Tag Archives: Banking

Business & Property News, Finance and Banking, News

Tyl by NatWest announces new payments partnership with FSB

NatWest Group has today announced a new partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). This official payments partnership, builds on the support the NatWest Group has given to FSB over the years as the UK’s biggest bank for businesses.*

In 2020, NatWest Group established the SME Taskforce with FSB to help SMEs to respond to and navigate the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, working together with stakeholders from across the small business landscape, the two organisations worked closely together to support customers.

Just last year NatWest announced a £1million partnership with FSB to provide NatWest business customers with access to independent support and education to help with the cost-of-living crisis via webinars, and 1-2-1 phone support and webchat.

FSB members will see cost savings and other benefits by signing up with Tyl, subject to eligibility criteria as part of the partnership. Insight from Tyl by NatWest found that 8 out of 10 businesses could save on fees when switching from an existing card payment provider to Tyl by NatWest.†

For the smallest businesses, Tyl offers a simple fee structure based on one low rate for personal card transactions (where the card is issued in the UK or Europe) and one for all other transactions. For bigger businesses, Tyl has a range of different fees to fit the needs of the business.

In addition to the possible business savings, Tyl by NatWest could help FSB members with the day to day running of their business through features including:

  • Choice of card machines or a phone app for in-person sales
  • Take payments online or over the phone
  • Payment links and QR codes to send out so you get paid quickly
  • Simple bills and next business day settlement
  • Tyl Portal for access to constantly updated sales data
  • 7 day a week UK-based service and support line
  • Tyl is part of NatWest which brings trust, security and experience to ensure safe payments

Available now, FSB members could be up and running with Tyl in just 48 hours.

James Holian, Head of Business Banking at NatWest comments:

“FSB and NatWest share an ambition to provide strong support for the growth of entrepreneurship and small businesses in the UK, and we are excited and proud to partner with FSB in payments services for its members.”

Mike Elliff, CEO, Tyl by NatWest said:

“Small businesses are critical for our economy and our communities. At a time where the cost of trading is rising for small business owners, Tyl by NatWest is delighted to be able to partner with FSB to provide its members with a full range of cost-effective and reliable payment solutions, backed by great service.” 

Caroline Lavelle, Chief Commercial Officer, FSB, said:

“I’m delighted to form this partnership with Tyl by NatWest. We have a long-standing history of working with NatWest on various business initiatives and look forward to this next step in our relationship.

“As many of our members, and the wider UK small business community, continue to navigate the increasing cost of trading, an opportunity to make savings on payments, which is core to every business, will be well-received.”

News

Introducing Ibanista Savvy Currency Solutions For The French Property Market

Ibanista, a specialist Anglo-French content-creation-led currency broker, announces its official launch. The business offers competitive and secure international payments for private clients and ex-pats navigating the complexities of the French property market.

Co-founded by entrepreneurs Benjamin Small and Maxime Guibert, Ibanista is headquartered in London UK. The business emerged from the fusion of Ben’s and Maxime’s networks in France – transforming the pair’s former rivalry into a strategic partnership. Recognising the overlap in their key clientele, and a shared ethos towards exceptional customer service, they opted to unite capabilities, addressing the inefficiencies and user-hostile experiences that are all too common among leading brokerage firms.

Benjamin distinguishes himself in catering to the needs of the English-speaking expats in France, while Maxime’s tenure at a corporate brokerage allows him to extend sophisticated currency management solutions, traditionally the preserve of professionals, to private high-net-worth individuals. This joint approach has driven the business to secure a foothold within the luxury client segment, positioning Ibanista as a pioneer in French wealth management tools for non-resident clients – a service that remains a rarity in a market flooded with currency brokers.

Commenting on the launch; Benjamin Small, Co-Founder says “Ibanista was a long time coming for me, addressing the hugely ignored needs of the expatriate community. Despite the challenges of entrepreneurship – the joy of assisting remarkable individuals on their unique adventures has made the journey worthwhile. Redefining financial services for expatriates is an intricate and sizeable mission. We are committed to providing seamless and secure solutions tailored to meet the distinct needs of expats globally.”

