The 2025 Fintech Pledge turns 1!
It all started in the autumn of 2022.
Rising UK inflation and the subsequent price surges in everything from energy bills, petrol prices and grocery costs exacerbated the squeeze on household finances, some of which were already under strain in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In response to the cost-of-living crisis, Zopa bank and ClearScore launched the 2025 Fintech Pledge, bringing together the fintech industry to help millions of UK consumers take actions that strengthen their ability to withstand an economic shock.
We started with an objective to drive 10 million consumer actions by 2025 that build up the financial resilience of UK consumers.
We’ve worked hard to connect people to fintech platforms that make savings work harder, improve credit scores, consolidate debt, and lower utility bills and household outgoings.
One year in, we paused to reflect on our collective achievements and to celebrate this important anniversary.
We’ve come a long way
On 6 November, 65 people from 40 different companies gathered in London St Pancras at Google UK, a Pledge member, to celebrate our first year as a coalition and to discuss how to deliver even more positive impact in 2024.
The event began with opening remarks from Adrian Poole, Head of Digital First Business at Google Cloud, and Janine Hirt, CEO of Innovate Finance, who set the scene on both the importance of the Pledge and its work, as well as the wider state of fintech and collaboration among companies.
Jaidev Janardana and Justin Basini, CEOs of Zopa Bank and ClearScore respectively, then took the stage to discuss our achievements and our collective vision for the future.
Since our early days, our coalition has come a long way:
The Pledge has grown to just under 50 members with a combined customer base of more than 25 million.
Overall, our cohort is based both in London and across the UK, with roughly 30% of member companies being based outside the capital.
After almost doubling in size, our latest members to join include Salesforce, Incredible, Youtility, Wonderful, Data on Demand, and Gretel.
Together, we have collectively achieved more than 8 million actions that improve the financial resilience of UK consumers.
We have worked with The Money Charity to fund a multi-year program of financial wellbeing workshops. This training markedly increases the financial capability of those who need it most, from 45 to 82% after completing the training.
We also launched "Master My Money", a content hub and TikTok campaign to help consumers better understand and manage their money. In just over two months Master My Money reached 2.5 million users; while its educational content received 8.5 million impressions and 16,000 clicks.
The media covered the Pledge roughly 100 times, with articles in trade and national press like Bloomberg, Business Insider and CityAM.
...and we’re just getting started!
New energy for 2024
The Pledge has grown much faster than anticipated, having already achieved so much in just over a year. But although we’re progressing fast, we are nowhere near done!
We have now started the important work of creating new sub-committees that will drive work to support new Pledge pillars.
The new sector leaders that will emerge from these discussions will drive the future of the Pledge as it continues to expand and evolve, adding their expertise and exponential capabilities to those of other members with similar interests.
Watch this space for more updates!
How to get involved
We've been thrilled with the progress to date, none of this could have been possible without the support of the companies involved in the 2025 Fintech Pledge.
We continue to receive and prioritise exciting ideas from our new members who want to drive more work, faster, within the Pledge. These members are looking to benefit from the enhanced visibility and deeper network access their leadership positions carry in the coalition.
If you’d like to get involved in the 2025 Fintech Pledge, please contact join@pledge2025.org or visit www.pledge2025.org
