Chipkie founder Michelle Lomas, was recently invited onto Ticker TV to discuss Chipkie and how it’s helping people lend money to friends and family safely and confidently. She shares the origins of Chipkie and how her own experience borrowing from Bank of Mum and Dad played into the development of Chipkie. And she discusses who’s using Chipkie and the benefits.
Watch the clip below, or read on for the transcript.
Mike Loder:
Money lending among friends and families has always been a little bit of a touchy subject, be it splitting a meal, an Uber, or even within families who lends to one another. So what is one group doing to tackle the issue of money lending? Well, for more, I’m joined by Michelle Lomas, founder of Chipkie. It’s wonderful to have you with me on the program. Let’s get an overview of this money lending problem that you and your team identified and look to fix.
Michelle Lomas:
Yeah, look, it actually started from my own personal experience. I borrowed money from bank of mum and dad a couple of years ago to buy my first home. It wasn’t a small amount either. We’re talking a significant amount if you’re buying in Sydney, which is where I’m from. And so what we wanted to do is find a way to be able to manage that loan really well so it didn’t get in the way of our relationship. But when we researched, there was absolutely nothing out there except an Excel spreadsheet or some legal fees to create a contract. And so that’s where the idea came about. We really wanted to be able to create something with this really booming Bank of Mum and Dad industry that we’re now sort of sitting in to help people manage that loan and keep their relationships on track.
Mike Loder:
Absolutely, I think it’s a great idea, especially with we’re seeing more people doing this and leaning on the Bank of Mum and Dad at the moment because of the cost of living crisis. Take us through a little bit about Chipkie and the program itself and how it’s sort of outdoing those boring Excel spreadsheets and whatnot.
Michelle Lomas:
Oh, you gotta love an Excel spreadsheet. They help us every now and then! Of course. But you know, if we’re talking about a three year loan, that’s a lot of paperwork to keep on top of. No, look, Chipkie’s fantastic. What we’ve really built is off the back of some research that we did in the very beginning. We asked people who lent money to friends and family, what were their biggest concerns? And it was things like, you know, managing those awkward conversations, being able to track the loan properly, being paid back is obviously a big concern and that impact on the relationship. And so everything that we learnt from that research, we’ve built into this platform.
And it’s an all-in-one platform to help you manage. So it starts off with what we call the Loan Wizard, which helps you and the other party set up that loan and mutually agree on the terms, everything from interest rates to, you know, the duration of the loan and those instalments. And then from there, you get moved to a dashboard, which helps you track the entire life cycle. So whether it’s a six month loan or a three or four year loan, you can track that entire loan, find out how much has been paid, you know, how much is left and have that record.
We also have legally binding contracts, which we always encourage everybody to do, because if you don’t have that contract in place, it could be perceived as a gift in the eyes of the court in case things go wrong. So really good to have that contract in place. And then we have automated payments. So if you want to move from the free version, because everything is free at this point, if you want to move to sort of a paid version, which is for a small fee, we can actually automate all the payments, all the tracking, so you don’t even have to think about it – all the communication, everything, it’s all done for you.
Mike Loder:
It sounds like the silver bullet that a lot of us have been looking for when it comes to managing our money, you know, it does come as a, it is a part of managing money as this lending experience. So it’s good to have, especially with that legal element as well. So who exactly is your target audience? Who’s the application for the website and the program itself? Take us through a little bit about more about who you expect to knock on the door.
Michelle Lomas:
We’re a generous bunch, us Aussie. 70% of us actually lend money to friends and family every single year. So it really is for everybody who just wants to have that comfort to know that the loan is being acknowledged, it’s been tracked, and I’m gonna be paid back on time. But what we are really seeing people using the platform for is the most bigger expenses. So, you know, business loans, car loans, holiday loans, and of course, going all the way up to home deposits and those home purchases. And those loans really sort of spread the gamut from a six to 12 month loan all the way to a three loan. Those are the ones that are the trickiest because people forget, we lose track of what’s been paid, that kind of thing. So that’s what this platform has really been coming handy for those people with those longer loans.
Mike Loder:
Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like you guys are about, you know, again, that lived experience has really helped you guys make this platform what it is today. So take us through a little bit about where people can get access to Chipkie. Where’s the best place to start and engage with it?
Michelle Lomas
It’s www.chipkie.com. That’s it. You can get started and it’s free. There are a few added extras if you want to upgrade as we talked about making those automated payments, which is always great because you don’t have to worry about it, do you? And so that’s it. Easy peasy.
Mike Loder:
Very, very well said by you. It’ll be interesting to see how this all continues to unfold as, of course, more people lean on the Bank of Mum and Dad moving forward, but it sounds like you guys have got a great turnkey solution that is helping people out there at the moment.
Michelle, I wanna thank you for joining us on the program and of course highlighting a little bit more about what you guys are up to.
Michelle Lomas:
Thank you, thanks so much for having me.
Mike Loder:
All right, hopefully you’ve learned something from our discussion there, something to look into. Chipkie is that website again. I look forward to seeing you all again in just a moment. Be right back.