Maxime Guibert, Co-Founder adds “The flexibility provided by Ibanista enables us to handpick partners and tailor our services specifically for non-resident clients. This is a significant shift from the status quo model where clients have to conform to pre-existing industry offerings. This strategic change is instrumental in drawing in high-profile individuals, including U.S. television celebrities and leading corporate executives.”

The business collaborates with fintech firms located in the UK and France, all of which are regulated by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).  Ibanista ensures its clients have access to competitive wholesale exchange rates while also providing a safeguard against fluctuations in currency.

In addition, Ibanista offers comprehensive care packages that streamline the relocation process, simplifying tasks such as bank account openings, utility service setups, and securing telecommunications contracts.

Fintech, News

Fintech startup Alloy launches in the UK

US fintech Alloy has launched in the UK, strengthening its presence in EMEA with key senior hires and office space in London.

Alloy’s Identity Decisioning Platform helps banks and fintech companies to make smarter and faster decisions about the risk profile of each customer, and keep them safe from financial crime. The platform connects to more than 170 data sources, enabling financial institutions to automate customer approval and account opening, and monitor transactions in real time. Over 350 companies around the world trust Alloy to help them simplify processes and respond rapidly to new risks.

Fraud is a more serious threat than ever before: 91% of financial institutions said that fraud has increased year-on-year, and 71% increased their spending on fraud prevention, according to recent Alloy data. In the UK alone, bank fraud cost consumers almost £610M in the first half of 2022.

With Alloy, clients see an average 48% reduction in fraud. UK fintechs now have access to the company’s full product range, enabling them to stay ahead of regulatory requirements and scale their operations with ease.

Alloy’s former COO Edwina Johnson has relocated to London to head up global expansion, while James Baston-Pitt, former Vice President at Onfido, will spearhead commercial initiatives as the EMEA Director of Growth. The UK team is currently hiring for roles across sales and partnerships, and will continue to build out its go-to-market and client services functions throughout the year.

Since Alloy was founded in 2015, the firm has helped more than 350 of North America’s most innovative banks and fintech startups prevent fraud and financial crime, including Carta, Ramp and Brex. Alloy has raised over $210M to date, reaching a $1.55BN valuation, and last year announced its expansion into 40 new countries. The company has doubled down on its commitment to EMEA by establishing a physical presence in London, its first local site outside the US.

Edwina Johnson, Head of Global at Alloy said: “For financial institutions to remain competitive in today’s market, cross-border functionality is no longer a major advantage – it’s a must. Fintech startups are now building with a global mindset from day one, and looking for technology partners who can scale with them, adapting to their changing business needs, appetite for risk, and compliance requirements.

“The UK is one of the world’s most powerful fintech hubs, and we can’t wait to help innovative local firms unlock their potential abroad. For too long, international expansion has involved trade-offs with risk management, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Alloy provides dynamic support for companies operating across multiple regulatory environments, so they can focus on growing their business without worrying about the threat of fraud.”

To learn more, visit Alloy.com.

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

EveryFriday appointed by Ashman, a new kind of bank for property SMEs

Creative agency EveryFriday has been appointed by Ashman, an exciting new banking proposition, to evolve its strategic brand positioning, expression and go-to-market launch.

Ashman, which was founded by real-estate entrepreneurs Ashkin Mittal and Manhad Narula, plans to transform the banking experience for property SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises), a £90bn market opportunity.

Digital by design, Ashman plans to deliver speed and a personalised service to clients and brokers. It will initially focus on lending to SMEs in the commercial real estate sector, lending on deals from £100k to £5 million, while providing personal savers with competitive rates.

Earlier this month, Ashman received its UK banking licence, becoming the first new entrant to be licensed this year.

Sally Mackerell, co-founder of EveryFriday, comments: 

“We are delighted to be partnering with Ashman, an exciting new banking proposition for property entrepreneurs, to evolve the strategic brand positioning, expression and go-to-market launch. A passionate team of super smart and experienced individuals, they are motivated by a strong desire to build something that genuinely makes a difference in the world, which aligns perfectly with EveryFriday’s mission to create ‘Ideas that Move People’.” 

