A division of France’s second-biggest banking group, Groupe BPCE, S-money, has partnered with Twitter to allow French users to transfer money via the social media platform. Both Facebook and Twitter have recently started testing ‘Buy Button’s that link users directly with e-commerce sites, making online purchases much easier for consumers, but this is the first time person-to-person transactions have been possible through this medium. Jean-Yves Forel, the chief executive of Groupe BPCE, made a statement about the new payment function, stating that they are “the first banking group to offer individuals a payment solution where they can transfer money with a simple tweet.” Twitter is now way ahead of Facebook, who are still trialling their ‘Buy Button’ but haven’t expanded into money transfer between ordinary bank account holders.
This is further evidence that “traditional banks and other financial services companies are facing competition from technology companies in areas which stretch from money transfer to peer-to-peer lending”, according to the Financial Times, demonstrating that both the British public and the rest of Europe are becoming more and more open to financial alternatives, both digital and traditional in principle. Peer-to-peer lending has gained popularity extremely quickly throughout the UK, proving to be a favourable service for those who want to consider alternative finance methods.
Wellesley & Co. is one such platform, allowing investors to lend their money for periods of six months to five years, with the ability to earn up to 6.76% interest on their money. The money invested is lent to borrowers on a secured basis and every loan is secured on property at an average LTV rate of 65%. Further to this, Wellesley spread all invested funds across their entire loan book which currently stands at about 80 loans. This allows for a large diversification of funds for each investor. Interest payments are not guaranteed and investor’s capital is at risk if a borrower defaults.
Those concerned about the security of using social media to transfer their finances have had their worries answered too, as CNBC News have confirmed that senders won’t know any recipients’ bank details when using the service, and the payments themselves will be managed solely by S-money and no other third party. Both BPCE and Twitter will be holding a press conference in Paris to officially “unveil the service”.