Choose Wisely

Choose Wisely, a financial comparison site for consumers excluded from conventional credit

Choose Wisely is a free-to-use financial product comparison website operating in the UK. It presents itself as a tool aimed at people who have been left out of the conventional financial system due to their credit history, with the stated goal of making it easier for those who are often rejected by traditional lenders to access loans, cards and other products.

The company defines itself as a credit broker, not a lender, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under firm reference number 730574. It is also registered with the Information Commissioner's Office under number Z3106681.

Products and comparison areas

The comparison site covers several categories of financial products:

• Personal loans
• Credit cards
• Car finance
• Secured loans
• Prepaid cards
• Bank accounts
• Energy supplier switching

The platform includes free tools that allow users to compare thousands of products. For loans, it has a specific eligibility check process that shows which lenders would accept the user's application. Results can be filtered and sorted according to the applicant's preferences.

How it works and business model

The site does not carry out its own credit checks: it is the lenders that perform a soft search when assessing the application and, if the user accepts the offer, a hard search. Choose Wisely is funded exclusively through commissions from its commercial partners when a user takes out a product after being referred from the website. The company maintains that these commissions do not influence repayment terms, the product price or the impartiality of the comparison tables.

Not all providers in the market appear in the comparisons. The company notes that some do not wish to be listed in comparison tables and that others may not align with its ethical or commercial criteria. When suitable new providers emerge, it tries to establish partnerships to include them.

Background and recognition

Choose Wisely was founded in 2013 by Marc Biles and Tara Flynn, who previously worked at the Richmond group helping to launch a guarantor loan product. Between them they have 27 years of combined experience in the UK financial sector. Tara Flynn has been included in Innovate Finance's Women in FinTech Powerlist, and both founders appear in the Young Guns Class of 2017.

The company processes an average of £56 billion in loan applications each year. In 2018 it received the Gamechanger award at the Lending Awards sponsored by Experian, and in 2017 it featured in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 as one of the UK's fastest-growing private technology companies. The company itself presents itself as the country's seventh-largest price comparison site.

Tools and content for users

In addition to comparison tables, the site publishes loan and budget calculators, product pages, Q&A sections and guides with commentary. It also offers a free email newsletter to which, it says, more than 40,000 people are subscribed. Communication with users takes place by email, SMS and WhatsApp in relation to applications, and through optional newsletters with tips and guides to improve the chances of acceptance.

The company states that its content is based on journalistic research and analysis, not personalised financial advice, and that the information published does not constitute an individual recommendation.

Company structure

Choose Wisely is a trading style of Choose Wisely Limited, a company registered in England with company number 07580462 and registered address at This Workspace, 18 Albert Road, Bournemouth BH1 1BZ.

Location and contact

This Workspace, 18 Albert Road, Bournemouth BH1 1BZ