Pledge2025 doubles in size as 22 fintechs make cost-of-living crisis promise

Ten more fintechs have signed a cross-industry pledge to help connect their users with platforms that will improve credit scores, consolidate debt and reduce household outgoings.

In September, Zopa and ClearScore launched the initiative by creating Pledge2025 with the aim of tackling the UK’s cost of living crisis.

Today the signatories have now reached 22 fintechs, with the newest joiners including open banking providers Tink and Plaid, credit building services Wollit and Canopy, and debt advice providers PayPlan and StepChange.

The goal of the pledge is for signatories to drive 10m positive consumer actions by 2025 that help Brits improve their financial well-being.

As of right now, over 1m actions have been reported by the companies involved, with over half a million soon to be publicly displayed on the Pledge2025 website.

“Recent FCA data from October showed that one in four adults are in financial trouble or at the brink of difficulty, while ONS data from the same month found almost half of adults who pay energy bills and 30% paying rent or mortgages say these are difficult to afford,” said Zopa CEO Jaidev Janardana.

“Launching the pledge was a natural step for us, as the ethos of driving better financial outcomes for customers has always been in our DNA, but it has been fantastic to see so many fintechs and allies embrace it too.”

As well as calling for more fintechs to join the pledge, Janardana said the joining requirements had also been expanded to include three new categories of membership, registered charities, industry enablers and external supporters.

While growth in signatories is important, Pledge2025 said it will now shift more focus towards both measuring the impact of its consumer actions and rolling out a multi-year consumer brand that will highlight the work being done.