Transfer money to a friend
You and a friend have agreed to split the lunch bill, but you don’t have enough cash on hand. Or maybe the restaurant doesn’t want to take two credit cards. Settling your debt can be done in seconds with one of the many cash-transfer apps available. Venmo, PayPal and Cash App are popular options and can be linked to a bank account or credit card.

Keep track of your finances
“Credit cards don’t feel like real money, and now we have digital wallets and virtual ways to pay,” says Andrea Woroch, a personal finance expert who has appeared on the Today show and in The Wall Street Journal. “You have no idea at the end of the month how much you spend and how much you owe. And that can get you into trouble.”

Popular new solutions include online financial programs like Simplifi, Rocket Money and Monarch Money. By using these tools, you can get an overview of your finances all in one place, without having to log in to various accounts, Woroch says.

Improve your credit score
In March it was reported that for the first time in a decade, Americans’ average FICO credit score had declined. The first step in improving your score is understanding it. Apps like Credit Karma, Aura and Credit Sesame will monitor your credit and warn you of potentially fraudulent activity. They will also suggest ways to boost your score.

It’s worth noting that these apps act as middlemen. They organize information in a format that’s easy to digest, but you can go to the source and deal directly online with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the major credit bureaus, says Bruce McClary, spokesman for the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.