Smartfinance

Smartfinance is an independent financial comparison website focused on educating consumers in emerging markets to make the most of their money. The website provides a definition of the particular product and enables consumers to compare prices on a range of products, including mortgages, credit cards, bank accounts, savings products and loans.

In a world where consumers are faced with information overload, Smartfinance acts as a trusted editor with a clear and transparent agenda to champion the interests of consumers and help to improve the efficiency of marketing spend by financial institutions.

Smartfinance Mission

Smartfinance aims to be the default destination for any consumer seeking advice regarding a personal finance choice.

History

Smartfinance was founded in 2008 having witnessed the tremendous growth of aggregator sites in mature economies. The founders believed that the service offered would be of particular relevance to emerging economies where there is typically a far lower level of understanding of financial products and little or no opportunity for consumers to access independent advice.

The launch territory for the business was Vietnam in 2009. With a small team based in Hanoi, Smartfinance has had to raise awareness among both consumers and product providers. By August 2009, Smartfinance.vncovered a wide range of products from Savings through to Credit Cards and Insurance, with prices provided by over 50 different institutions.

Smartfinance will deploy the portal to other Asian and emerging markets during 2009-2011.

Each country serviced has a dedicated site to ensure that all local legislation, regulatory requirements and market conditions are catered for.

Operations

The Company derives its revenues from mainly:

  • Advertising and sponsorship

In this way, Smartfinance provides consumers with an independent free to use service and can provide institutions with a clear and simple pricing model that only generates a cost when a guaranteed benefit has been delivered. This model is now fast becoming the dominant economic model as in times of financial uncertainty, marketing budgets with uncertain associated outcomes are among the first items to be addressed in cost [...] exercises.

Criticisms

Smartfinance has been criticized for not including all products on the market and therefore any price comparisons are inaccurate. However, Smartfinance is restricted to only display products of financial institutions that have agreed to have their data shared online with the relevant suppliers.