Draws & Rewards – Good financial habits are rewarded with points that can be spent on prize draws, adding a fun, game-like element to money management.
Smart Budgeting Insights – AI automatically categorises expenses, identifies trends, and provides personalised recommendations to help users adjust their spending.
Friendly Competition – Users can challenge friends to see who maintains the highest financial score at the end of the month, making financial responsibility a social experience instead of a chore.

How we built FinQuest

Frontend: Flutter & UI Development

Flutter & Dart – We built FinQuest using Flutter, allowing for a smooth, cross-platform experience on both Android and iOS.
Flutter Libraries – We leveraged various Flutter packages, including fl_chart for financial data visualisation, smooth_page_indicator for UI transitions, and provider for state management.

Backend: SQLite & Datastax Astra

SQLite for Local Storage – We used SQLite to store transaction history, achievements, and financial scores locally on the device, ensuring fast and offline access.
Datastax Astra (Cassandra-based DB) – To support cloud-based storage and scalability, we integrated Datastax Astra, a NoSQL database that enables real-time updates across devices.
Transaction Management – Users' financial data is securely stored and retrieved using optimised SQL queries and NoSQL for flexibility.

AI & Data Processing

Integrated AI Financial Advisor – The app uses AI-driven analysis to offer personalised financial guidance, helping users adjust their budgeting and spending habits.
Financial Score Calculation – The app analyses financial behavior and adjusts the user’s financial score dynamically based on spending trends and savings progress.

Challenges we ran into

Balancing AI insights with engagement – We wanted AI to provide useful advice without overwhelming users with complicated financial jargon.
Ensuring real-time updates – Keeping financial scores, prize draws, and leaderboard data updated instantly was a technical challenge.
Designing a rewarding gamification system – We had to find the right balance between making finance fun without encouraging reckless spending.

Accomplishments we’re proud of

Turning finance into a game – We created an experience that actually makes tracking expenses enjoyable and rewarding.
Smart AI-driven financial insights – The app automatically categorises expenses and provides recommendations without requiring users to manually input data.
Live prize draws & achievements – Users can earn points, compete with friends, and redeem rewards in a way that makes financial responsibility more engaging.

What we learned

Gamification works – People are more likely to engage with financial tracking when it feels rewarding instead of restrictive.
AI can make budgeting easier – Automating expense tracking and spending analysis makes financial planning less intimidating for students.
Social motivation is powerful – Students are more likely to manage their money well when they can compare progress with friends.

What’s next for FinQuest?

Spending forecasts – AI-driven predictions to help users plan for future expenses.
More reward options – Expanding the prize draw system with bigger rewards and different ways to earn points.
Bank integration – Automatic tracking of transactions from linked bank accounts, as well automatic parsing of financial statements to insert into the app.
Group financial challenges – Users can team up with friends to hit savings goals together.

Conclusion

We understand the financial struggles of student life, and we believe managing money shouldn’t feel like a punishment. Our app turns financial responsibility into an interactive, engaging experience—helping users build better habits, stay accountable, and have fun while doing it.

Instead of checking your balance in fear, FinQuest helps you take control of your finances—one level at a time.