It’s the first commercial partnership to exist between a mobile operator and p2p platform. Members of the mobile phones provider are flooding in to purchase handsets online by using RateSetter-sourced p2p loans. The number of giffgaff loans doubled month-on-month in April, and the joint initiative has given RateSetter a sizeable boost. The platform matched a record numbers of loans during April, after having secured the title of largest UK p2p lender in March in terms of amount of new loans originated.
Rhydian Lewis, Founder and CEO of RateSetter, commented:
“Our ground-breaking partnership with giffgaff shows the potential within the P2P sector to power a whole range of consumer services, starting with mobile phones, without the high fees and rates of a high street bank. This is a fantastic example of the boom in the ‘sharing economy’.
“The driving ethos behind launching RateSetter was our belief that there must be an alternative to financing loans that offers customers a better deal. Through this exciting collaboration, we are moving beyond the direct provision of loans to borrowers and emulating the freedom our values bring across multiple sectors. The future of consumer finance is bright – and it is powered by P2P.”
Giffgaff cuts out costly long-term contracts and provides much-needed flexibility to its members through a strong focus on community. The relationship between the mobile operator and RateSetter was founded upon a number of shared values. Each company is disrupting the market and in doing so producing a better deal for consumers.
A spokesperson from giffgaff said:
“This initiative has been revolutionary for our member base. We are now able to offer mobile handsets through our website, based on the easy provision of cost-effective loans provided by other members of the public.
“This is a really exciting development for giffgaff and one that we have worked on closely with our members to bring about. Together with RateSetter we are disrupting the market, offering mobile phones without costly long-term contracts and thus meeting the needs of today’s consumers.”
The partnership was forged back in November 2013 as a response to mounting consumer demand for alternative methods of financing everyday items. Based on joint credit and fraud management technology, the initiative has enabled giffgaff to offer handsets to customers without the requirement of an immediate upfront payment.
The giffgaff-RateSetter alliance allows consumers to take advantage of the best value tariffs without the trade-off of a burdensome 2 year contract that major mobile networks typically demand. This of course echoes the platform’s work in the finance arena – where lenders and borrowers alike can bypass the banks to benefit from the generally superior rates of direct lending. Are there more partnerships of this kind on the
