Smart Money Cymru is the first Credit Union in Wales to join an influential body to promote technological developments in financial services.
FinTech Wales exists to champion the financial services industry and give it an independent, global voice. The organization has a large number of members across industry in Wales, including banks, insurance companies, accountancy firms, universities and energy companies.
As well as nurturing and supporting FinTech companies, the aim is to create a culture to help new entrants launch and scale up to maximize the huge potential of this sector for Wales.
“FinTech Wales is a key part of the finance sector in Wales and is dedicated to growing and developing this important industry and we are delighted to have become a member,” said Mark White chief executive of Smart Money Cymru, the credit union and community bank with 8,000 members and branches in Caerphilly, Blackwood and Tredegar.
During Lockdown, Smart Money Cymru took the opportunity of the downtime to upgrade its financial technology, moving from being ‘paper driven’ to offering a digitized experience to members.
“The starting point for Smart Money was to seize an opportunity funded by the Welsh Government for a small group of Welsh credit unions to adopt a new loan processing platform to enable members to apply for loans online.
“The technology was delivered through our existing operator software providers and gave us a great springboard to start our journey from.
“Overnight, our average loan processing time dropped from four days to less than 24 hours. Our goal and the next step will be the implementation of fully automatic decision and processing of loan applications, available to customers 24/7”.
Investment in new digital platforms led to an immediate, positive response from the communities in Caerphilly, Islwyn and Blaenau Gwent served by Smart Money Cymru, as well as customers in other parts of Wales. “In the last year, we increased membership by 44% and almost doubled our loans to members; also deposits are up 50% and our revenue is up 45%,” White added.
Smart Money Cymru is, he said, on a digital journey to modernize and upgrade its offering as its membership grows, and this was the main reason for joining the FinTech Wales network.
“As the cost of living continues to squeeze people’s budgets, we continue to support our communities and customers across Wales, with our innovative services for our members,” added Mr White. These include a new Credit builder loans for those who do not have a perfect credit record, and the innovative Smart products scheme for the purchase of household goods such as fridges and cookers using loans from Smart Money Cymru.
“There are many ways we can help, especially in these difficult times. Our membership is growing all the time and we are constantly improving our services and technical offerings to help our members.”
