Media Release 19th June, 2019
- Chance for investors to participate in the ‘bank of mum and dad’
- Platform has global potential, with more than 5,000 users in 26 countries
- Average interest rate for a loan managed through Credi is 3% pa compared with double digit rates charged by traditional lenders
The Credi loan management platform today gives everyday Australians the opportunity to buy shares in the company through leading equity crowdfunding platform Equitise. Credi formalises loans between friends and family (often referred to as the 'bank of mum and dad') providing much needed structure to this massive untapped market. It removes common issues and friction associated with informal lending money and with ‘official mates rates’ through known parties, it’s an alternative source of finance to the high interest rates of traditional lenders.
With a target raise of $1million, Credi’s first equity crowdfunding campaign will provide funds for marketing & international expansion. The company over the past two years has already been involved in more than $100 million of transactions with the loan's average at $80,000 , made up of transactions ranging from a few hundred dollars to over a million dollars.
Founded by Perth-based Tim Dean, Credi is the facilitator for lending between known parties (usually parents and their children, or family and friends), formalising the repayment schedule and interest rate on loans. It now has 5,200 users from 26 countries on its platform.
The ‘bank of mum and dad’ (and family and friends) is estimated to be the largest lending institution in Australia after the Big Four banks, lending more than $65 billion in 2017.
“We have Credi users eagerly awaiting to invest in Credi. This endorsement confirms that our platform is a much needed disruptor in the fintech space,” Tim Dean said.
“With Australians still digesting the findings of the Hayne Royal Commission, the spotlight is on high cost credit and irresponsible lending,” he said.
“Credi makes it easy to receive financial support from friends and family as an alternative to traditional and more expensive forms of credit such as bank loans that often carry potentially crippling fees.
“Credi was inspired as a result of my own experience and allowed me as a parent to navigate my adult children away from high cost credit and teach them how to repay and manage a loan responsibility and efficiently,” he said.
“Australians are already lending millions of dollars to friends and family on Credi, at an average interest rate of three percent compared to the double digit rates charged by many of the majors,” Mr Dean said.
Credi will issue ordinary shares valued at 10.5c each on the Equitise platform, with a minimum target of $200,000. With a minimum investment of $210, the offer will be open for just under a month.
Equitise co-founder Chris Gilbert says Credi has identified a massive gap in the market that the banks and other financial institutions have failed to act swiftly on.
“When we first started Equitise, one of our key motivators was to provide a platform that would accelerate and enable innovation just like Credi,” Mr Gilbert said.
“As Credi is a platform formalising loans for everyday Australians, it makes complete sense the company would turn to everyday investors or ‘‘the crowd’’ to raise capital. For this reason, among others, Equitise has become a preferred method of generating funds for early stage ventures and growth companies,” he said.