Nearly a third or 33% of UK residents say they were financially unprepared for the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting challenges.
Around 38% of UK residents responding to a survey conducted by Fintech Zopa said they’re now preparing their savings for another potential emergency situation that could come after another (possible) nationwide lockdown goes into effect.
Zopa says that younger people, which mainly include millennials (born in the early 80s to early 90s), appear to be leading the way when it comes to making significant changes to their savings habits. According to the survey by the peer to peer lender, people between 24 and 39, living in the UK, are twice as likely to put funds aside right now to deal with potential emergencies than those who are over 55 years of age (senior citizens).
According to Zopa, the average UK resident aims to save around £6,700 by the end of 2020 in order to prepare for unexpected life events.
Millennials also aim to save about £21,500 by 2025, which is a bit more than around £18,900 saved by Brits who are over the age of 55 and the country’s (savings) average of approximately £20,700.
Clare Gambardella, chief customer officer at Zopa, said that the last few months have “really put the nation’s finances under a microscope.” The Coronavirus crisis appears to have caused many Brits to reconsider how they save and spend their money.
Gambardella added that the Fintech lender can now see that where it’s possible, UK residents are using this current time to develop “good financial habits – particularly the younger millennial audience.”
Gambardella further noted that the Fintech firm is launching its bank at a time when clients need products that can help them achieve their financial goals. Zopa has over 15 years of experience in offering “simple, fair products and award-winning levels of customer service to over half a million customers,” Gamnbardella confirmed.
The company now looks forward to offering the same level of quality with the launch of its bank.
After an extensive regulatory journey, Zopa was recently awarded a full bank license as it transitions from a top online lender to a Fintech offering a growing portfolio of financial services.
Zopa Bank will sit alongside its existing peer to peer business (Zopa Limited), as part of the overall Zopa Group. Zopa currently holds a high user rating with 96% of Zopa’s Trustpilot reviews being either 4 or 5 stars – something that bodes well for customer acquisition. As a P2P lender, Zopa approves approximately £1 billion of personal loans per year.