OVO urges customers to come forward to 'borrow money' and 'you don't need account'

OVO has launched a HSBC-backed lending product for solar panels. Customers will be able to borrow money from HSBC to pay for solar panels and batteries under a scheme designed to boost take-up of low-emission home upgrades.

OVO says four million customers will not need an account with the bank to access financing to install green energy devices. Customers will also be able to use HSBC’s lending product Flexipay to cover heat pumps and electric vehicle chargers in future, the firm - which is rivalled by British Gas, EDF, EON Next and Octopus - said.

David Buttress, Ovo’s chief executive, said the move would help people “adopt green technologies which will cut energy bills for good”. Andrew Rankin, interim head of unsecured lending at HSBC UK, said the coming decade will bring a “significant acceleration” in people investing to make their homes more energy efficient.

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OVO confirmed the move ahead of the Ofgem price cap rising in January and also said its customers consistently cite upfront costs as the biggest barrier to installing upgrades. Ovo said customers looking to install tech for their home will be able to access HSBC’s Flexipay lending product even without an HSBC account.

Rankin, interim head of unsecured lending at HSBC UK, said that instalment-led lending is “an increasingly popular way for consumers to pay for goods and can be a great budgeting tool, providing the certainty of fixed repayments and a set end date”.

“We are excited to support consumers through a fully regulated journey aimed at delivering great customer outcomes. We will enable this through key, select merchant partnerships of which Ovo is the first," Mr Rankin went on to say.

HSBC UK is rivalled by the likes of Santander, Barclays, Natwest, Nationwide, Lloyds Banking Group - which contains Bank of Scotland - and more.