Simon Healy, Chief Operating Officer at Ashman, comments:

“Our proposition is simple: digital by design, Ashman plans to offer financial products and services that enrich the customer and the planet. We are excited to partner with EveryFriday to bring this proposition to life.”

Fintech, News

Griffin submits application for UK banking authorisation, hitting major milestone in building a developer-friendly bank for fintechs

The London-based company is building an API-first Banking as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, designed to couple best-in-class technology with the security and reliability of an authorised bank

Thursday 12th May 2022, London – Today, Griffin – a UK Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) fintech – announces the completion of an important step in its application for a banking licence. Griffin has submitted its application to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

“This is a major milestone for the company and a direct result of the team’s hard work and thoughtful approach to building a sound internal structure, strong business model, and reliable technology platform,” John Weguelin, Griffin Chair. “I and the Board are thrilled to support the team on its journey to seeking authorisation to become a bank.”

Griffin’s BaaS platform is designed to provide fintechs of all sizes with a one-stop shop for bringing their products to market, including access to all the UK’s payment rails, bank accounts, debit cards, an integrated ledger, and customer onboarding automation.

The process for applying for a banking licence requires companies like Griffin to demonstrate that they meet key regulatory requirements and expectations, including effective governance arrangements, a viable and sustainable business model, adequate capital and liquidity and safe and secure infrastructure and operations. Few firms seeking authorisation reach this stage: only 28% of companies that held initial meetings with the regulators reached the application submission stage between 2013 and September 2019, according to the PRA and the FCA.

The road to becoming the de facto banking platform for fintech innovation

Modern consumers demand digital-first finance, creating a massive opportunity with the embedded finance market likely to reach $7.2tn by 2030, according to a report by Informa. However, the process for building and launching financial services software is still long, expensive and built on outdated technology. Today, fintechs are forced to integrate disparate platforms across multiple partners with long onboarding times – stifling innovation and prolonging time to market.

“From the beginning, we’ve known that a full-stack approach delivers more value to customers.” said David Jarvis, CEO and co-founder of Griffin. “Our platform brings historically siloed infrastructure components that all share a data model into a single platform, allowing fintechs to launch quickly without compromising on compliance or operational resilience. We’re incredibly proud to have reached this milestone in our journey to become a bank that our customers can build on.”

Enabling embedded finance with a developer-friendly, self-service approach

“Today, banks are not well equipped to support the seamless and contextual experience consumers have come to expect,” Tom Mendoza, EQT Ventures partner and investment advisor, said. “There is currently a gap in the market for a developer-led, full-stack approach to technology and banking. Griffin represents the future when it comes to powering the next generation of fintech and embedded finance.”

The company aims to bring state-of-the-art software, radical pricing transparency, and an API-first approach to the UK financial services sector. Additionally, Griffin’s BaaS platform will provide the power of SaaS technology and modern developer tools to the next generation of UK fintechs.

“Griffin’s platform enables fintechs to focus on what they do best—creating innovative products and experiences—not managing back-end infrastructure and compliance processes” Amy Kirk, independent non-executive director at Griffin and current board member of Monzo and FCMB UK said. “Submitting this application brings the company one step closer to actualising its ambitious vision.”

News

Challenger banks need to work on AML and fraud control as they grow

Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine

UK’s challenger banks have made deep inroads into the financial system of the country. These recently created retail banks have been giving tuff competition to the traditional banks with better digital services and offering a quick and easy application process. These neobanks have disrupted the conventional banks’ business model, and their customer count has witnessed a continuous rise.

The fintech innovation has led to a meteoric rise in the sector in just over a decade, and with ever-increasing fintech adoption among digitally active consumers, the growth is likely to increase further. The process they follow of providing improved customer support without face-to-face interactions has made them popular and lured many to shift to them from the conventional banking system.

When everything was going in favour of the challenger banks, the financial regulator raised an alarm bell. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), in its latest review, has said that challenger banks need to work on their process of assessing financial crime risk.

