UK Fintech News Roundup: The Latest Stories 26/04

Every Wednesday we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from Surfshark, Lanistar, Tink, Totally Money, Moneyboat and Freedom Finance

Lanistar transitions to a full banking solution in the UK and prepares for launch

London-based Fintech Lanista is preparing to launch in the UK, which is expected to take place during the spring of 2023. Lanista’s UK and EU focus has taken a back seat due to unprecedented interest in LATAM, but now the company plans to refocus its expansion on its “home turf”, by apply the valuable and exciting lessons learned from their proposal to the Latin American market.

Lanista’s CEO, Jeremy Baber, explains: “Key to our launch (in Brazil) and those to follow in other parts of LATAM, has been our alliance partnership with Mastercard members, who offered a ‘Banking as a Service’ solution. This means that Lanistar has a ‘one-stop shop’ solution for market entry in the region, offering a full suite of services including bank accounts, card issuance, full digital onboarding and best of breed Regulatory Compliance, KYC and transaction monitoring.

The UK had the highest cybercrime density in the world in 2022

A new Surfshark A study shows that the UK had the highest density of cybercrime in the world in 2022 for the second year in a row, with 4,371 out of 1 million UK internet users affected by cybercrime throughout the year, 3 times higher than the number two US.

“Last year, 801,000 people fell victim to cybercrime globally, resulting in a total of ten billion dollars in losses. Because of how lucrative cybercrime is, there’s no reason to believe that cybercriminals will stop striking anytime soon. That’s why it’s more important than ever to be vigilant and build your cyber security defenses, which applies to both businesses and individuals”, says Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauskespokeswoman at Surfshark

Tink finds almost one in four Britons financially vulnerable

The latest research from Think, a European open banking platform, finds that almost one in four Britons (23 per cent) are “financially vulnerable” as their income no longer covers essential expenses. Of these, 56 percent say the situation will worsen as they expect discretionary income to fall over the next 12 months.

As a result, some of them have already made difficult choices – one in five (20 percent) of the “financially vulnerable” report having missed a monthly mortgage or rent payment, and a similar amount (22 percent) have canceled financial products that example insurance.

Tasha ChouhanUK & IE Banking Lead at Tink, commented on the research: “It is clear that there is an appetite for more support from banks among those experiencing financial distress. Open banking has an important role to play here – with data-driven financial services providing financial institutions an opportunity to identify struggling customers and provide tailored support and interventions to help them Not only can this make a meaningful difference to people bearing the brunt of the cost of living crisis, it also helps financial institutions meet enhanced regulatory requirements around protecting the financially vulnerable customers.”

TotallyMoney reaches five million customer milestones

Total Money, fintech with a focus on Britain’s financially underserved, has passed the milestone of five million customers. The free financial app puts people in control of their open bank and credit report data, providing personalized plans, products and insights to unlock a life of more choice.

Alastair Douglas, The CEO of TotallyMoney comments: “While we are delighted to announce that five million people have chosen to gain financial momentum with TotallyMoney, nearly 30 million find themselves underserved or struggling to make ends meet.

“The financial industry is broken – that’s why we’re changing the balance of power and putting people in control of their own data to create a system that works for everyone.

“We know we are able to make a real difference to our customers’ lives – with data showing that users of our app have a better credit score. This achievement is a true testament to the people at TotallyMoney – who day in and day out show dedication to our mission of helping everyone move their finances forward.

“The next phase of our journey involves the launch of new and innovative features enabled through industry collaboration, which will encourage financial inclusion and help people unlock a life of more choice.”

Brits lose almost £900 a year due to difficulty talking about money

A new study of Money boat shows how Brits feel when it comes to talking about finances, losing almost £900 a year due to difficulty having conversations around money.

It found that a third (33 per cent) of Brits admit they sometimes don’t ask for a refund after buying an item for friends/family as part of their order (ie a coffee or event ticket), while the average Brit said this happens at least twice a month.

Furthermore, only 11 percent of those questioned said that they always ask their loved ones for the money back.

The survey went on to reveal that Britons spend £318.91 a year because they feel they can’t ask for money back after buying something for friends or family as part of their order.

Laura Rettie, Editor-in-Chief of Finance.co.uk says: “It’s hard-wired into our DNA that buying something small for someone is a kind gesture, and asking for the money back would feel awkward and just isn’t the done thing.

“Discomfort talking about money comes from fear of judgment – ​​whether you have a lot or little. It often feels inappropriate or rude because parents traditionally hide conversations about money from their children, so as adults we haven’t learned how to have open discussions about it with our colleagues, friends or even our partners.”

New lenders face increasing demand for consumer loans in 2022

Research from Freedom financingone of the UK’s leading digital loan marketplaces, reveals the leading contenders and new banks that added over £1.5bn of capacity to the UK unsecured personal loan market in 2022.

The analysis reveals that a basket of challenger brands and digital-only lenders increased unsecured personal lending to consumers by over £1.5 billion, a 34 per cent increase on 2021’s reported figure. This growth far outstrips the Bank of England’s figures for non-credit card consumer lending, which grew by just 5 per cent in the 12 months to December 2022.

Emma Steeley, The CEO of Freedom Finance said tighter credit conditions are driving more people to use soft credit search technology to find competitive rates.

“Despite the worsening credit conditions at the end of last year, 2022 still saw significant growth in demand for credit on our platform and across the market. As loan sizes increased while credit conditions tightened, we have seen new lenders serving more affluent households who purchase credit products through our proprietary technology platform.

“We’ve also seen an increase in the number of people who have missed payments in the past using our platform. Because our soft search technology reduces the risk of people applying for loans they don’t qualify for, this helps protect their precious credit score.

“These new users demonstrate the appeal fintech platforms, such as Freedom Finance, have for increasingly savvy credit customers who are comfortable using digital tools to access the best financial products available on the market.”