The Money Platform achieves profitability for the first time
The Money Platform swung into profit for the first time in its last financial year, as it looks to expand its product range and scale up its lending.
The peer-to-peer consumer lending platform – which provides finance to people often excluded from mainstream financial services – posted a profit of £197,325 in the 12 months to 31 January 2023. This was up from a £214,041 loss the previous year, according to documents filed with Companies House.
The Money Platform’s chief executive George Huntley said that the swing into profit was on the back of lending volume growth, while revenues increased 61 per cent year-on-year, although he declined to disclose exact figures.
Read more: Serving the underserved: Interview with The Money Platform’s George Huntley
“Last year I set out three goals – to improve our product, to launch a cheaper loan product, and to grow our revenue and margins,” Huntley told Peer2Peer Finance News. “Our team has not just achieved these but significantly beaten expectations.
“Our short-term lending product has continued to improve for customers, with more product flexibility for borrowers. Small tweaks have made a big difference to our customers, and I would like to pay tribute to the connectedness of our operations and tech team in ensuring that customer priorities are quickly executed. This in turn has allowed our lenders to earn steady returns.”
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The platform has expanded its technology team as part of its investment into the business as it prepares for further growth.
“Technology and data are the cornerstones of our strategy, with ongoing improvements to our credit decisioning, incorporating more tools, providing more data which in turn drives better lending decisions and so more financial inclusion and a broader product range,” Huntley said. “To this end, we have expanded our tech team considerably since last year, enabling some of the changes outlined and setting us up for the year to come.”
Last last year, The Money Platform launched a longer-term lending product with lower interest rates, serving underserved segments of the consumer credit market such as those with thin credit files.
It plans to roll this 12-month loan product out to a wider lender base once it has completed its testing.
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Huntley said the platform is also planning to improve the borrower experience by automating many customer service interactions, which will speed up response times.
“We aim to continue to grow our lending volumes and revenue, reinvesting our profits in the business so that we can better serve our customers and build a sustainable franchise,” Huntley said.
“In common with most UK financial services businesses, we will be implementing the Consumer Duty this year, which embeds the philosophy that good customer outcomes provide the platform for good shareholder outcomes.
“I believe The Money Platform is poised for an exciting year as we continue to build a data-driven lending market that serves all types of customers, particularly those excluded from mainstream finance.”