Finding of FCA on challenger banks

FCA review that was conducted last year has identified various Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from challenger banks, which has raised concern over the adequacy of checks while onboarding new customers by them. The regulator stated that the procedures for accessing customers’ risks were not developed properly and, in some cases, were ineffective, which made the customer due diligence (CDD) difficult. Also, as some of the challenger banks grew rapidly in the last couple of years, they failed to adjust to the norms. In a competitive rush to attract customers quickly, the information gathered at the primary stage of account opening remains incomplete and insufficient.

It was also pointed out that many of the challenger banks’ management of transaction monitoring alerts, especially for the application of enhanced due diligence (EDD), remained inconsistent and ineffective.

It’s not the first time that concerns have been raised about the functioning and the regulatory procedures followed by the challenger banks. They have been under scrutiny earlier as well by the regulators for reasons as grave as potential breaches of anti-money laundering laws. The regulator has advised them to work on their anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud controls with the growth of their business.

Enough scope of course correction

All is not bad, and the regulator has also identified some good practices like the use of technology in an innovative way to identify and validate customers at speed by the challenger banks. It has termed them as a vital part of the UK’s retail banking offering.

Also, the scope of the FCA review is limited as it was based on a sample selection of 6 challenger retail banks and that too who were relatively new to the market, but still, the challenger banks should consider the findings of this review. The findings indicate that they will have to work on enhancing their own financial crime systems continuously. There is technology available that can help challenger banks to prevent financial crime; they can use AI-based systems to identify fraudulent activities and can act promptly. The neobanks will have to take a risk-based approach to AML and should stringently follow the CDD norms.

News

Nearly one in four financial services professionals use insights from alternative data every day

Bright Data (formerly Luminati Networks) has released research findings that highlight the importance of alternative data in financial services. The insights, gathered in cooperation with the leading market research experts Vanson Bourne, demonstrate the impact alternative data is having in the US and UK versus legacy/traditional data.

The survey concluded that nearly a quarter (24%) of financial services professionals who work for organisations that collect alternative data use it to aid their work every day. The research queried respondents from financial services sectors, including insurance, banking, and hedge funds and found a clear dependence on external data sources, with 95% of financial services organisations relying on outside information to contribute towards business success in the past year.

The research findings also shed light on the obstacles that financial institutions face when deploying and working with alternative data. Three-quarters (75%) of banking professionals that use alternative data state data analysis as their biggest challenge. Additionally, the survey unveiled the insights that respondents are not currently getting from alternative data. For example, 80% of those surveyed expressed they require more competitive insights from alternative data, and 79% hoped to get information on customer behaviour from the data. These findings show that even though many financial services professionals are using alternative data, there’s a lack of understanding about how to properly analyse the information to unlock insights.

Further key findings from the survey include:

  • Professionals from insurance companies (74%) and hedge funds (72%) find it much easier to integrate alternative data into decision-making than those at banks (57%).
  • Sixty-four percent (64%) of organisations that rely on alternative data sources when building business strategies say that alternative data impacts their investing strategy, and 59% say it impacts their customer experience strategy.
  • Seventy-seven percent (77%) of US respondents find it easy or very easy to integrate alternative data sources into decision-making, compared to only 49% of UK respondents.

“Gone are the days where quarterly earnings reports could be relied on as the main source of data for decision-making,” said Or Lenchner, CEO of Bright Data. “Financial services institutions are seeking out alternative/external data for up-to-the-minute insights that provide the most relevant, reliable and accurate data available. We’ve seen a significant increase in businesses within the space turning to Bright Data to collect alternative data. We look forward to continuing to empower these organisations with tailored online data that guides their most important business strategies and decisions.”

The survey asked 100 employees from insurance, banking, hedge and quant funds, and loan companies about their alternative data usage. The group was representative of US and UK respondents and included employees who work within the IT and data departments of their organisations.

Fintech, News

Revolut launches Confirmation of Payee for UK customers

Revolut has announced the launch of Confirmation of Payee for its more than three million UK retail customers. This latest feature forms part of Pay.UK’s anti-fraud initiative and further bolsters Revolut’s already award-winning anti-fraud features.

