Loans overlooked in our mobile conquered world

Are the UK loans providers missing an opportunity?

31 January 2012 | Personal Loans | Ruth Janssen

This month saw the most recent update to the Personal Loans Dashboard. The Dashboard compares a list of individual personal loan services across fourteen competitors. It is updated quarterly, highlighting competitor changes that have occurred in the market during that time.

One key highlight was that only two of the providers researched include information about their loan products on their mobile sites. Both the AA and RBS / NatWest include information about their loan products. However, none of their direct competitors seem to have made the step of including any mobile specific loan information.

As the loans market is less active than other markets at present, the success of mobile optimised websites might just offer that little bit extra to increase demand. So it is surprising that most providers do not refer to their loan products within their mobile websites.

Despite the lack of mobile attention by UK’s loan providers, an overseas financial provider has made their loan product more noticeable to mobile users. ING Belgium, have used the very popular Belgian car show to promote their loan products. ING Belgium created a car loan simulator within their mobile optimised website. This application allows potential car buyers to calculate personal loans, enabling them to finance their new purchase. Accompanying the application, beneficial loan rates were offered for the duration of the car show event.

Although UK providers are emphasising lower loan rates and responsible lending, the report reveals a gap within mobile sites and applications. Perhaps the UK financial providers should follow the example of ING Belgium and devote more attention to promoting loan products on mobiles.