Freelancer money app Multiply just named Iwoca non-exec Jonathan Schneider as chairman

Multiply's mission to help the UK's 4.8m freelancers was bolstered with the addition of the seasoned fintech investor to its board.

It’s not easy to balance an ever-changing income with longer-term responsibilities like taxes and your pension as a freelancer.

Multiply was founded in 2016 by Mike Curtis and Vivek Madlani to help freelancers do just that, a financial planning app backed by some of tech’s biggest names including Nutmeg cofounder Nick Hungerford and TransferWise cofounder Taavet Hinrikus.

The crux of Multiply is how it uses machine learning to create financial plans for freelancers which adapt to changes in earning and suggests financial products suited to their needs.

Already having raised £1.8m last year in a funding round led by Octopus Ventures, Multiply just announced Jonathan Schneider, a prolific fintech investor with investments in companies like Wonga and Jumo as well as a non-executive director of iwoca, as its new chairman.

“AI is revolutionising the world of financial advice and Multiply is at the vanguard of this change,” said Schneider on his appointment.

Madlani, Multiply’s CEO, said his expertise would help the company grow from thousands to hundreds of thousands of users, as well as advising on the challenges of scaling such a business.

“Jonathan’s passion for solving everyday problems with fintech makes him the perfect partner for Multiply. We’re delighted to welcome him on board - as we grow the business, his scaling expertise will be invaluable.”

The problem Multiply is solving is certainly needed, of the 4.8m freelancers in the UK alone the Government-backed Money Advice Service says 45% aged between 35 and 55 have no private pension.

Whether or not Multiply is the solution to this looming financial crisis we’ll have to wait and see, but growing fintech interest in the finances of sole traders and freelancers from the likes of Coconut, Tide and now Multiply certainly doesn’t hurt.