Confirmation of Payee will give Revolut’s customers greater confidence that their payments are going to the right recipient whenever they pay a business or personal account. The new feature automatically checks that the recipient name and account details match the information held by the recipient’s bank or payment service provider, alerting the payer if there is a discrepancy.

The new feature helps to protect customers against Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud and helps avoid simple mistakes by alerting the payer if they have accidentally mistyped account details when setting up a beneficiary, which can result in payments being sent to the wrong place.

The launch of Confirmation of Payee is Revolut’s latest step to help prevent fraud. Throughout the past year, Revolut has been sharing guidance with customers on how to spot scams and keep their money protected from fraudsters. The FinTech is also part of Europol’s European Money Mule Action (EMMA) initiative which includes financial institutions and domestic and international law enforcement agencies across Europe.

Revolut’s Confirmation of Payee feature has been enabled by its payments partner Modulr. Modulr is one of the few non-banks to have direct access to the Bank of England payments infrastructure. The FinTech is Revolut’s long term payments partner, having also recently enabled Revolut’s UK customers to receive their salary one full working day early together.

Nik Storonsky, CEO and Founder at Revolut, said: “Revolut takes financial safety and security extremely seriously and our aim is always to provide our customers with the very latest in-app security features. Being able to automatically check that a recipient’s name and account details match the information held by their bank or payment service provider means that our customers benefit from an important new level of protection and can avoid simple mistakes. Thousands of people in the UK fall victim to social engineering scams every year and Confirmation of Payee is a crucial step in the ongoing battle against fraud.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO and Founder of Modulr said: “We’re committed to providing our partners, such as Revolut, with the very latest in payments innovation and I’m delighted that we were not only the first non-bank or building society to offer Confirmation of Payee, but that we are now the first payment services provider to be able to pass on this functionality to our PSP partners. Utilising our APIs and our participation with Pay.UK’s CoP service, Revolut can now offer its customers an important extra layer of financial protection.”

Maha El Dimachki, Chief Payments Officer of Pay.UK says: “We are delighted to see increasing numbers of people in the UK benefitting from Confirmation of Payee. The account name-checking service helps consumers avoid errors and fraudulent misdirection of their funds. It is another tool to support and protect consumers when making payments and has been gaining positive momentum since launch.”

To enable Confirmation of Payee, Revolut customers in the UK need to update the app to version 7.29.

To learn more visit: https://www.modulrfinance.com/

Finance News, News

Open banking in 2020: Yapily data reveals Open Banking’s growth into the mainstream with banks making huge strides despite Covid-19

New data released by Yapily, the UK’s leading open banking network, has revealed how open banking connectivity has become a top priority for banks in the UK as we head into 2021.

The data reveals that despite disruption to banking operations caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, banks had matured in their open banking development once the industry had entered Q3, with response times closing on those of the digitally native neo banks, such as Monzo which averages 211ms in its response time.

Some of the UK’s top banking providers were analysed including: Santander UK, First Direct, Barclays, HSBC, Nationwide, M&S Bank, Lloyds, Halifax, Natwest, RBS and AIB.

Of the banks with slow response times at the beginning of the year, these times had been dramatically reduced the further we progressed into 2020; the average response time across all banks was 1154ms in February, but by the time OBIE announced there were two million active users of open banking, the majority of banks had closed the margin between their connectivity and that of the digital first neo banks to an average of 540ms.

Commenting, Stefano Vaccino, CEO and founder of Yapily said: “With recent research from OBIE finding that 50% of the UK’s small businesses are using services from open banking providers, having faster response times between banks and open banking partners are critical to deliver better services such as borrowing, accessing payments and more.

The data showed that the most improved bank was M&S Bank, which managed to reduce its response time from 1314ms to 632ms, although compared to its competitors its final response time was slower. Elsewhere, AIB ended the year with the fastest response time of 288ms, reduced from 991ms. Natwest, RBS and Halifax started the year with some of the fastest times in 2020, and remained near the top of the table through to the end of the year.

