UK financial aggregator bought by US

Interest is rising in online financial services as demonstrated by a series of recent high profile financial aggregator acquisitions, for example the acquisition of US PriceGrabber.com by Experian and the recent announcement of the purchase of uSwitch.com by EW Scripps of the United States.

Consumers visiting these sites can compare the prices of financial services from a large proportion of the market suppliers, obtain many different financial products, or change their provider if they find a more favorable deal. By comparing a large number of products and presenting the results in one location, consumers can quickly and easily find the cheapest or most appropriate financial product available.

These sites generally provide their comparisons for free to the user. The cost of running these services is covered by the aggregate site receiving a small commission payment from the product provider when a customer chooses their product. It is also common for advertising or a sponsored affiliate scheme to be implemented to support the site.

Due to the recent growth in the number of aggregators competing for customers, these various sites have found a need to focus on specific areas of the financial market or its services in order to differentiate themselves from their competition. Key differentiators which have emerged include:

* A site focus on product types, such as a focus on utility provider price comparisons, or personal finance product comparisons.
* The level of impartiality from possible influence on the aggregator by the financial product providers themselves concerning the results shown on the site.
* The number and quality of products reviewed and listed.
* The amount of information provided to help consumers to make transparent financial decisions.

The extent to which these differences affect consumer decisions regarding which site to use will vary depending on a consumer's personal preferences, and can lead to a wide divergence in the results obtained.

- Moneynet (http://www.moneynet.co.uk/), which was the first UK web site to publish comprehensive overviews of the products available in the personal finance sector, focuses on providing an independent and impartial service covering credit cards, loans, current accounts, insurance, and mortgages; with all data obtained directly from suppliers to ensure impartiality.

- uSwitch, which has seen the majority of its revenues come from households switching energy providers. They have recently increased their focus on the personal finance arena. The data used to calculate results for their personal finance service is supplied by external finance data publishers in an effort to be comprehensive.

- Motley Fool (http://www.fool.co.uk/), which primarily aims to educate consumers in areas of personal finance - especially in share investments - using guides, articles, forums, and commentaries; and which provides several product centers supplied by advertising partners using data provided by other aggregators.

Richard Brown, CEO of Moneynet commented, "The Uswitch sale demonstrates the potential for price comparison sites in the UK and Europe. As product providers develop ever more ways to maximize their profits, consumers are becoming more and more aware of the importance of shopping around to ensure that they get value for money. This will drive the popularity of these sites over the next few years."

Only time will tell whether the purchase by EW Scripps leads to changes for uSwitch, but is seems as though there is a real need for the services these sites provide, and as long as finance continues to get increasingly complicated and the number of products expands, their future is guaranteed.

Disclaimer:

All information contained in this article, is for general information purposes only and should not be construed as advice under the Financial Services Act

1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Moneynet
Personal finance comparisons