Kyiv, Ukraine (October 1, 2020) – LIGA.Money, a unique, reliable, accurate and free for consumers online-service that allows for comparing loan offers provided by Ukrainian banks, was officially launched today on money.liga.net. LIGA.Money is a tripartite public-private partnership among the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project, Ligamedia and participating banks (Acсordbank, Bank of Investments and Savings, OTP Bank, Pravex Bank, Raiffeisen Bank Aval, Tascombank and Ukrsibbank) to improve consumer lending and consumer protection in Ukraine.

“In Ukraine, finding the right loan can be confusing, especially when you need to visit several banks and then compare the different terms, conditions, and overall requirements,” said James Hope, USAID Mission Director for Ukraine and Belarus. “To help Ukrainians find their way through this difficult process, USAID has joined into partnership with Ligamedia and several Ukrainian banks to significantly improve the ability of Ukrainians to compare loan products online. USAID is pleased to be part of this partnership with the private sector that leverages their knowledge and helps ensure that our support is market-driven, efficient, impactful, and sustainable.”

LIGA.Money is a consumer-oriented comparison shopping tool (a Creditmeter) for 4 types of bank loans (personal loans, car loans, mortgages and credit cards). The Creditmeter allows for comparison of consumer loans based on the real annual percentage rate (with all loan-related fees included). Banks upload their credit offers data that are subject to mandatory verification for accuracy into the Creditmeter using agreed upon templates.  Based on these data, the Creditmeter calculates the real annual percentage rate and other indicators in line with the methodology that takes into account all legislative requirements. This insures the independence of ranking. LIGA.Money also features useful and accurate information about personal finance in a plain and easy-to-understand language to contribute to responsible financial decisions by Ukrainians.

Robert Bond, Chief of Party for the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project said, “We believe that Ukraine needs a new money culture, one based on trust and on accurate and reliable information for the public about the cost of financial services. We hope Liga.Money will become the ”go to” place for comparison shopping for consumer loans.”

“I am very happy that Liga.net became the platform for the LIGA.Money project whose approaches fully comply with our principles, including the main one: the consumer is above all”, said Dmytro Bondarenko, CEO of Ligamedia. “Everything is done only in the interests of the consumer. LIGA.Money provides necessary information and the comparison shopping tool to evaluate and compare offers and to make right decisions for the sake of improving well-being of Ukrainians. LIGA.Money has no ads and is fully independent from banks in its rankings, advisory and financial literacy content since the materials we publish are our own views and the views of experts. We take great care of security and protect personal data of our users.”

The LIGA.Money platform is open to all Ukrainian banks that wish to participate and subscribe to the principles of the new platform.

A day-long LIGA.Money Fest  on October 1 features demonstrations of how to use the Creditmeter, an online Ask the Expert program where consumers get answers and advise on consumer finance, videos, contests, and other activities at: https://www.facebook.com/LigaMoney

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About USAID

USAID is the world's premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAID’s current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please call USAID’s Development Outreach and Communications Office at: +38 (044) 521-5753. You may also visit its website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.

About the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project

The USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project supports financial sector reform in Ukraine and provides assistance in the following focus areas: consumer lending, legal and regulatory reform, increasing access to finance in the non-bank financial sector; expanding digital finance solutions; and promoting better involvement of the people in financial markets and financial consumer protection. More information about the USAID Financial Sector Transformation Project is available at http://www.fst-ua.info/en/ and https://www.facebook.com/FSTProject.

About Ligamedia

Ligamedia is an independent media holding of Ukraine, which is an integral part of the LIGA Group. Today, it combines a number of information, communication and advertising projects. Its main project is the LIGA.net portal, a leader among Ukrainian Internet audience, one of the top news websites in Ukraine, and the best business online media outlet. According to the Institute of Mass Information survey findings, LIGA.net is a consistent leader in maintaining journalistic standards among Ukraine’s largest online media outlets. More information is available at www.liga.net and https://www.facebook.com/liga.net