Innovation, collaboration, API integration — with Drafty

Our recent report, ‘Overlooked and financially under-served’, found that 16m adults in the UK would need to borrow money to afford an unexpected payment of £300 in the next 12 months. It also revealed that there’s a growing number of people with either thin credit files or no credit history, having increased by 36% in the last six years.

When combined, these two figures highlight another problem — if this population needs access to money to cover an emergency or unexpected payment, yet they have little or no credit history to lean on, who can they turn to?

With the credit reference agencies still largely reporting on the same data as they were in the 1970s, and failing to keep up with social and economic changes, most mainstream lenders are unable to form a fully-developed view of a customer’s financial profile.

It’s clear that more needs to be done to provide better options, support and protection for those who need it. Furthermore, with inflation continuing to squeeze people’s finances, it needs to be done quickly.

And that's where our partnership with Drafty comes in. By integrating directly via an API, we're now able to offer those who may find themselves under-served by mainstream lenders with a new, flexible and innovative product.

Drafty is an innovative alternative to traditional overdrafts, with the added benefit that you’re not tied to your banking provider. Drafty can provide a credit line for those with thin files and poor credit histories, and eligible customers can access cash in just 90 seconds of being approved. This offers a new, FCA regulated and quick option for those who might need to cover an unexpected bill, or expense.

At TotallyMoney, we believe that people’s data should work for them, not against them. We recently announced we’ll be enriching our service with open banking data, through our partnership with Bud, which could especially help customers with little or no credit history and supplement their credit files. We’re also rolling out features to help customers better understand and improve their profiles. While we continue to build innovative new features that put people in control of their own financial data, we believe that industry collaboration is also essential in ensuring financial momentum for consumers.

Charlie Calver recently shared the news of our integration with CashPlus to launch a new credit card, providing support for the UK’s 3.2 million sole-traders and entrepreneurs. We’ve quickly followed up with the launch of Drafty.

Through integrating Drafty via an API, we’ve enabled eligibility checking, so customers can find out their chances of acceptance, plus a guaranteed daily interest rate, before applying.

In addition to this, if accepted, they can use the credit line again and again, provided they’ve completed repayments, so they don’t need to re-apply. This means customers can protect their credit profile, through avoiding credit rejection and making multiple applications.

Meanwhile, zero fees, a guaranteed APR, and flexible repayments can also help customers safely navigate any financial turbulence.

As we all feel the brunt of the worst cost of living crisis since the 1950s, innovation and collaboration are key to not just protecting consumers in the present but also in helping everyone move their finances forward into the future.