With $10 million worth of loans already allotted and having recently listed on the ASX, the innovative consumer finance company, zipMoney, appears to be taking the retail industry by storm. Distributing finance through more than 200 retailers and merchants, the fintech lender provides customers with access to loans of up to $2000 via a simple smart phone application within minutes.
zipMoney CEO, Larry Diamond, said “there are two million small businesses around Australia and most are locked out of consumer purchase financing.”
By taking the benefits of a credit facility without the burden, some of zipMoney’s users have reported increases in sales of up to 20 per cent.
Simon Griffin, marketing and operations manager of fashion designer, Kitten D’Amour said “before zipMoney, there was really nothing quite like it available. We were using a take home lay-by system in store, however it had several problems.
“The take home lay-by system could take up to 30 minutes to complete the paperwork just to give one customer credit.
“ZipMoney has addressed all of those issues…it’s dramatically increased the revenue we make, both online and in store.
“I would say that it’s increased sales by up to 20 per cent.”
But it’s not all about unlocking additional sales for small business. Social responsibility is key. Larry said “we’ve designed the product to be extremely transparent, consumer friendly and competitive…You can have a viable business without resorting to predatory lending practices.”
Speaking as a user of zipMoney, Luke Eshuys, eCommerce manager at Reid Cycles said many of their customers are students or low income earners. The no interest period and low credit limit means they are able to maintain payments comfortably. There’s also the option to upgrade to better products and pay the difference in manageable instalments, he commented.
zipMoney asserts that their loan model is significantly different from that of payday lenders who provide funds at a high cost for unforeseen expenses – typically for lower socio-demographic borrowers. Instead, zipMoney partners with merchants to facilitate loans for discretionary purchases.
And they’re growing rapidly. For the quarter ending 30 September 2015, zipMoney reported a 47 per cent increase in revenue on the previous quarter and its customer base has risen from approximately 5000 to over 7000 over the same period.
