Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Do you have any questions about Bippit, financial wellbeing, or financial coaching? You'll find the answers to all our commonly-asked questions below, but if you have a query that's not answered, please drop us a line at info@bippit.com

General questions

What is Bippit?

Bippit is expert financial guidance for every employee.

We give everyone in your organisation a professionally-qualified expert to work with, and all the tools they need for a better financial future, so they feel less stressed, more secure, and more settled in their job.

But we’re more than that. We’re a force for cultural change, both in the workplace and in society, by normalising the conversation around money, and making professional support free at the point of use.

The truth is, we don’t learn about financial matters in school. And it can be hard to talk to friends, colleagues, or even family members about our concerns.

That’s why financial worries are the No.1 source of stress at work, and the No.1 reason employees leave.

Bippit is real human support, from qualified professionals with FCA-recognised qualifications.

Expert help that’s available to all, not just those who can afford it.

How does Bippit help my workforce?

Financial matters affect us all. In fact, life is full of them.

From managing a budget, to building savings, getting on the property ladder, starting a family, caring for loved ones, saving for retirement, and building wealth – along with the boiler services and car breakdowns in between.

But financial matters can be the “elephant in the room” at work. Something many of us are thinking about, all of the time, but without someone to talk to.

In fact, 9/10 employees have never spoken to a financial expert. This makes them more stressed, less productive, and more likely to leave their job.

Bippit changes that culture at your organisation, and gives your people expert support from a qualified professional for the very first time.

This helps them deal with any concerns, improve their financial security, engage with their benefits, and feel more settled at work.

Bippit is all-in-one support. Including goal tracking, budgeting tools, workshops, webinars, account connections, healthchecks, and personalised resources. It’s a complete solution that’s fast and effective.

That means individual support for your people, including pension scheme engagement, understanding their tax, equity plan education, planning for a family, dealing with debt, building an emergency fund, and everything in between.

Why should I consider Bippit above other solutions?

Employees bring their money worries to work every day. At Bippit, we tackle these financial issues head-on, so engagement improves, mental health absences go down, and productivity skyrockets.

Bippit's platform also helps your people understand the true value of their compensation. This means they make the most of their salary, and engage fully with their existing benefits, so you get true value from investing in your workforce.

At the same time, employees are twice as likely to look for another job when they’re worried about financial matters. That’s why we help employees deal with their concerns and achieve their goals, leaving them more confident, secure, and settled at work.

Our coaches also become experts in your processes, so they can deal with queries about pension schemes, equity plans, taxation, and insurance. This means employees get quick, accurate answers, and you can free-up time in your HR department.

And our platform removes barriers to progression, to support all financial needs at every career stage. This means everyone receives the necessary education, knowledge, and confidence, regardless of their situation or background.

Some providers make employees pay for financial guidance. At Bippit we don’t think that’s right. Which is why our support is free for everyone. No matter their situation, starting point, or background.

And we only provide support from finance professionals who hold FCA-recognised qualifications, which means it’s professional, risk-free, effective support, for all the key moments throughout your employees careers.

That’s important for them, personally, but also for your business – because happy, healthier employees with better financial wellbeing are more likely to be engaged, and help you achieve your business goals.

How much does Bippit cost?

Our fees are typically based on the headcount of the organisations we support, which means every employee can access our professional financial coaching and dedicated platform for all-in-one support.

The cost may depend on any additional services that are included as part of our bespoke financial wellbeing strategy for your organisation.

But there are no hidden costs, and our coaches are completely impartial, for your peace of mind. This means that they have no products to sell, and no incentives other than providing dedicated professional support to your people.

Is the use of Bippit confidential?

Yes, the entire platform is a private, confidential, safe space for employees to get the support they need.

We ensure that all sensitive information provided by employees, and conversations with coaches, are encrypted, while our coaches also adhere to the highest ethical standards from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

As part of our service as an employee benefit, we will on occasion provide fully anonymised and aggregated reports to our business customers to surface the impact Bippit has on their workforce.

These reports are designed to surface insights around cohort-level financial concerns, to better inform financial wellbeing strategies, and it is never possible to identify individuals from the way this information is presented.

Is Bippit regulated?

Bippit is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a Registered Account Information Service Provider (RAISP), which means we are held to the highest standards for data protection and security.

Additionally, every coach on the Bippit platform has FCA-recognised qualifications and adheres to a strict code-of-conduct from the FCA.

Is Bippit considered a taxable benefit?

As part of having access to Bippit, every employee receives information and support with their pension. When they first register, they receive illustrative pension guidance to help them understand their current position, including a forecast of their future pension situation.

This forecast is viewable on their home screen whenever they log in to the platform, and every conversation that they have with their financial coach includes guidance around their current pension and retirement situation.

This overarching employee experience means that HMRC’s EIM21803 exemption may be available for the services we provide, which includes a tax exemption of £500 per employee in each tax year.

Ultimately, it is the responsibility of your own organisation to determine whether an employee benefit is taxable or not, and as such you may wish to seek advice and document any positions taken on the tax treatment.

Bippit financial coaching

Who are the Bippit coaches?

Every Bippit coach is a qualified financial adviser or financial planner, with FCA-recognised qualifications. They are strictly vetted in a multi-stage process, and have years of full-time study, along with years of experience working with individuals to help them achieve their financial goals. All coaches must undertake regular CPD (a minimum of 35 hours per year as set out by the FCA) and are governed by a code of conduct as set out by the FCA.

Are Bippit coaches independent?

Yes. Our coaches are remunerated solely for their time and do not receive any other incentives. As such you can trust that they are focused exclusively on giving the very best guidance to your employees, at all times.

