A new website, LikeMoney.co.za (in beta-testing since February 2016 and now officially live to the public) is empowering South Africans to make informed financial purchasing decisions with its innovative concept of comparing financial products based on what their friends & other social media users like and recommend. Consumers can use the platform to compare credit cards, bank accounts, insurance, investments, broadband deals, car rental, flights and more.
Around the world, consumers believe they are benefitting from price comparison websites for car insurance, life insurance, credit cards and a range of other services. But with more and more people shopping online, price is becoming less and less of a determining factor and peer recommendations are ever-more the differentiator.
LikeMoney is the brainchild of Erez Atia who says, “For an increasingly savvy consumer segment that researches everything online before making purchase decisions, access to trusted information is key. However, the knowledge that an increasing number of companies use unethical methods to make their brands appear stronger online – such as posting fake reviews and testimonials – has made the consumer cynical and suspicious”.
Atia believes in the power of social influence through a network or community of friends. He says that it is far easier to trust a friend’s experiences with a company and their subsequent recommendation than that of a stranger.
“LikeMoney is honest and fair in helping their customers and clients,” comments Atia. “The website provides unbiased, objective and independent information so users of the platform can evaluate the benefits of financial and consumer products. As a result, consumers can exercise confidence when purchasing financial products based on reviews from real people on social media regardless of the price tag of a product. In other words, the ratings of companies and their products are based purely on the public, which provides completely unbiased, rated recommendations.”
When asked about his motivation for creating the platform, Atia said, “In today’s technological era, it is so easy for companies to be scrutinized for bad service delivery over the web. I envisioned a platform to help both the consumer and the company. LikeMoney provides financial products that have been rated by customers; people with first-hand experience. In this way, companies will be rewarded for good service delivery & become trusted by consumers with Likes – and the converse of course, applies.”
