Creditspring, the responsible lender, has expanded its senior leadership team with a new Vice President of Operations, Head of Credit Operations and Head of Data as the UK becomes increasingly reliant on credit due to the cost of living crisis.

The expanded operations leadership team will play a vital role in supporting members who are increasingly reliant on affordable credit, due to the cost of living crisis. Creditspring’s research shows that over a quarter (27%) of people are forced to dip into their savings every month just to make ends meet. Recently, Creditspring has seen a spike in applications as member numbers have more than doubled since the start of the year from 100,000 to over 225,000. In September alone, 2.6 million people applied to Creditspring for affordable credit. 

Creditspring’s new Vice President of Operations, Hannah Matson, joins from merchant bank BDT & Company International where she was Regional Manager for the Business Administration and hired to support their European expansion. Previous to BDT she held operational directorships in the hospitality industry as well as various operational positions in venture capital firms in both the UK and abroad. Hannah will be responsible for ensuring the appropriate infrastructure is in place to support Creditspring’s growth demands as well as helping ensure smooth running of the overall business.

Tamsin Powell joins as Head of Credit Operations from her role as Senior Manager at Structured Finance provider, Conister. Previously she has held Operations Director roles at consumer credit lenders; Zebra Finance and British Credit Trust, responsible for lending and collections functions. As a member of the Executive and Risk Committees she was also responsible for driving company strategy, change and culture. Tamsin will be responsible for ensuring that credit operations are running effectively and identifying opportunities for continuous improvement in operational processes.

Previously Head of Data and CRM at Alzheimer’s Research, Adrian Smith joins Creditspring as the lender’s new Head of Data. Previously, Adrian was the product owner of the financial data mart at a leading challenger bank, and has spent nearly 20 years working in the City. At Creditspring, Adrian will be ensuring that data is used effectively to add value, as well as developing a data governance framework for the benefit of the company and its members.

Neil Kadagathur, CEO of Creditspring said: “Enhancing the operational side of the business at a time when people are more reliant on credit, is vital to improve customer experience and offer more vital financial support. Through improved use of data and more accurate affordability checks, we can streamline the approvals process to make more accurate lending decisions and ultimately make it quicker and easier for members to borrow without the risk of incurring debt.” 

"People are increasingly reliant on credit tools and financial support to survive the cost of living crisis. The expansion of the operations team is integral to our longer-term growth plans, which aims to offer increased financial support to members, as well as our mission to empower members to make improved financial decisions to protect their future financial health.”

Hannah Matson, Vice President of Operations at Creditspring comments: “Demand for affordable credit is continuing to grow as the cost of living crisis sends shockwaves through the UK. The work that Creditspring is doing has never been more important, and I am looking forward to being part of the team delivering for borrowers across the country.”

Recently, Creditspring launched its latest education tool – Spring Score – which provides insight into members’ eligibility for Creditspring products to improve access to financial support tools. These tools include the ‘Step’ credit builder which helps members gradually improve their credit score, without collecting further debt.