A group of former Monzo, Bud and Apple staffers are tapping into the UK's Open Banking initiative to launch a platform for renters.
Launching early next year, Fronted is promising to help people pay their rental deposits.
Most renters, according to the 2017-18 English Housing Report, have no savings at all, making it tough to find a down payment for a new place, forcing many to rely on family or high-cost short term lenders.
Fronted will offer users the chance to link their bank account to the startup's platform using Open Banking. Then, the firm will pay their deposits directly to the estate agents and arrange repayment. This technique, says Fronted, enables it to lend at very low rates with no fees, no early repayment penalties and the option to reduce monthly payments with a ‘holiday mode’ feature.
The firm, founded by Monzo veteran Simon Vans-Colina, ex-Bud staffer Jamie Campbell and former Apple man Anthony Mann, says it plans to move beyond deposit service to cover the whole renting process.
Says Campbell: “Renting sucks. It’s expensive, stressful and, at times, makes you feel like a second class citizen. Now that homeownership is even more out of reach we need to rebalance the equation and give renters more control. The first thing we are fixing is the high upfront cost of renting which can cause so many social issues.”