Uber Teams With UK P2P Lender To Finance Cars

While Uber continues to face regulatory pressures in the U.S. (and abroad), in London it has formed a unique partnership with the peer-to-peer lending service Zopa to help drivers gain financing for new cars.

Because Uber’s philosophy is to bring people an alternative way to earn money on their own time, it’s fitting that the ride-hailing service has teamed up with an alternative lending service to help encourage more people to purchase a car that enables them to become Uber drivers. The partnership enables Uber drivers who may have otherwise found it difficult to obtain financing for a new car access to funding.

“Our business is based on drivers and their ability to build their businesses on the Uber platform and as such we want to help them get on the road and start working on the Uber platform as cost effectively as possible. These deals add to the savings our partner-drivers can already achieve though Momentum, our loyalty programme for seasoned Uber partners,” Fraser Robinson, head of Business Development at Uber, said in a news release.

Like traditional loans, the  Zopa loan rates will be based on the driver’s credit risk, which will start at 6.9 percent APR, will run between 3-4 years and will allow for loans up to £22,000 (about $33,539). Until the loans are repaid in full, borrowers must remain the registered owners of the vehicle. Car loans will be funded by one of Zopa’s institutional lenders, and borrowers will have a choice from Toyota Jemca, or another Uber partner.

“Partnering with Uber is an excellent move for us as it marks Zopa’s entry into the secured auto lending industry, allowing us to provide secured loans to a growing market of self-employed customers. This unique commercial deal offers Uber drivers a low-cost loan to fund their vehicle at an affordable monthly cost,” said Giles Andrews, CEO and co-founder of Zopa, in the news release.