By Merve Ferrero, Chief Strategy Officer at Zopa bank
In just over two years as a fully operational bank, we’ve seen a lot: we launched our bank during a pandemic, then grappled with double-digit inflation that led to an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis.
The economic uncertainty also created a mix of new policy challenges; three prime ministers came to power as a result of one of the most volatile economic environments our country has seen in living memory.
Unsurprisingly, the impact on Britons has been significant.
Rising inflation and the subsequent price surges in everything from energy bills, petrol prices and grocery costs exacerbated the squeeze on household finances, some of which were already under strain in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Today 1 in 4 adults are facing financial trouble or are at the brink of difficulty (FCA, Oct 2022); whilst half of UK adults are struggling to pay their energy bills, rent, or mortgage (ONS, Oct 2022).
As a result, the UK population classified as with low financial resilience increased by over 2 million since 2020
Launching the Pledge
Helping our customers improve their financial wellbeing has always been a priority for all of us at Zopa. In the face of this cost-of-living challenge, we wanted to amplify the impact we were making even further by bringing the financial technology industry together to drive positive change for consumers in their day to day.
Launched last September by Zopa bank and ClearScore, the 2025 Fintech Pledge was created with the ambition to build up the financial resilience of UK consumers.
Using some of the UK’s best financial technology, the Pledge wants to connect consumers to platforms that help them lower utility costs, engage with credit building tools, consolidate debt, and save at higher rates – taking actions that improve their financial resilience.
Our objective is to drive 10 million such actions by 2025.
At an average of one action per person, 10 million actions represent 20% of the UK adult population taking a positive step towards better managing the financial shock.
Thanks to the efforts of our 33 members, we have already achieved 2.5 million positive actions - within only six months of the Pledge’s launch.
And we’re only getting started. After successful member growth the 2025 Fintech Pledge is now entering its next phase with the launch of a broad financial education programme.
We are thrilled to be supporting The Money Charity in its ambition to reach thousands of people with scalable financial wellbeing training – both online and through interactive workshops for smaller community groups.
But while we are buoyed up by our progress to date, we clearly still have a long way to go. Weathering the cost-of-living crisis will not be easy, nor fast.
Our members continue to work behind the scenes with some of the world’s biggest technology companies to stress-test and scale technological solutions capable of reaching even more people in the UK.
As our cross-industry coalition continues to grow we extend an open call for more fintechs, charities, and technology companies to join us at pledge2025.org.
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Signed: The 2025 Fintech Pledge coalition: Zopa bank, Blackbullion, Blue Motor Finance, Canopy, Claro, Clearscore, CreditLadder, Freedom Finance, Google Cloud, Hargreaves Lansdown, Kalgera, Koodoo, LOQBOX, Octopus Money Coach, Open Banking Excellence, Maji, Nova Credit, Nude, PayPlan, Penny, Plaid, Policy in Practice, Slipstream, Snoop, StepChange, StepLadder, Tandem Bank, The Financial Inclusion Alliance, Tink, The Money Charity, WealthWizards, and Wollit. (pledge2025.org)
- Digital bank Zopa
- Car finance and loan provider Blue Motor Finance
- Financial wellbeing platform Blackbullion
- Credit building service for renters Canopy
- Financial coaching & education platform Claro
- Financial marketplace ClearScore
- Rent reporting platform CreditLadder
- Lending platform Freedom Finance
- Tech leader, Google Cloud
- Saving and investment platform, Hargreaves Lansdown
- Reg tech platform for financial wellbeing, Kalgera
- Digital mortgage platform Koodoo
- Financial wellbeing business Loqbox
- Money coaching experts, Octopus Money Coach
- Community and knowledge hub Open Banking Excellence
- Financial health and wellbeing provider Maji
- Cross-border credit bureau Nova Credit
- First-time buyer savings app Nude
- Debt advice and management provider PayPlan
- Pensions aggregator Penny
- Open banking network Plaid
- Benefit calculator Policy in Practice
- Unified API for credit bureau data Slipstream
- Money-saving app Snoop
- Debt advice charity StepChange
- Digital savings platform StepLadder
- Digital greener bank Tandem Bank
- Policy and regulatory network The Financial Inclusion Alliance
- Open banking platform Tink
- Financial wellbeing charity The Money Charity
- Finwell, guidance and advice provider WealthWizards
- Credit building service Wollit
