CCAF FinTech Resilience Study – Plus Loan Offer Latest
The Global COVID-19 Fintech Impact and Resilience Study, published by the Cambridge Centre of Alterative Finance (CCAF), the World Bank Group, and the World Economic Forum, has concluded that the fintech industry was more resilient to the pandemic than previously stated in an earlier report from December 2020.
Money&Co. was one of 1,448 fintech platforms operating in 192 areas worldwide to contribute to the study. One of CCAF’s conclusions is that the FinTech industry displayed growth at an increased pace in every sector except for data analytics.
The study revealed that many fintechs are progressing in financial inclusion within their customer base. A key finding of the report was that a large portion of new customers came from under-represented groups in the fintech industry. Women, low-income households, and SMEs are confronted with more challenges when looking for financial services. This study demonstrated that in multiple sectors, women and low-income households consisted of 50% of responding fintech firms’ total customers.
Jean Pesme, World Bank global director, finance, competitiveness and innovation, says, “Fintech firms are transforming the financial sector by driving innovation, introducing more competition and expanding access to financial services; the survey indicated that fintech firms have served women, SMEs and low-income households—people who have traditionally faced challenges in accessing financial services.”
The report noted a correlation between areas with stricter Covid-19 lockdown measures and the growth of fintechs within those jurisdictions: they demonstrated more growth than fintech platforms that operated under less stringent lockdown measures.
We’ll take a closer look at the report’s findings in the UK tomorrow. Meanwhile, the full CCAF report is available here.
Loan Offer Latest
A loan offer from Harris & Co., a borrower that operates in the litigation claim sector, is available on site. The loan is risk-rated A by our credit committee. It has a gross yield of eight per cent, for a fixed term of 12 months. The loan offer is currently 75 per cent subscribed, and will close when filled.
For more detail, login or register here.
Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide
- Money&Co. lenders have achieved an average return of more than 8 per cent gross (before we deduct our one per cent fee).
That figure is the result of over £24 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.
- Money&Co. has been lending for over 7 years and has only had two bad debts so far, representing a bad debt rate of 0.03 per cent per annum.
All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.
So here’s our guide to the process:
- Step 1: Register as a lender. Go to the login page, and go through the process that the law requires us to effect. This means we have to do basic checks on you to comply with money-laundering and other security requirements.
- Step 2: Put money into your account. This is best done by electronic transfer. We can also process paper cheques drawn in favour of Denmark Square Limited, the parent company of Money&Co.
- Step 3: Buy loans in the loan market. Once you’ve put cash in your account it will sit there – and it won’t earn interest until you’ve bought a piece of a loan. It’s this final step that requires lenders and IFISA investors to be pro-active. Just choose some loans – all loans on the Money&Co. site can be held in an IFISA – and your money will start earning tax-free interest.
The ISA allowance for 2020/21 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.
Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.
Risk: Security, Access, Yield
Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment. We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s one of several earlier articles on security, access and yield.