Ex-payday lending boss joins Zopa

ZOPA has appointed former payday lending boss Zitah McMillan as a non-executive director on the board of its peer-to-peer business, Peer2Peer Finance News can reveal.

McMillan previously held top communications roles at the Department of Work and Pensions and the Financial Conduct Authority.

She left the City regulator in 2014 to become regional chief executive of Dollar Financial Group in Europe, which owns an array of lenders that provide short-term loans, pawnbroking and gold buying services.

Read more: Zopa boosts target interest rates across all products

It operates a number of payday lending brands in the UK including The Money Shop and Month End Money.

McMillan resigned from Dollar Financial Group on 27 February 2018 and was named as a director at Zopa on 13 September 2018, according to documents filed with Companies House.

In April, Zopa restructured its governance, creating a separate P2P board headed up by former Peer-to-Peer Finance Association chair Christine Farnish, and one for the planned bank that will be chaired by former Barclays and GE Capital banker Peter Herbert.

“I’m delighted to be joining the board at this crucial time in the evolution of the business, working with Christine and the Zopa executive team to support their ambition and future plans,” said McMillan.

“Zitah has a wealth of both consumer, regulatory and more recently European credit experience; her knowledge and expertise will be of immense value to the board,” said Farnish.

McMillan joins at a pivotal time for Zopa. Last month, the firm announced that it had raised £44m in the first stage of a new fundraising round, will be used to help the platform launch its new digital bank and fuel the expansion of its business.