Articles

When we first built Loqbox in 2016, we knew our mission - to end financial exclusion - was a global one.

It has been over a year since the first UK lockdown where we all had to drastically change our usual working patterns. As a business owner, naturally I was worried about how our team would cope with the new, remote, ways of working due to lockdown. Luckily, people who apply for jobs with startup, fintech businesses tend to be those who like a fast paced, busy, work environment and as such, I was confident that productivity levels would remain high. My concerns however, surrounded our employees wellbeing and how Gregor (Gregor Mowat, my Co-Founder and Co-CEO) and I could support the team now more than ever.

We talk a lot about how passionate we are at Loqbox about Financial Inclusion. It is the backbone of our business and something we hold ourselves accountable for daily. But the other side of this, which is equally as important, is digital inclusion.

A study last year revealed that less than 30% of the UK's fintech workforce was female. The same study also found that whilst less than 30% of the fintech workforce is female, only 17%of senior fintech roles are held by women.

Whether we think it’s fair or not, your personal finances can have a big impact on how you are judged by people who don’t know you.

Fintech used to be the trendy term to describe Financial Technology. Now, it is commonly used and understood around the world.

In the past credit scores have been built from factors like your financial history and how you have used credit. Now however, the credit industry is changing.

Self employment has its perks, you can wear what you want to the ‘office’, set your own hours and eatlunch at 10am if you so wish but it also has some down sides like an unpredictable income, but doesbeing your own boss impact your credit score?

Since the inception of our business we have always believed strongly that a fair credit market for all requires products that responsibly help individuals to build a credit history in order to access credit products that are priced for their true risk.

Have you ever found yourself in the position of applying for a credit card or loan thinking you have good or excellent credit, only to soon find that the credit score that the card issuer or lender has seen was lower than what you saw on with the credit reference agencies? Well, you’re not alone.