BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK Celebrates 50 Years Of Innovation
24 March 2023
Leading finance provider, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, has kicked off its 50th anniversary with celebrations at its UK offices.
At the special celebration with colleagues present at both the Solihull headquarters and Belfast, CEO Stephen Hunt announced his plans to further grow the business and build on the success that has already made BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK a global leading finance provider.
Over the past five decades, the company has pioneered, anticipated change, and adapted to meet the evolving needs of its customers, partners and colleagues.
The company’s 2025 plan will see big transformations in its digital, data and decisioning capabilities, boosting innovation within the business and driving partnerships forward. In 2023, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK is planning to supercharge its role of Corporate Challenge Partner for Serendip — SuperTech’s incubator programme — to fast-track innovative ideas that will revolutionise the banking and financial sector, improve financial processes, and provide economic opportunities for emerging FinTech businesses.
2023 will also see the development of partnerships with the UK’s biggest brands, the latest being B&Q — the UK’s leading DIY retailer. Through this partnership, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK and B&Q will be working together to make lives better with a retail finance partnership that will be available in all stores throughout the UK.
Plus, being part of the BNP Paribas Group, BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK remains committed to building a more sustainable future, where Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goes beyond altruism.
Last year, the company’s UK team donated over 950 hours of time to charitable causes, feeding into the wider global bank’s ‘1MillionHours2Help’ initiative. In their 50th year, the company will continue to build on this and support the local communities in which it operates by volunteering 1,200 hours — equivalent to 50 days.
From starting out as Selfridges Finance Limited in 1973, BNP Paribas Personal Finance has grown to now helping 4 million customers finance anything from TVs to cars, supporting over 300 partners including some of the UK’s leading brands such as Currys, John Lewis, DFS, Dreams and SCS and welcoming a new customer every 22 seconds!
What’s more, the company holds half-a-century-worth of milestones, including becoming the first retail financial provider to enable mobile top ups at ATMs to challenging the traditional point-of-sale market with the launch of Your Plan — an option that combined the certainty of a fixed-term loan with the controlled flexibility of a credit line and ease of repeat spend.
From its inception, the business has always had a strong people culture. This has been recently recognised, as BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK celebrated being named one of the top employers in the country and Europe by the Top Employers Institute (the global authority on recognising excellence in People Practices) for the third year running, showcasing its dedication to a better world of work and being a role model employer.
Commenting on BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK’s milestone celebration, Stephen Hunt said: “Since 1973, we have adapted, embraced change, overcome hurdles, navigated credit crises, seized opportunities, driven innovation, and focussed on our vision to be a force for positive change.
“None of these successes would be possible though if it wasn’t for our incredible colleagues — both past and present — making it happen. Our business is centred around our people and our partners, and it is thanks to them and their contribution that for 50 years, we’ve been developing our business with straightforward finance solutions that customers can trust.
“Together, we are promoting responsible and sustainable consumption, helping our customers make the small and large changes in their life and encouraging our partners to grow in a responsible way. But, most importantly, we are maintaining our position as a leader in financial services by striving to be the forefront of innovation in the sector.
“We’ve been there for our customers, partners and colleagues for 50 years, and will continue to be there. Hitting this anniversary is a great achievement and we want to thank them all for their trust as we continue this exciting, transformational journey together.”
Find out more about BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK’s work and vision here: https://www.bnpparibas-pf.co.uk/about-us/