Bippit offers holistic support covering all financial areas, and the majority of the time we can support individuals with all of their financial needs across their lives.

However, we recognise that in some cases, people may have additional financial needs that are best supported by specific services. Our External Service Signposting Policy (available on request) ensures that your employees are signposted to these services in a fair, impartial, and consistent way.

This includes regulated and specialist financial advice, legal services, mortgage brokers, tax advice, and debt counselling. This policy reinforces our commitment to providing people with the most effective financial guidance, whether that is best delivered by Bippit or via another specialist external service provider.

What qualifications do your financial coaches have?

Our coaches are all professional financial advisers or financial planners, holding qualifications from the leading professional bodies in the UK – Chartered Institute of Insurance (CII) and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

The majority of our coaches also hold additional specialist qualifications from other institutes, further demonstrating the incredibly high bar of knowledge, professionalism, and experience in the team.

Over 50% of our coaching team are in fact Chartered Financial Planners, which is the pinnacle of the personal finance profession and requires many years of study and practical experience with clients.

Do your coaches provide financial advice?

The short answer is no. Financial advice is a regulatory term which includes recommending specific products and services.

Bippit’s financial coaches, who are all professional advisers or financial planners, help your employees understand how things work, what their options are, the pros and cons of each solution, and the various paths forward, but they do not recommend specific products.

Our coaches therefore remain impartial, fully independent, and have no incentives other than to support your employees with their financial lives.

How will Bippit coaches interact with my team?

All employees receive unlimited contact time with their coach. This includes confidential video calls that can be scheduled in advance.

Employees can also message their coach via the Bippit platform at any time, and receive a response within 48 hours, so this is not an instant messaging service. Instead we value well-considered, insightful, and valuable answers over the speed of response.

This gives the coach enough time to conduct any necessary research and come back with personalised support.

What availability is there for video calls with coaches?

We provide access to a diverse pool of professional financial experts across the UK, which means your employees will have access to a range of daytime slots and out-of-hours slots to suit their schedule.

We work with many customers that have specific shift patterns or requirements in their organisation, and are always able to accommodate demand. If you contact our team, we will be able to discuss the needs of your employees.

How do you pick the right coach for each employee?

When your employees register on the Bippit platform, we ask them a series of questions that guides our matching system.

If they tell us, for example, that their financial goals are to get on the property ladder and start a family, we’ll match them to one of our coaches with specialisms in mortgages, income protection, life insurance, and navigating joint finances as the family grows.

Whatever the employee’s goals, we gain enough insight in the sign-up process to ensure they’re matched with an expert who can help them in the most effective way.

Will employees always speak to the same coach?

Yes. The best way to help employees make long-term progress with their financial lives is by allowing them to build a long-term relationship with a financial expert.

Our technology matches individual employees to individual coaches based on a wide variety of factors to maximise the chance of a successful relationship forming.

Can an employee change financial coaches?

We have refined our coach matching service over time to incorporate many data points and we are confident that in most cases, there will be a strong basis for building a trusting, open, lasting relationship to facilitate the very best financial outcomes.

However, if things change, or if an employee feels like it’s not a good fit, we can swap them to someone who’s more appropriate. All they need to do is visit the support section in the Bippit platform or email us at support@bippit.com to make the request.

Service and security

Are you ISO27001 compliant?

Yes. Bippit has achieved and retains full ISO27001:2022 accreditation. Our information security processes are regularly audited by external organisations to ensure they are compliant and effective. More details are available on request.

How do you protect user data?

By following ISO27001 and FCA security standards, Bippit encrypts and secures user data to the same standards as banks and other financial services institutions.

Bippit’s security is tested with regular external security penetration tests, as well as regular internal and external audits to monitor and manage Bippit’s security, data protection, and risk management.

Bippit is registered with the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office and fully complies with the UK Data Protection Act as well as the GDPR. Further details are available in our privacy policy.

Implementation and launch

How long does launching Bippit take?

Our tried and tested implementation process makes it easy to launch Bippit in your organisations. There is no heavy admin lift or integration work, which means we can launch to much shorter timescales than other enterprise financial wellbeing solutions.

Bippit's dedicated Customer Success team will work with you to develop a launch plan that maximises uptake and engagement among your team, and helps you meet your objectives quickly. Our process is scalable and can be tailored to your environment and working patterns.

How do employees access Bippit?

Bippit is available as an app on iPhone, Android, and as a standalone Web app that can be accessed via desktop computers, tablets, and phones. The experience is the same across all platforms.

How do my employees sign up for Bippit?

Employees can sign up for Bippit via our iPhone app, Android App, or Web app. The process takes about 90 seconds and involves entering some basic personal information, as well as answering some initial questions about financial experience and goals.

This information is used to match the employee with their own professional financial coach, chosen from our extensive pool based on the likelihood of them being able to build a long-term relationship with the employee, and maximise the impact on their financial decision-making.

Once signed up, employees can access our full range of services across the Bippit platform, including goal tracking, budgeting tools, workshops, webinars, account connections, healthchecks, and personalised resources.

Once you're live

What happens if we change our company headcount?

The cost of Bippit for the organisations we support will typically increase or decrease proportionally if the headcount changes. This is something that we check on a regular basis in-line with our customer contracts to ensure that you’re not paying more than is needed.

How do we know if Bippit is having an impact?

Our Customer Success team will share metrics that include engagement rates, usage patterns, and anonymised insights into your team’s financial wellbeing.

This means you can see the impact Bippit is having, and will also identify areas where your people might need more focused support, at which point our Customer Success team will help you develop a plan to deliver it.