We succeed by understanding our customers and offering simple, affordable financial products tailored to their needs. We’re constantly improving our home credit service and developing new products to offer alongside home credit.
Our UK home credit business operates in a mature and competitive market but nonetheless we are working hard to grow the business. Our strategy is to improve our efficiency and to modernise our product offering to ensure it retains its appeal.
We’re implementing new initiatives including improved credit management techniques and the trial of hand-held computers for agents. And we’re actively testing new channels to bring our products to market. Recent product innovations include larger loans repaid over a longer period, the ‘Argos easyshop card’, and a Visa debit card which is like the traditional cash loan, but is delivered on plastic.
We formed Vanquis Bank in 2003 to test whether a different type of credit card offer could win new business for Provident. It is an organic development that occupies a distinctive niche in the credit market and already we have over 300,000 card holders.
It’s increasingly difficult to operate in today’s society without a credit card. From high street purchases to booking a holiday on line, a credit card is part of everyday life. But many people – those on modest incomes, those who may have a limited credit history or no credit history at all, or people who may have had credit problems in the past but are now over them - can find they are excluded from having a credit card.
Vanquis Bank is bringing the benefits of credit cards to such people, but in a controlled, affordable way. The credit cards are tailored to our customers’ needs with a relatively low credit card limit and a high level of telephone contact to help them stay in control.
The Vanquis team also brings valuable remote lending skills to the group and is helping to broaden our product range in the UK and overseas.