This month at Zopa

There's been quite a literary feel to Zopa recently. We've given away theatre tickets to mark Shakespeare's birthday, one of the Egg Hunt clues was based on Pride and Prejudice, and there have been a glut of usernames inspired by characters from great works of fiction (Jeeves, annahowe, mrfox, gepetto, Dangermouse). And just when it looked like we were running out of steam, it turns out that the champagne we're giving away in our latest lender offer is made by someone called Faust.

But with a summer of sport ahead of us, there's only so long this highbrow-ness can last. So enjoy it while you can book-lovers, because it's only a matter of time before literary-inspired usernames are out and names like lampardisgod, murraymania, flintoff_fan, and sven4PM are in.

 
What's changed?

It's been another manic month in the world of Zopa. Here's what happened in April:

  • 5,146 new people registered on the site
  • We launched a Free Champagne offer for new and existing lenders - see how to qualify.
  • We ran an Egg Hunt on the site with big shiny prizes up for grabs. There's still time to enter - click here to read the rules (and marvel at our discipline in not making any cheap puns about it being eggs-cellent/eggs-citing).
  • To commemorate the Bard's Birthday, 50 people won tickets to see A Midsummer Night's Dream by responding very quickly to an email we sent out. There's a lesson there.
  • There was a piece about us in The Sunday Express - read it here
  • Fee-free Zopa finally came to an end - find out everything you ever wanted to know about fees here
  • The Free Chicken for Borrowers offer went well and we're continuing it for another month.
What's cooking? Next month at Zopa is going to be another biggie: Fee-free Zopa will come to an end; We're changing the design of the marketplace to make it easier to see what's going on; There'll be further marketing campaigns to drive more lenders and borrowers to the site; And we'll be looking at ways to a new user interface and making the lending and borrowing processes simpler.
Zopa Top 10
Picture of Truck

Greetings pop pickers, and welcome to the Zopa Log-in Charts. Today we'll be counting down to see which Zopa members are the Top 10 most active logger-iners.
Top 10 Table (Trunk wins...)

At number 10 we have sobriety, a new entry in the charts, and definitely a name to look out for in the future. TEMPERMOD is at 9, a relative Zopa rookie with a solid login per day ratio. Coming in at 8 is Deddington, who with a monstrous 3.94 logins a day is surely destined for big things. paultsm is in at 7, and at 6 is intagliate, the only female member of the Top 10. Teazza is a non-mover at 5, while cheapermoney and PCJ occupy the 4th and 3rd spots. At 2 is easteregg, a big figure on the Zopa discussion board. But this week's number 1 is someone who, as both a Zopa lender and a Zopa borrower, has chalked up a mighty impressive 876 logins, at a rate of 2.08 per day. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for Truck (pictured above), the most active logger-iner in Zopa history.

Truck - many congratulations on being confirmed as Zopa's most active member. How does it feel?

A bit worrying really - makes me wonder what else I could have been doing.

Now come, come - you should take great pride in your achievement. Have you got any words of warning for pretenders to your throne?

Yes - does your employer scrutinise internet use?

Nice. Do you log on at work then, or just at home?

Bit of both.

So what is it about Zopa that most appeals to you?

When I joined it was the rate of return on my investment. But I am also now a borrower - when a car I have wanted for a while came up for sale, I could not resist borrowing at 4.8%, thanks to the 2% discount offer on 36 month loans.

Quite right too. Who's your favourite Zopa member?

Of all the people who have lent to me or borrowed from me markfisher61 stands out, as his reason for borrowing was stocks and shares.

As a Zopa veteran, what advice would you give to Zopa newbies?

Zopa has added some useful tools and info since I joined. So if you're going to lend use the stats on offer.

That's some good advice Zopa newbies. So, Truck, are you a fan of the name ‘Zopa'?

It is as snappy as Egg or 3, but there is relevance to what you actually do - I like it.

Moving on, when you're not logging on to Zopa, what do you get up to?

I spend my spare time with my family - camping, mountain biking and skiing.

And who's your favourite cartoon character?

Crush the Turtle in NEMO.

And just finally - why ‘Truck'?

It is my nickname as my middle name is Laurie (my Gran's maiden name).

Aaah - of course! Congratulations once again Truck and keep up the good work.

First of Many: Every journey has a first step, every book a first line, and every lending and borrowing exchange a first borrower that completely repays their loan. And the first Zopa borrower to completely repay their loan (not including early repayers) did so last month. Stand up and take a bow Zopa borrower Chartered, who took out a 12 month loan last March and has just made his final repayment. Fingers crossed there'll be an interview with Chartered in the next This Month at Zopa. But even if not, remember his name as it's bound to crop up in the Zopa trivia round of any pub quizzes you attend.
Yeah, it's a bit like eBay for money

The more Zopa members there are, the more people there are to lend to and borrow from, and the better it is for everyone. That's why we're always prodding you to tell your friends about Zopa. And why we give you £30 if anyone you introduce to the site goes on to lend or borrow. Recently we ran a competition where a Zopa member and the person they recommended could win £1000 each. And we'd like to introduce you to the winners: Zopa lender John Mooren (aka Johannes) and his friend Martin Shaw (aka Hillbury).

