Fintech can be a minefield. With a heavy market saturation and many similar solutions on the market, you need something extra to stand out. The idea behind Updraft, a UK-based fintech, is simple: lending. The story behind it is even simpler: let’s make something that will fill the market void. The result? The business draft that turned into a solid business, uplifting hundreds of thousands of customers.
What is Updraft?
Updraft is a lending fintech company. The company is focused on helping customers achieve ‘debt zero’ with clear payoff rounds. Updraft offers a mobile app featuring lending, credit reporting, and financial management services. It combines open banking and behavioral data in an attempt to improve credit risk underwriting and lower the cost of credit.
The company is a part lending, part credit report, and part financial planning app for millennials. Its mission is to help people break up with their credit cards and better manage their money.
Its primary focus of Updraft is to aid UK households in moving away from costly credit cards, overdrafts, and buy now, pay later (BNPL) loans. The company achieves this with bureau data, open banking data, and behavioral analytics to underwrite credit risks more effectively.
What’s interesting is that checking eligibility has no impact on customers’ credit score. If they choose to accept a loan, a hard search will be reported on their credit file.
The origin story – who built the company?
Updraft was founded in 2017 by Aseem Munshi. The man ran HSBC’s credit card business to address the inflexibility in the lending market with sky-high interest rates on credit cards and banks charging fees for early repayments on loans.
The company’s efforts were recognized by the Banking Technology Awards in 2022, granting the company prize in the ‘Best Digital Initiative – Lending’ category.
The business model and revenue streams
The company has a few modules that complement each other and make this firm interesting for users.
For starters, it has a Credit Score & Report feature. It helps users understand what affects their financial positions and gives suggestions to improve it. It brings access to high-quality low-cost credit products with Updraft Credit. This uses open banking to provide a single place to view all spending and borrowing.
Next, we have Money Talks. This is a rich two-way messaging system, available to members whenever they want.
There we have Goals, where users can set extra payment credit goals to pay off even faster.
Lastly, we have Updraft Payce, where users are helped to convert their credit card purchases into cheaper, faster, and flexible pay-off plans.
Updraft managed to grow its user base to 500,000 and assist customers in paying off over £225 million in credit card and overdraft debts.
The company wants to add more value-added features, explore new channels for reaching different customer segments, and cement its position as a leader in financial support and guidance.
The role of artificial intelligence (AI)
Updraft heavily leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) on banking transaction data and provides personalized goals and tasks to save money. Also, to build savings and earn access to high-quality credit.
It also analyses transactional and mobile engagement data to better underwrite credit risk and lower the cost of credit.
Using proprietary AI, Updraft provides customers with a complete picture of their spending and borrowing and enables customers to take charge of their finances and see where they are overpaying for borrowing. This enables them to look at their overall position.
By using Updraft’s lending products, they reduce their borrowing charges by appropriately refinancing their debt and reduce charges. Even by up to 50%.
Summary
At Code & Pepper, we understand the role of AI in creating performing fintech software. We hire only the top 1.6% of talents and equip them with AI-based tools to create memorable experiences for customers.
We believe in a centaur development model. We create sustainable code for future-proof applications. That’s why we want to highlight top fintech companies like Updraft. To share the passion for unique ideas and market-transforming products.
