Credi empowers the Bank of Mum and Dad - over $50 million of loans in 6 months
Perth, Western Australia: Credi is now available in New Zealand after a pilot launch over the last 2 months where over 100 users joined the
platform. This follows the establishment of over $50 million dollars of loans between hundreds of friends and family
members in Australia in 6 months since launch.
The Bank of Mum and Dad is not just about a loan for getting on the property ladder for first time buyers. It is the tip
of a large financial iceberg.
Research carried out for Credi by RMIT shows that the informal lending market extends into billions of dollars per year
in the US, UK and Australia.
* The Australian public lend in excess of $1.65billion each year in unprotected, informal loans
* In the US 2.3million startups have been funded by friends and family
* UK and US have similar scales of relationship lending
* Credit from family and friends is the 2nd most common form of credit in the US
Loans between related parties are built on relationships. As long as a relationship remains good, the terms of the loan
are met, but should the relationship sour, the loan also sours.
After a two tier build phase, Credi launched in April 2017 as a loan management platform to enable members of the public
to build, negotiate, share and manage personal loans in one platform. Credi.com delivers loan documentation, negotiation
to a legal contract agreement, repayment reminders and ongoing loan management - powering "The Bank of Mum and Dad".
"We want to save relationships from the strain of financial dealings by turning informal agreements into credible,
manageable and formal ones," Tim Dean CEO says. "We believe that by looking after reminders, calendaring and contracting
on behalf of the lender and borrower, we are removing the most fraught aspects of relationship loans.
"In the past people either did nothing to formalise their agreements, which is fraught with risk, or emailed and called
to communicate their wishes leading to misunderstanding and confusion, or at best downloaded a loan template document
that they passed between themselves - documentation that was not understood, properly completed or stored for future
reference if needed. Credi does all of this and way more in one place, seamlessly. Two parties can set up, negotiate and
agree a contract in minutes."
Since launch, Credi has processed $50M in loans on its platform. “It's early days," says Tim Dean, "but the loans we are
seeing broadly mirror our research - from a $650K loan between family members to upscale a residence, to loans for cars,
holidays, laptops, Apple watch and even to fund a start up!"
Credi is built for individuals, but is releasing a partner version for finance professionals over the coming weeks,
targeting accountants, book keepers, financial planners.
Mr Dean added: "We have a number of businesses lining up for our partner version. We will roll out a comprehensive loan
management system, adding to the Credi platform, including secured loans, entity management and automated bank payment
reconciliation, that they can promote to their customers and in due course administer for them."
ends