Zopa has launched its first ever credit card, challenging industry standards with a product specifically designed to help customers stay in control of their money and their debt. 

Recent research from the digital bank revealed that 17% of Brits surveyed don’t believe they have tools to manage their credit cards efficiently. While one in five is unaware of their limit on their credit card and a quarter (25%) admitted to going over their limit – on average three times a year.   

Using its 15 years of lending experience and tech expertise, Zopa has builtits card with unique features that help people manage their money more efficiently. 

Zopa’s credit card provides a unique feature called ‘Safety Net’ which allows customers to lock away part of their available credit balance for small unexpected expenses. Customers set their own personal financial buffer when they initially set up their card, and receive an instant notification to let them know they’re getting close to their Safety Net limit. Should they want to access it, they can do so by unlocking it in the app. Customers will not be charged any fees should they need to use their Safety Net funds.   

Zopa’s credit card also includes real time balance updates after purchases showing exactly how much credit they have remaining, often customers have had to wait hours or even days for their transactions to show up in their balance. With only 20% of Brits knowing how much their limit is on their credit card, real time updates put the customer even further in control as it will reduce the risk of them going over their limit and the possibility therefore of their card being declined.   

Additionally, customers receive instant notifications on purchases and spend tracking is available in the app so they can see the key categories they spend in. 

Customers can manage theirZopacardinapp, allowingcontrol overtheir credit card via their mobile phoneandalsohave peace of mind thatif they need furthersupportZopa’s award-winning customer serviceteamis on hand. 

When customers receive the card, they will be welcomed with a short ‘to do list’ to help them get the most out of the card and ensure they have full control of their spending from day one. 

Additional features on Zopa’s credit card include instant freeze and unfreeze, the ability to turn on/off certain spending such as gambling and cash withdrawals, and contactless payments up to £45 via the card. 

The features launched today are just the start of Zopa’s credit card journey as it plans to continue developing new features with the customer in mind. 

Jaidev Janardana, CEO of Zopa, said: “The credit card market hasn’t caught up with the standard of other digital products and customers have been waiting too long for a better experience. At Zopa, we believe that credit cards need to be revolutionised so we have built a card designed around putting the customer in control. Industry firsts such as our Safety Net feature and handy tools like real time credit balance updates help customers manage their money effectively, enabling them to build a good credit profile. 

“As an agile tech-first company, we’ll continue to develop our Zopa credit card inline with customer feedback and offer even more innovative, beneficial features in the future.” 

With 15 years of lending experience as a peer to peer lender, Zopa has used its expertise to build the credit card. It has lent out over £5billion to people in the UK through personal loans and secured car finance and helped over half a million people get the most out of their money. Zopa also offers Real Rates to loans customers which allows people to know ifthey’ll be approved and the loan rate they’ll receive before getting a mark on their credit file. This allows customers to have full control over their credit file and allows them to shop around for the best deal that works for them. 

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·        Zopa’s credit card has a representative rate of 34.9% APR variable based on an assumed credit limit of £1,200 

·        Research conducted by Opinium between 2^nd October – 5^th October of 2,000 nationally representative adults