Tandem plots gig economy mortgage

Tandem Bank wants to hear from would-be homeowners as it plans to launch a new mortgage aimed at first time buyers.

The London-based digital lender said it is working on a new mortgage aimed at freelancers and those in the gig economy who are “particularly vulnerable to rejection and unfavourable rates as they often lack a clear, regular source of income to share with lenders”.

It added it is “developing a new method of credit scoring based on a customer’s aggregated financial data, effectively building a more rounded picture of how they borrow, spend and save” using its banking app. 

The start-up, founded in 2013, said it wants customers to tell it their personal must-haves for a mortgage by signing up to be part of its new group of “co-creators”.

Pricey housing market

It said the aim is to offer mortgages to people who might not have been accepted by other lenders.

Tandem co-founder and chief executive Ricky Knox (pictured) said: “We’re once again turning to our community to shape a new financial product, this time a crowd-designed mortgage. Many people feel like they’re priced out of the housing market or don’t have the credit record to get a favourable mortgage. We plan to address that.”

The bank said once it has designed its new mortgage it will test it with a small group of customers by the end of this year, before a full UK launch in 2020.