Zopa on hiring drive to support credit card launch in 2018

ZOPA is recruiting staff to develop its new credit card, which it plans to launch later this year as a feature of its digital bank.

The peer-to-peer consumer lender, which first announced plans to launch a bank in November 2016, is currently advertising for a product manager and senior software developer to work on the new product, as part of its ‘bank tribe’ of employees. The two positions will be based in Zopa’s London office.

“In 2018, we’re going a step further by expanding our current product offerings and introducing a credit card, a brand-new product,” the firm said in a job specification.

“The card will not only offer simple, fair pricing…in line with Zopa’s mission but also provide useful card management features that help people better manage their spend and finances. This means we win when the customer wins.”

Read more: Zopa bolsters executive team to prepare for bank launch

At LendIt Europe last October, Zopa chief executive Jaidev Janardana said that Zopa Bank was half way through a two-year process of acquiring a banking licence, suggesting approval is likely to come through later this year.

As well as a credit card, he said that Zopa Bank will offer unsecured personal loans with no early repayment charges and savings and investments that prioritise existing customers.

It will also offer auto-loans, allowing users to do a soft-search for products.

In an exclusive interview with Peer2Peer Finance News last September, Zopa co-founder and chairman Giles Andrews said that the plan to launch a bank is “the most exciting thing we’ve done since the day we launched the business”.

Read more: Zopa completes fundraising ahead of bank transition