The full list of banks analysed are below and in the attached image:

1. AIB from 991ms to 288ms
2. Natwest from 539ms to 331ms
3. RBS reduced from 533ms to 334ms
4. Halifax from 492ms to 472ms
5. Lloyds from 529ms to 491ms
6. Nationwide from 481ms to 580ms
7. HSBC from 827ms to 592ms
8. Barclays from 1180ms to 599ms
9. First Direct from 1577ms to 604ms
10. M&S Bank from 1314ms to 632ms
11. Santander UK 1502ms to 1008ms

Vaccino continues: “2020 was a difficult year for many. And there were fears that the momentum generated last year with Open Banking would be stunted, but our data provides confidence within the industry. Open Banking is not only growing quickly, but it’s also being taken very seriously by traditional banks. And that’s shown by response times getting faster, indicating better connectivity.

“As we head into 2021, we expect open banking to really come into its own, as financial institutions look to launch and connect with new services aimed at giving customers better control, greater security and an improved experience.

“There will be a huge uplift in payments too, as merchants begin to understand the cost benefits that open banking can bring. With banks maturing in their approach to open banking, we’ll also see more movement towards open finance, which will lead to the growth of services geared towards offering more personalised and improved services such as lending, savings, insurance, pensions and more.”
Notes on the data:

The data was compiled and monitored throughout the year by Yapily’s API platform. The company’s open banking infrastructure is used by some of the world’s leading companies such as American Express, IBM, Intuit Quickbooks, IRIS and more.

Finance and Banking, News

Omnio Group launches Vox Money to give a voice to those who deserve a new world of financial services

Vox products and services will provide a more flexible and equitable alternative to traditional high street banks

Omnio’s Credit Union business Kesho, has launched Vox Money, a portfolio of financial products and services that deliver greater financial control to those in society that need it the most and that have been unable to access traditional high street banking.

Too often many of the most vulnerable people in society have been excluded from financial advice and planning simply because of their demographic or financial circumstances. In fact, over a million people in the UK do not have a bank account. As a result, these unbanked individuals pay a “poverty premium” of approximately £480 per year as they cannot access the special offers and discounts available to those who use existing banking services[1].

Vox Money will be a significant step towards reducing that exclusion and will allow individuals and families to plan their finances, make informed decisions when managing their money and give them an alternative to mainstream banking. Crucially, Vox Money’s digital bank account will be accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial history.

With no credit checks[2}, a Visa Card[3], budgeting tools, loyalty & rewards as well as 24/7 access to financial services, Vox Money’s app and website makes it easy for customers to manage their money and payments. Using secure and advanced technology to outperform existing banks, Vox Money’s offering is open to anyone over the age of 18 and ensures those people who have been ignored by high street banks or are simply looking for an alternative can have access to an online account too.

By listening too, and working closely with its existing Credit Union client base Vox Money is preparing to roll out the new portfolio of services across the UK and Ireland in 2021 and the move is the beginning of a new phase of Kesho’s growth in the credit union sector as part of the Omnio Group.

In addition Kesho’s recent partnerships with organisations such as Credit Union Financial Analytics (CUFA) and Credit Kudos means those managing and monitoring Vox Money accounts on behalf of their members will have all the data and analysis they need to make informed lending decisions.

Lindsay Ward, Executive Director said: “In this digitally connected world of affordable smartphones there is simply no reason not to have access to financial services. Vox Money has been designed with simplicity, fairness, and ease of use at its core. As a proud member of the Credit Union community in the UK and Ireland, we are here to support those members of society who are entitled to effective financial planning, regardless of their background.

“A key focus for us is to provide our Credit Union partners with a range of digital solutions to empower their members & communities. Kesho has always led technology and product development in the Credit Union sector and with Vox Money we are giving a voice and real choice for those in society who need straightforward and secure personal financial management,” concluded Ward.

Adrian Cannon CEO Omnio Group said: “The launch of Vox Money is an exciting catalyst for Kesho. We have always worked closely with our credit union partners and this new range of products of services gives them a market leading platform to take their businesses even further. It will also help thousands of people get on top of their finances in ways they haven’t had before, and we are proud of that.

“2020 was a period of strategic partnerships and targeted recruitment for Kesho and the Vox Money launch is a real highlight as we prepare for the New Year. We are in now a great position to continue our sustainable growth in 2021,” concluded Cannon.