UK Fintech News Roundup: The Latest Stories 10/05

Every Wednesday we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from iplicit, Checkout.com, Twenty7tec, Banking Circle and Miconex.

Fears of data loss are holding UK finance managers back

26 percent of UK financial decision makers cited loss of historical data and having to pay to use historical data as major barriers to changing accounting systems, accounting software provider implicitly has revealed.

iplicit’s survey of 1,000 UK finance decision makers also found out why UK finance decision makers are hesitant to change accounting systems. Loss of historical data (14 percent); the cost of a right-to-use (RTU) license to access historical data (12 percent); and the high total cost of changing accounting systems (11 percent) were the three most important reasons revealed.

Lyndon Stickley, CEO of iplicit, explains: “Given the importance of accessing historical financial data, the industry really needs to do more to ensure finance teams have access to their data, especially as an RTU license typically costs 50 percent to 100 percent . percent of standard software license! It begs the question, ‘Why do financial software vendors hold customers to ransom?'”

Checkout.com uses AI for seller support after EMVCo certification

Provider of payment solutions Checkout.com has become the first global payment solution provider to be 3DS 2.3.1 certified by EMVCothe technical body that facilitates worldwide interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions.

The certification enables Checkout.com’s authentication offering to better support merchants in reducing fraud and improving payment performance, using proprietary artificial intelligence to roll out support in a secure and intelligent manner.

Rami Josephproduct director of authentication and payment performance at Checkout.com, commented on the certification.

Josef said: “Being the first global payment provider to achieve EMV 3DS 2.3.1 certification is a testament to the investment and success we have had with our leading authentication product, which is already used by global businesses such as Klarna to reduce friction between sellers and customers.

“Our mission for authentication is to provide the highest authentication performance for merchants while presenting a seamless customer experience. EMVCo’s goals with 3DS 2.3.1 naturally align with ours and we are excited to be at the forefront of rolling this out to merchants and industry players”.

Brighton gift vouchers appear to boost local economy

Brighton-based platform Allowed has entered into a partnership with a non-profit organization Brilliant Brighton to create a ‘Brighton Gift Voucher’. The card, which must be used locally, boosts the Brighton economy and benefits retailers and other businesses, offering both digital and physical versions. The technology is provided by fintech Micronex.

To be launched in May, the gift card will work throughout MasterCard system, with all types and sizes of businesses in The Lanes, North Laine, East Street, North Street, Preston Street and Western Road eligible to accept the card – with no additional equipment required.

Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex, discussed the venture: “The collaboration between Brilliant Brighton and Tillo is exciting. Tillo processes a billion pounds of gift card transactions each year, helping businesses use digital gift cards as a way to distribute funds and reward employees, with a focus on keeping cash in retail. Now they are putting this experience and knowledge into the Brighton Gift Voucher, working with Brilliant Brighton to make the city’s proposition more accessible to locals, visitors as well as employers.”

Twenty7tec launches digital marketing platform for financial advisors

Twenty7tecone of the UK’s advisory technology companies, has launched a new digital marketing platform for mortgage, wealth and protection advisers: ‘COMMUNICATE’.

The platform offers a number of tools for lead generation. Advisers can embed these tools into websites, social media and other inbound communication channels. It also enables advisors to design, automate and deliver outbound marketing campaigns to existing and prospective clients via email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone and social media channels.

James TuckerCEO of Twenty7tec, commented: “The launch of COMMUNICATE is the culmination of three years of work by Freddie Savundra and his team [Meet Parker] to build the most sophisticated digital marketing platform the financial advisory market has seen. We are also very excited about this platform’s potential to help advisors attract, engage and retain clients.”

Banking Circle joins the UK FPS as a direct participant

Payment bank Banking Circle SA has joined UK faster payment service (FPS) as a direct participant for GBP.

The move adds significant value for customers and underlying customers. Being closer to clearing as a direct participant on FPS sees Banking Circle offer faster settlement times. The bank also has the ability to handle significant payment volumes.

Laust Bertelsen, CEO of Banking Circle, explained the importance of the news: “Banking Circle was launched with the specific vision of improving payments for the global e-commerce market. Becoming a direct participant in Faster Payments is also an important element in making it happen. It is a clear demonstration of our intention – just six years since we entered the market – to challenge the status quo of cross-border payments.