An Interview with Kristjan Novitski, Cash On Go Ltd Founder: ‘Our Mission is to Provide UK Customers Easy to Use Financial Services that Help Them Through their Real Life Unexpected Situations and Cash Management Needs’

“We’re a FinTech company aiming to pioneer the modern financial world.”

Bank leader, by and large, saw the arrival of financial technology companies as a challenge. Lately, though, they’ve started to see things differently.

Traditional bankers are becoming increasingly open to the idea of collaborating with FinTechs of all types, with an eye towards improving their own firms’ offerings and accelerating growth.

The timing is right. As the lending FinTech world enters a more mature phase, FinTech leaders are also looking beyond their own organizational boundaries for new ways to better the odds of their companies’ long-term survival and success.

In light of the foregoing, we’re thrilled to present Cash On Go Ltd.

The company’s line of business includes Federal Government and federally-sponsored credit agencies primarily engaged in guaranteeing, insuring, or making loans.

Cash On Go was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in London.

Kristjan Novitski, Cash On Go Ltd Founder, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

A company’s behavior is as important as its economic performance or the quality of its products. How do you interpret this saying?

I believe it’s true. Our company is built on a 3E strategy – Expectations, Exceeding, Experience – this is what echoes through every aspect of our activities and services. Honesty and personal approach is what makes us successful. We have always been open and honest with our customers and with each other. We are a positively competitive and very result-oriented small team. Each member of the team feels that their work matters and what they do is constantly offering new personal challenges and developments. How could we be the best for our customers, if we were not offering a positive and motivating environment for our employees?

Building a culture of sustainability inside an organization is very important to maintain a reputation in the global market. How is it true for your company?

Our team is the heart of our business–it is what everything is built around. We owe every piece of the success that Cash On Go has had recently to the people that have stood beside it through the turbulences in the industry and difficult times that we have had. Our culture is built around caring, ownership, and joy. Everyone in our team is passionate as well as concerned about the wellbeing of the business. We care about our customers, partners, and each other. At the same time, we focus on ideas and expect high output; we get energy from the work-related challenges and are nourished by a balanced life. My role as the leader is to make sure that we have a destination and we are constantly progressing towards that destination.

What challenges did you face in your initial years? What can your peers learn from it?

It hasn’t been always easy and smooth with Cash On Go. With the first brand Peachy.co.uk we started off with a “big bang”; we grew by leaps and bounds. In four years, we were standing among the top seven best-known short-term credit brands on the UK market; we were doubling our growth year after year. Rapid growth with tightening regulation was the reason why at one point we had to take a step back and turn our focus to the other side, slightly. During this fast-growing phase, we had lost our focus on the other very important aspects of business such as stability, sustainability, and long-term vision. In 2017, Cash On Go was one week away from filing for administration.

Regardless of that, we can say that we have had our ups and downs and some really difficult times but we did not deviate from our goal. Set your goals and stick to them. Have trust in your team and lift them up when needed.

Is your company a leader or a follower? Do you formulate your own core values?

We like to keep us very tech-savvy and are eager to test new solutions as well as bring new technology to the lending market. In 2011, we were the first company in the PayDay lending sector to introduce apps and a mobile website. In 2012, we were the first online installment lender, offering loans online to be paid back in up to 12 months-- something the whole industry has shifted to since then. Since 2018, we have invested a lot in big data in order to be more targeted, more personal in each department as well as become the first online lender in the UK to offer instant loans to our customers 24/7 365.

What do you feel are the reasons behind your company’s reputation?

I would like to think that it has been our genuine and sincere approach to everything we do and how we would like to be treated. We are completely open and honest with our customers and partners – this is what we are and that is what we do, no faking or wearing any masks.

Moreover, there are several factors that have played key roles in shaping our organization’s road map, including and not limited to these:

• Regulation – There are constant changes in the regulatory environment for financial service providers.
• Political pressure and media attention – One company in the industry can earn a bad name for all the players.
• New technology – It can be both ways. Sometimes you see a lot of potential in new technology, but the customers do not adapt to it, sometimes a new solution emerges all of the sudden and changes the way you were used to running your business.

We have always operated in a way where we were honest to ourselves and our values; not sacrificing them for short-term profits.

Where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

During the last 12 month, we have been growing as a business again more than three times and our aim is to keep that kind of growth intact for the months coming. Growing double-digit percentage on a monthly basis puts a lot of pressure on every single nut and bolt in the business, but with such a great team, we have been able to pull this off and do it in a sustainable way, without compromising the interests of our customers as well as the wishes of our team. For a company to grow at such a pace on a saturated market means we have to excel in every aspect of the business and continuously challenge everything we do.

Kristjan Novitski: An Aspiring Entrepreneur

Kristjan Novitski is the founder of Cash On Go Ltd, one of the leading innovators in the lending space. For the last nine years, he and his team have presented several innovative solutions to the industry. He has been exceptionally successful in integrating innovation to the most traditional financial services world without compromising on customer satisfaction and responsible lending.

In 2010, at 27, he set up his first short term credit brand Peachy.co.uk. He came up with the name ‘Peachy’ because of its positive connotations – “life is peachy!” He wanted “to create a feeling” and with a name like Peachy it opened up the potential for diversification under this dynamic brand, to match the dynamic world we live in.

Kristjan believes that a sustainable lending business can only be built around the ethos of offering responsible, tailor-made, easy to use, and affordable loans to the consumers. It is not about quantity but always about quality.

“Our vision is to be a financial services company that is leading and profitable without compromising our core values.”