42
START UP OF THE MONTH Managing money
The future of banking isn’t about banks but rather platforms, Matthew Ford, CEO & Founder, Pariti tells IBS Journal
Interview by Scott Thompson
yourself.
I
BS Journal: Tell us about
Matthew Ford: Pariti is a mobile banking app to help improve your finances, pay off your credit cards, and take back control. By connecting your bank accounts and credit cards to the app, you can easily see where you stand across all your accounts. We automatically calculate your income, bills, and credit card repayments to show you what you can safely afford to spend each week, without falling short.
We’re FCA authorised and have partnered with award-winning loan provider Zopa, to help you pay off your credit cards faster, and reduce your cost of borrowing. Think of us as your own automated bank manager, monitoring your finances in the background, and notifying you about what’s ahead.
IBS Journal: What’s your business model?
MF: Pariti is (and always will be) free to download. The business makes money by acting as a credit broker for consolidation loans offered via Zopa. Pariti users can get a quotation without affecting their credit score, and can
www.ibsintelligence.com © IBS Intelligence 2016
apply for a loan of up to £25,000 all through the Pariti app.
Consolidation loans, however, are just the start. The partnership with Zopa is the first of a number of planned product integrations as we build our ‘marketplace bank’ for Millennials to help them save faster, spend wiser, and clear their debt. Watch this space for further partnerships very soon.
IBS Journal: What sets you apart?
MF: For millions of people in the UK, especially Millennials, keeping on top of our finances is difficult. We live paycheck to paycheck, unable to set money aside, and the uncertainties of cashflow make it difficult to know where you stand.
Banks have also created an environment of increasing complexity by offering complicated products, confusing terminology and opaque pricing structures. Credit cards in particular make it far too easy to spend money you don’t have, and then profit from fees and interest when promotional periods expire.
Pariti offers a solution to this problem, with a simple tool to help people take control of their finances and access low
cost finance. The easy-to-use app helps users make more informed choices about their spending, notifies them about potential shortfalls ahead, and helps explore whether they could save on their debt repayments. We take a future rather than historical view of your money, and take a proactive role in helping identify opportunities to improve.
IBS Journal: Who or what inspired you to set the company up?
MF: Pariti was founded in late 2014 by myself whilst I was studying at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School. I had previously been Head of Acquisitions at OnTrees, a personal finance manager which was sold to MoneySuperMarket.
Pariti was born out of a desire to improve people’s financial health, having seen first hand the extent to which the nation struggled with managing money. Our vision is to fundamentally change how people think about spending and saving, and to help build greater financial stability across the nation. In the UK alone, one in five adults are deemed over-indebted and 43% of 18-24 year olds have less than £250 in their bank accounts. This lack of financial resilience is impacting
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