So congratulations on winning guys. What are you planning on doing with your £1000? Fun things or sensible things?

John: I found out we'd won the day after I had the builder in to look at my house. We have a Victorian house and 3 young children tearing the place down, day in day out. So I guess we will have a sensible destination for the money and invest it in patching up the paint.

Martin: My £1000 will either be a down-payment on an Aston Martin DB9 or disappear into the school fee black hole.

Hmmm…go for the Aston Martin, Martin. Have either of you ever won anything like this before?

John: The most I have ever won is £98 in the Lotto, so no.

£98 is £98 though John - it's not to be sniffed at. So how do you two know each other then?

John: I first met Martin when I interviewed him for a job almost 6 years ago. And I liked him from that first moment on. So I hired him and have never regretted it.

Martin: We worked together for a company which makes trading systems for financial markets so all this is quite ironic really.

It is a bit. John, how did you first find out about Zopa?

John: A friend told me about it, explaining he felt it was a great idea and something that could revolutionise the business of lending and borrowing. I was immediately intrigued and decided to test it by both borrowing and lending.

Good for you. And how are you finding it?

John: Very easy and a fun experience

Why did you think Zopa might be up Martin's street?

John: He works for a software company and used to be a trader, so I thought Zopa should be something he should at least give a try.

Quite right. So what did John tell you about Zopa, Martin?

Martin: Just that it's easy to use and safe - the reducing the risk element is so important.

You're not wrong there. And is John someone whose advice you'd usually take?

Martin: Yes he is - even more so after this, which is just as well as he is an eminent consultant in the financial markets. He owed me 10 quid before but I will let him off now.

That seems only fair. Do you think you'll go on and use Zopa then?

Martin: Certainly. The banks make way too much money out of me already so I am very happy to lend in a person-to-person market.

Good man. Right, time to dish the dirt on each other. Martin, what are John's best and worst character traits?

Martin: He's Dutch and supports Ajax. Apart from that he is very dependable and has a great sense of humour considering he's Dutch.

And John, same question...

John: Martin is great to be around, talks a good story, is always charming - in short, liked by everyone. His bad trait has to be his love for Chelsea FC. Come on, spending so much money, having so little to show for it...

Yes, they're certainly no Leicester City, that's for sure. And which superhero does the other most resemble?

Martin: Freddie Flintoff (not really!)

John: I am no expert in superheroes, but in my opinion, Martin is best described as the combination of Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Ocean's Eleven: distinguished, charming, calm, entertaining and always in a good mood.

Crikey! A combination of Pitt and Clooney - he must be a real hit with the ladies then. What do you guys get up to in your spare time?

Martin: Watch sports, first line support for my kids' computers, cycling around Richmond Park, listen to music, cinema and theatre when my wife Sophie tells me what to see.

John: Play tennis, run around the Common and, something I do much better than any of the other activities, watch football.

And just a few random questions to finish off….Martin, what's your paper of choice?

Martin: Telegraph. And The FT when I feel like it.

John, what would you have for your last meal?

John: Sushi, with lots of Eel Nigiris.

Not sure about that. And finally, Martin, who would you want to play you in a film?

Martin: Robert de Niro … he gets the best out of the characters he plays and might make me look really cool!

Good choice. Thanks for your time John and Martin, and enjoy your prize.

Picture of JohannesPicture of Hillbury Username of the month: The rising standard of member usernames is causing increasingly heated debate amongst the Username of the Month committee. With creativity levels soaring, it's getting harder and harder to single out one username from the pack. But that's the task in hand, and this month the committee have decided that John McCarten deserves the Username of the Month crown for his 70s detective-inspired username: columboswife. Fans of Columbo will doubtless remember that while the diminutive, perma-rain-coated detective frequently referred to his wife during his investigations, we never actually saw her. She's become a figure of much internet discussion, and so congrats on a great pop culture reference John. Oh, just one more thing... an iPod shuffle is on its way to you John.

That's it for this month's This Month at Zopa. As always, if you've got any interesting Zopa stories, features, or Zopa-themed quiz formats, please drop a note to tom@zopa.com. See you in a month's time.

Zopa Limited.
Registered office: 2nd Floor, Julia House, 40 - 44 Newman Street, London W1T 1QD
Company Registration No.: 05197592