Ilumoni, a UK based British fintech startup involved in supporting people to borrow better, save on needless interest, and time in paying off debts, has successfully raised over EUR 380K pre-seed investment supported by Move Ventures (established by the founders of Market Gravity, and later acquired by Deloitte in 2017). The angel investor list includes Simon Moran, Former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), and currently the Non-Executive Director at Premium Credit Ltd. and Andy Deller, the Former Chief Executive Officer of Dunbar Bank plc, part of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd.
Established almost a year back in 2019, ilumoni is one of the UK’s pilot AI driven borrowing insights application that deploys open banking and credit data together with market information to develop a rapid, precise, and reasonable picture of the user’s debt. The app that comes free of cost delivers personal insights to help users act and make essential changes to their borrowing, depending on analysis, eligibility, and affordability. The insights can be found as prompts, nudges, and future scenarios based on manageable behavior changes.
The USP
ilumoni’s goal toward better borrowing and financial well-being captured attention of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which got the startup into its Innovation Hub last year. The FCA Innovation Hub works toward boosting innovation in financial services in the interest of consumers.
Primary mission for ilumoni is to empower people to make improved financial decisions by equipping them with insights, analysis of alternative possibilities, and a road map to borrow.
FCA data from 2016 revealed that one-third of all credit card holders followed a pattern of paying just the minimum repayment amount every month. Even though this satisfies terms of the credit card companies, interest charges get added up. Therefore, just by clearing the minimum dues every month would take an average person about a quarter of a century to clear off the average credit card debt.
Therefore, deciding upon a fixed repayment amount paid in the first month instead of reducing the monthly repayments would help clear the debt in five years. By combining open banking, eligibility data, and credit, ilumoni creates a full understanding of the debt and procedures insights to aid users repay debts in a much faster pattern.
Gary Wigglesworth, Co-Founder at ilumoni, explained, “Many consumers borrow without fully understanding their options or implications of their borrowing. This is further compounded with poor repayment habits. As a result, large numbers of consumers are in the dark about the true cost of their borrowing, paying more in interest and fees than necessary and carrying debt for longer. ilumoni is changing that by shining a light on how we borrow.”
Andy Deller, Former CEO, Dunbar Bank commenting on the investment, said, “There is a significant gap in the financial well-being app market. Current providers offer limited information without direction, or push products that don’t account for the overall well-being of the user. ilumoni demystifies debt and provide borrowers with clear and actionable insights that specifically suit their circumstances, helping consumers understand and manage their debt for the better.”
The road ahead
Ilumoni, the British fintech startup, is utilizing the pre-seed investment to dedicatedly develop and prepare for a second fundraise to launch the product in the market and beyond. Beta product is expected to release later this quarter, and ilumoni is inviting early adopters to register interest on the website.
