Brits with good credit should not be paying more than 5.2% interest on borrowing

Zopa is the new ‘Best Value Benchmark’ for borrowing for those with a good credit history, having topped the uSwitch and MoneySupermarket best buy loan tables for well over a year.

As January draws surprisingly quickly to a close, along with too many people’s resolve to spring clean their finances, Zopa (zopa.com) - the world’s first marketplace where people meet to lend and borrow money – offers a quick and easy benchmark for the best deals available. Zopa has topped the charts on leading comparison sites uSwitch and Moneysupermarket for more than a year now, proving itself to be THE best value benchmark for those looking for the lowest interest rate on their borrowing.

In particular, people with a good credit history should NOT put up with paying more than the Zopa marketplace’s best rate to their credit card company, bank or personal loan provider. Currently at Zopa, those with a good credit record can borrow for example £3000 over 3 years for only 5.2% and £1000 over 3 years for just 4.9%. These rates are far lower than even the best of the rest, as can be seen in the table below:

£3,000 loan over 3 years -

Zopa 5.2%
Moneyback Bank 5.9%
Northern Rock 6.1%
Furness BS 6.9%
Leeds BS 6.9%

(Source: Moneysupermarket.com, 24.1.07)

And when compared to average interest rates charged on credit cards and bank overdrafts (17.3% and 12.5% respectively, source: Moneyfacts 24.1.07), Zopa’s role as ‘best value benchmark for borrowing’ is crystal clear.

Anyone with unsecured debt currently would be well-advised to compare the interest rate they are paying currently to their bank, credit card or personal loan provider against the best rates on offer on the Zopa marketplace. It is highly likely that they will save hundreds if not thousands of pounds by paying off all their current borrowing with a single loan from Zopa.

James Alexander, co-founder and CEO of Zopa said, “Anyone paying more than the best rate they can access through Zopa is either cross-subsidising others with poorer credit records borrowing from the same lender, or lining the already bulging pockets of their bank - or both. There is simply no need to get fleeced like this anymore. By cutting out the Big Banks altogether, the new alternative that Zopa offers is providing consistently the best rates available to borrowers – and a vital best value benchmark - especially for those with good credit records.”