Our thoughts on the changing shape of the consumer credit market.
I’m excited to be able to announce a first for the credit industry: intelligent search results ranking for credit products. TotallyMoney.com Match Factor performs a series of complex calculations and analyses of eligibility; APR and other product features; lender acceptance data; and usability and user experience insights. These algorithms are personalised to reveal the best …
Google has started to wind down its financial products comparison service less than one year after it was launched in the US. It will be shut down completely in both the US and UK by 23 March 2016. Google compare will be familiar to most people as the special box that appears at the top …
In 2015, we saw significant changes in the credit card market with new providers and brands entering the market and continuing product innovation. This year is likely to be one of transition for many of the leading card providers who are mindful of the impending shifts in the wider economy. Here, I’ve put together a list …
As part of our ongoing efforts to understand consumer needs and make the world of credit a fairer place, we conducted a survey that found only one per cent of the population knew how long it would take to pay off £2,000 in credit card debt by making the minimum repayments each month. In order …
One: Increased used of free credit report services Noddle and ClearScore are offering a great free consumer proposition. Why would a customer pay for their credit report when they can get it for free? In 2016, we expect more people to subscribe to a free credit report service to better understand their credit rating. Two: …
Read moreThree things that will change the credit market in 2016
Google avoids legal censure in the US for monopolistic abuse: but is the FTC right? Here’s the inside track from the UK. Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it would not be taking legal action against Google for monopolistic abuses provided that Google changed some of its business practices relating to mobile patents. Interestingly, …
Last week, Google’s settlement offer to the EU Competition Commission was revealed. Predictably, the offer was pretty half-hearted. But the UK online comparison industry, which will be heavily affected, has so far remained publicly silent. Google was hoping to address the EU’s concerns that its promotion of its own vertical search services is anti-competitive (amongst …
Can I be the first to say that there’s an innovation coming in credit cards that’s going to take huge chunks out of the payday market? Payday’s growth has been astonishing in speed and scale. The credit crunch and recession that followed left an enormous, underserved gap in the loans market beneath the high street …
Read moreThe credit card innovation that’s going to decimate payday
Congratulations to MoneySupermarket.com. Our biggest competitor became a billion pound company for the first time this week as its share price climbed to an all-time high of £1.92. Moneysupermarket is a brilliant business and an enormous force for good. They claim to have saved consumers billions; I think that’s true: they’ve disrupted nearly every market vertical they’ve touched. They …
This is a curious case about the credit regulations that even the Regulator appears to dislike. MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) is one of the most trusted and influential consumer finance websites in part because they explain things simply. In the interests of clarity MSE pretty much ignores the consumer credit advertising regulations and the regulator doesn’t seem …