Crowd2Fund warns of minor impact on investors as staff work from home
Crowd2Fund has warned that investors may experience minor disruptions as its staff are instructed to work from home to reduce the risk of Covid-19.
The platform said most team members are now working remotely, and emphasised that it will be doing all it can to protect employees from the virus. This includes additional security measures to protect personal data and new daily routines being set up between team members to ensure smooth operations.
As a result of these plans, Crowd2Fund warned investors that they may experience challenges with phone calls and trying to get through to specific team members because it is not operating is usual switchboard service. The platform asked investors to communicate with the team via email instead.
It also said that investors may experience some minor disruptions, however any issues should be kept to a minimum. Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) transfers may also take longer to complete because cheques are still core to this process and need to be posted manually.
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“We will be doing our utmost to ensure smooth operations and also working with businesses to mitigate the economic impact of the virus to ensure that investor funds are protected and businesses get through this challenging time,” the platform said on a blog on its website.
Due to the severe – and hopefully temporary – economic impact of the virus, Crowd2Fund has put in plans to mitigate these risks through a revised credit policy and contingency plans for businesses which express distress because of the virus.
The platform will be referring distressed businesses to one of the many government schemes offering temporary credit solutions via the British Business Bank (BBB).
At least £12bn in relief has been arranged by the chancellor, which is being deployed via a number of the BBB’s partner platforms.
In the unlikely event that a business is unable to access government relief, the platform will assess each business thoroughly on a case-by-case basis.
If businesses require their Crowd2Fund financing to be restructured, then the platform may consider offering an alternative product which is suitable for businesses who experience fluctuations in revenue.
Crowd2Fund said that if businesses progress down this route then they will lose their perfect repayment status, therefore it is strongly advised to seek relief from one of the official government channels.
The platform has also modified its credit policy to identify new borrowers in sectors that may be at high-risk of economic contagion due to Covid-19.
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