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Meet our customers
We spoke to a few of our credit card customers to hear how Zable has helped them.
Representative 29.9% APR (variable). Subject to eligibility.
Adeleke's story
Adeleke is 32 and works as a service charge officer for a London council.
He moved from Lagos five years ago, first as a student and later as a resident. He found work, opened a UK bank account and settled in.
Then he applied for a credit card. His own bank, the one his salary was paid into, turned him down. So did the next lender he tried. He was earning a fair wage and could comfortably cover the repayments, but it made no difference – he had little UK credit history.
“You feel like you have been excluded from an exclusive club… If you want to acquire property, you want to change houses, you want to get a mortgage, you’ve got to have some sort of credit history.”
Then Adeleke saw a Zable ad online. It said approval was based on real income and expenses rather than a credit file in isolation, which was the first thing he’d read that seemed to describe his actual situation. He applied. A few minutes later he had a card, with a £250 starting limit. He didn’t quite believe it.
“I didn’t think it was true until I used the card.” He added it to Apple Pay, went downstairs to the shop and bought a bunch of grapes, purely to find out whether it was real. “I just bought grapes. Let’s see if this works.”
It worked. Since then, his limit has gone from £250 to £2,000, and his credit score has increased. “Now my credit score is much improved and I have other credit… I was below the 500s and I went over 500 to 600; I know that Zable really helped me achieve that.”
He’s since recommended Zable to his brother and to his partner. Both applied, and both got cards. Describing Zable, Adeleke says: “They took the chance on me. They allowed me to get into the credit world.” And now? “Now I’m in a better position, more stable financially… my finances are improving and that’s amazing.”
Anthony's story
Anthony is 63, self-employed, and based in London. He lives with his wife and Angel, the family dog.
A few years ago, his health gave way, resulting in two years where he couldn’t work at all. He came through it and returned to work, ready to get back on his feet. Then he was turned down for credit.
He told us he knew he could afford the repayments, but was rejected by lenders who only ever saw the file and never the person. The whole thing felt faceless, frustrating, and left him feeling helpless.
Anthony then found Zable online, applied for a credit card, and was accepted. “When I got the message back saying that I’d been accepted, I read it two or three times. I didn’t believe it at first. I felt relieved, because somebody was at least giving me the chance.”
Zable started him with a manageable credit limit, enough to be genuinely useful and enough for him to show what he’d do with it. It’s two and a half times that now. “It gave me the chance to prove myself.”
And now? “I’m virtually back on my feet. It’s taken a long time, but I will give part of that credit to Zable because they helped me out when I needed it.” “I’m back working all the time. I’ve got a good income. I clear my card every month. I feel able to manage it, and unless they drastically change, I will carry on using Zable.”
As well as the chance to rebuild his credit, it’s given him room to move when something goes wrong. “I’ve had the flexibility to use money when I haven’t got it… Let’s say the washing machine broke down tomorrow. I haven’t got to wait until I’ve got the money in front of me. I can say, right, we’ll go and buy a new washing machine. And then I know I’ve just got to pay the card at the end of the month.”
Asked what he’d say to a friend in the position he was in: “I would tell them the truth. I would tell them how it had helped me, and I would recommend Zable.”
Shakhawat's story
Shakhawat works at a dessert shop in Greenwich. Asked how people would describe him, he says he can cheer anyone up. Give him five minutes and they’ll be laughing.
When he first arrived in the UK from Bangladesh, things were tighter. For a while he and his wife were living on one salary, and he had debt to clear back home. He needed credit, and the lenders he approached turned him down. “Being rejected at the time of your need, that doesn’t feel good.”
Then, when he felt like giving up, he found Zable. The answer came back almost straight away, and his card arrived a few days later. “I was giving up, and then I got the credit. It was a relief; I can move forward.”
He stayed on top of his balance and his repayments, and Zable more than doubled the limit he started with.
Later he decided to move closer to work. He was commuting a long way, six days a week, and wanted the time back. Moving meant a deposit, furniture and everything else that comes with a new place, so he applied for a loan through the Zable app*. He sent his payslips, linked his bank account, and it was approved. He hasn’t missed an instalment on it.
“I prefer Zable because they were there for me and their process is so easy… When they can trust me, why can’t others?”
*Loan Representative APR: 24.6%
Shakhawat also told us about a time he was caught out by a fake website posing as a well known supermarket, and lost £50 on a fan that never arrived. He reported it to Zable, sent over the screenshots, and about a week later the money was back in his account.
“All I have had with Zable is good experiences, every time.”
Don't forget: credit limit increases are subject to responsible use.
Thank you to Anthony, Adeleke and Shakhawat for sharing their stories. They received a voucher as a thank you for their time.