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What Does Your Bank Account Say About You?

21st January 2021

Your Bank Account Info: Would You be Happy to Share Your Spending Habits?

If you’ve ever tried to apply for a loan, then you’ll know it can sometimes be a difficult and disappointing process. Unless you have a perfect credit history, you may have been faced with rejection after rejection, further damaging your score.

But what if there was a different way? What if there was a lending option that worked for your personal circumstances? This got the Finio Loans team thinking about other ways we could help our lenders and, hey presto! we found a solution: loans that are based on your bank account history, as well as your credit score.

To get your opinion on this new type of loan, we asked the Great British public to answer our survey.

Our Survey Questions

We asked our respondents to answer the following questions:

  • If your bank account could talk, what would it say about your spending habits?
  • What information would you be happy to share with a lender, to secure a loan?
  • What bank charges are you most embarrassed about?

We got some very interesting responses and have compiled the most intriguing statistics. Read on to find out more.

If Your Bank Account Could Talk

We got some interesting answers when we asked: ‘What would your bank account say about you?’ Amongst the most humorous (and slightly worrying!), of responses, included: food related comments (‘Do you ever cook?’ and ‘Please help me, I’m hungry!’); and relationship problems (‘I wish you'd show me a little attention’).

Spending habits 1

Health Records or Social Media Profiles?

Despite these downhearted comments, when asked how much personal info they would be happy to provide to a prospective lender, 13.9% of respondents said yes to sharing their bank accounts, topped only by health records which scooped 14.1% of the vote.

Least popular was internet activity, with 9.5% willing to share their social media profile and only 8% would offer their browsing history.

Location, Location, Location

When respondents told us what transactions on their statement they found most embarrassing, our findings also highlighted some interesting location results.

Spending habits 2

Bristol topped the list for online shopping, with 23% saying it was their most worrying habit. 18% of Liverpool respondents were sheepish about their bills. For those in Manchester, 16% had overdraft concerns. In Belfast, 15% were uncomfortable with their alcohol spend. 12% of Southampton respondents were ashamed of the amount they spend on online dating. In Edinburgh, 10% were self-conscious about gym membership costs.10% of Norwich residents said eating out was their most shameful spend.

The Gender Divide

Our survey results also found men and women have different worries about their spending habits. For example, women are twice as likely to be embarrassed about their online shopping, while it was bills, alcohol and gambling for men.

In addition, men would be more likely to share personal information. Almost 1 in 5 (17.8%), said they would be willing to share health records, compared to just 1 in 10 (11.5%) of women.

Age Related Woes

The results also highlighted a difference in opinion among various age brackets. For example, 21.7% of those aged 18-24 were embarrassed about their online shopping habits, while 17.4% would share their social media profile with a lender.

For the 25-34 group, 16.3% confessed to worrying about how much they spend on takeaway food, with 16.3% also saying they would provide a lender with their bank account info.

Respondents aged 45 plus were self-conscious about alcohol, with 9.8% of those aged 45-54, and 11.4% of 55 and over, admitting to alcohol-related spends. What’s more, almost 79.7% of over 65s would not allow a lender to access any of their information, including bank account, social media and health records.

A New Kind of Loan

We all have purchases we would rather keep secret but sharing your bank account information with a lender could help you to find a loan.

At Finio Loans, we know that everyone has different circumstances and history. That’s why we’ve created our new loans that use your bank account information to assess suitability.

While we can’t rid you of your embarrassment about your online shopping habit or takeaway addiction, we may be able to help you access the finance you need.

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