Amigo apply to FCA to restart lending under Reward Rate name

Published by

Stephen Emerson

Amigo, have applied for consent from the Financial Conduct Authority to rebrand and relaunch financial products under the name Reward Rate.

The company had ceased lending after a deluge of complaints against them in March 2020.

Shareholders in the Bournemouth company were informed that they will offer: “Responsible and flexible finance for underserved consumers who currently have few borrowing options….on cheaper credit.”

Reward Rate will ostensibly offer two new products, namely personal loans on a 49.9% APR and guarantor loans from 39.9%APR.

A statement from Amigo suggested borrowers can avail of a reduction in the interest rate of up to 15% if they make prompt repayments as agreed upon.

Amigo’s historic lending issues were dealt with in the High Court in May 2022, and a component of that deal was the company could start lending again by February 2023. This would pave the way for a equity investment round in May.

In a statement Amigo, said: “The new management team has taken learnings from Amigo's past to ensure a customer-centric compliant and responsible culture is at the core of the business as well as an improved underwriting process with enhanced affordability checks for customers.”

The company will continue to operate under the name Amigo but products will be marketed under the bame RewardRate.

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Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset. Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users. He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.