| Contact: | Ron Scott, Corporate Development | |
| Phone: | 650.508.0300 opt 1 ext. 2180 | |
| Fax: | 650.595.2409 | |
| E-mail: | hparks@providentcu.org | |
| Web site: | www.providentcu.org | |
| For Immediate Release | ||
Zopa's social networking technology connects borrowers and investors in a groundbreaking product offered exclusively through credit unions.
Redwood Shores, CA – December 4, 2007: Zopa, a pioneer in online social finance services, and Provident Credit Union, a 57-year old Bay Area retail financial institution, have joined forces to launch an online community that offers unprecedented benefits to borrowers and investors. More details are available at www.zopa.com
"Provident Credit Union was founded on the idea of people-helping people, so our partnership with Zopa is the logical evolution of this concept," said Jim Ernest, Provident Credit Union executive vice president. "Now that we can encourage investors to become "helpers" through the Zopa web site, we've found an innovative new way to deliver on our original mission as a credit union. This is also an exciting product that will help us grow by tapping into the difficult to reach younger market," explains Ernest.
Through its partnership with Provident Credit Union– and other credit union partners – Zopa offers two innovative products tailored to borrowers and investors, respectively.
Zopa products are only available to members of Provident Credit Union and Zopa's other credit union partners. Consumers who are not already a member of these credit unions can easily sign up online for a credit union as part of the Zopa experience.
Zopa takes the traditional personal loan and share certificate and turns them into social finance tools—where consumers can achieve their financial goals at the same time they help other people.
Borrowers on Zopa not only get a great rate on their loan, but they can publish a personal profile that contains details about their situation and the reasons they are borrowing. The profile is designed to be shared with friends, family, and colleagues via the Zopa web site, other social networking sites like MySpace or a consumer's own blog.
Investors, by purchasing a Zopa CD, become "helpers". They pick at least one borrower to help and, by adjusting the rate on their Zopa CD, they can increase the amount of "help" they contribute to their borrower(s) in the form of a credit towards the borrower's monthly loan payment. In this way, investors can help other people while still enjoying an attractive, guaranteed, and insured return.
"Zopa and credit unions are a natural fit. Credit unions have a history of focusing on social needs and helping their communities," said Douglas Dolton, Chief Executive Officer of Zopa. "We are particularly pleased to be partnering with Provident Credit Union, one of the largest, most financially sound and most innovative credit unions in the country."
Provident Credit Union is a $1.5 billion full-service retail financial cooperative with over 280 employees and 18 community branches in the Bay Area. The Redwood Shores based credit union offers a full range of services from checking and savings accounts to credit cards, loans and mortgages and has proudly served the San Francisco Bay Area since 1950. The credit union is open to anyone who lives and works in the surrounding counties of the Bay Area. For more information about Provident membership, products and services, visit www.providentcu.org.
Zopa is the world's first online social finance company. With Zopa, everyone gets a better rate, the opportunity to connect with other people, and the satisfaction that comes from helping each other out. It's the way money was meant to be.
Zopa is a U.S. company, based in San Francisco and London, with operations in the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Zopa pioneered person-to-person lending as a way to create mutually-beneficial financial relationships. More than 175,000 people have joined Zopa since the company's launch in 2005. The company has won numerous awards for innovation, including the 2007 Webby for best banking site. For more information, visit www.zopa.com.