Beforepay named 2023 Ethical Lender of the Year in Global Pan Finance Awards
Ethical-lending fintech Beforepay (ASX:B4P) has been named 2023 Ethical Lender of the Year by Pan Finance, the London-based financial publication. The award recognises Beforepay’s commitment as a mission-driven organisation to providing working Australians with a safe and affordable alternative to navigating temporary cash-flow challenges.
Rapid growth through ethical lending practices
Beforepay and its flagship wage-advance product have grown rapidly since commercial launch in August 2020, with more than 220,000 active customers in Australia as of March 2023.
Beforepay’s risk-decisioning model uses machine learning (ML) to determine which customers to approve for advances and how to set the size of the advances. Developed by a team of data scientists, Beforepay’s ML models are trained and validated on hundreds of millions of data points, searching over 50,000 features to determine the best 500 attributes to include in the model. These attributes cover a wide range of income, expenditure, and behavioural data, and allow Beforepay to accurately identify eligible customers and ensure limits are set within customers’ means.
Empowering customers with their finances
Established to disrupt payday lending and support consumers who are underserved by traditional financial institutions, Beforepay provides eligible customers with access to advances of up to $2000 for a 5% fixed transaction fee, with no interest or late fees. Customers can only take one advance at a time, with each advance needing to be fully repaid before a customer is eligible for a second one, ensuring that users do not fall into a debt spiral. Unlike banks that issue credit cards or personal loans, Beforepay’s only incentive is for the customer to repay the advance in a timely fashion.
The need for accessible financial products is clear, with the average Beforepay customer income at about $59,000 annually, very similar to the average Australian income. Beforepay fills this gap by providing a short-term lending product that is tailored to the average Australian.
Saved the day with medical parking payments while visiting my Father in hospital.
- Louise D.
I have found this access to cash extremely helpful when all my bills come in at once and unexpected ones happen and I can avoid late fees.
- Jean R.
I like [Beforepay] because there's guidance to control spending. I only get it when there's a good need. Like going home and you just need that extra to get home. Thank you.
- Rhonda S.
Global recognition cements Beforepay as an industry leader
The Pan Finance Ethical Lender of the Year Award 2023 is recognition of the way Beforepay has combined technology and innovation with a customer-centric business model. The Award highlights Beforepay’s contribution to a shift in the financial landscape that protects customers while fostering responsible lending practices.
“We’re honoured to receive the Pan Finance 2023 Ethical Lender of the Year Award and are proud to be recognised as a mission-driven fintech,” says Jamie Twiss, CEO of Beforepay.
“Beforepay is dedicated to the idea that Australians who need to borrow small amounts of money shouldn’t have to risk taking on long-term debt and paying compound interest. This award confirms the positive impact that we have on the lives of our customers. We’re hopeful that more startups and incumbents will introduce ethical financial products that are safe and affordable.”
The Pan Finance Awards Program identifies examples of best practice across various financial categories.
About Beforepay
Beforepay was founded in 2019 to support working Australians who have not been well-served by the traditional financial services industry.
Beforepay’s flagship pay advance product is an ethical, customer-friendly way to help people manage temporary cash flow challenges in a safe and affordable way. The product provides customers with early access to a portion of their pay, on demand, for a 5% fixed fee, to tide them over while living within their means.
Beforepay uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in its risk model, calculating approximately 500 separate attributes for each customer in order to determine their eligibility and set their limit.
Alongside this, Beforepay also offers a bespoke budgeting tool and real-time spending insights in the mobile app to equip customers with additional resources for responsible money management.
