Nationwide is to buy a stake in energy switching company Switchd, adding to the panoply of peripheral fintech startups in the building society's £50 million Venture Fund portfolio.
Switchd searches deals from across the whole market and automatically switches people’s energy supplier to ensure they are always on the best deal. Customers can manage their accounts online or via the Switchd app, enabling users to submit meter readings and log any preferences, such as only switching to green energy suppliers or setting a minimum saving for a switch to occur.
The investment is one of a rash of startup partnerships entered into by the Building Society since the launch of its Venture Fund in June last year. Other early-stage companies on the fringes of the financial services arena to win support from the Fund include digital lettings agency Bunk, proptech startup acasa and GDPR-compliant data sharing outfit Hazy.
Tony Prestedge, deputy chief executive at Nationwide, comments: “Nationwide continues to work with start-ups who are at the forefront of using the latest technology, which could provide real benefit both to our members and society in general. As well as using our wealth of experience to help these firms at an early stage, we are learning the latest techniques from them which we can utilise in our developments. Therefore, it’s a real win-win partnership for both of us.”