More than half of the LendTech’s newly onboarded retailers in 2021 are home improvement brands

Following a strong year for the DIY and home improvement market during 2020, leading UK LendTech company, DivideBuy, has revealed that 54% of retailers onboarded in 2021 are based in this sector.

The increasing number of home improvement brands turning to interest free credit (IFC) solutions has stemmed directly from the sheer amount of property upgrades occurring during the nationwide COVID-19 lockdowns.

By introducing IFC options to their checkout, home improvement retailers have been able to increase their basket values and drive the sales of bigger ticket items. In particular, desirable items such as expensive furnishings or home electronics are prime candidates to experience a sales uplift.

Due to the benefits IFC brings to both retailers and consumers, in 2020 alone, it racked up £9.6 billion in UK sales. That figure is expected to rise to £26.4 billion by 2024, with DivideBuy predicting a further use of IFC in the DIY, building and consumer technology sectors – where average ticket values tend to be larger.

James Bradley, Director of Sales and Business Development for DivideBuy, commented: “Consumers are increasingly favouring the flexibility of interest free credit to spread the cost of purchases. It’s now one the world’s fastest-growing payment methods – a trend that we’ve seen home improvement brands leverage in order to increase sales and better service their customers at a time when they’re spending more time at home and looking to make changes.

“More than this, through IFC, retailers give consumers more responsible and supportive finance options that enable access to the products they need without high or unknown costs. And being powered by an innovative LendTech like DivideBuy gives both retailers and consumers an added security over each sale.”

IFC can be integrated at both online and in-store checkouts. Unique to DivideBuy, retailers can register, approve and onboard customers in a matter of seconds through soft credit checks that don’t leave a mark on their credit score. Also individual to this LendTech is that it provides both the technology and the credit lending facility, cutting out expensive middlemen and enabling retailers to use transaction data to improve marketing strategies and customer service.

As a result of its distinctive offering, DivideBuy has grown rapidly over recent years, with it recently being named the UK’s fastest growing technology company by multinational professional services firm, Deloitte.

James Bradley continued: “While there’s a particular spotlight on the home improvement space, we’re seeing a marked increase in retailers providing flexible IFC checkout options across almost every sector. This is since more than a third of consumers value the convenience, transparency and spending control that it provides.

“Interest free credit has proven pivotal in helping businesses stand out from the competition to capture consumer attention or recoup funds lost during pandemic lockdowns. Seeing more and more retailers onboard with us each month demonstrates how truly important IFC facilities are to the market right now.”

Farmington, Mo.-based First State Community Bank ($3.5 billion in assets) partnered with HC3 to build more engaging, interactive customer statements and notifications. The bank selected HC3, a data-driven tech company that makes complex financial data practical, meaningful, and attractive to consumers, to eliminate numerous manual practices in the design and production of statements.

The bank utilizes HC3’s Smart Campaign Manager. This platform provides a tool that allows for real time editing and proofing of statements and notices, along with the ability to optimize each document to serve as a cross-selling piece. This results in their staff saving time on back office tasks and using their time to be with customers.

“Statements and notices have historically been a standardized document with limited uses,” said Nikki Masters, vice president of Retail/Digital Channel Manager at First State Community Bank. “By using HC3’s services, we’ve been able to not only educate our customers on their account information but also use these required touch points as cross-selling and upselling tools by utilizing key data elements to deliver targeted messages on the bank statements and bank notices.”

Customer communication is an important part of maintaining and growing business. By managing white space, utilizing single line transaction details, and designing statements and notices with clear customer focal points, First State Community Bank is able to innovate documents to maximize their benefits.

“First State Community Bank optimized their statements and notices to serve as multi-purpose tools through our redesign process,” said Griffin McGahey, president of HC3. “With the help of our Smart Campaign Manager tool, they have the ability to use the statement to send relevant, targeted communications to their customers."

Addition comes amidst significant growth and expansion for Tier1 Financial Solutions and will help the company scale globally  

Tier1 Financial Solutions , a leader in client relationship management (“CRM”), AML compliance and fraud prevention solutions, has appointed Franca Marinelli as Chief Human Resources Officer. In addition to managing human resources and organization development at Tier1, Marinelli’s goals will also include accelerating growth and transformation through leadership, creating unique models to cultivate the best talent, and building a culture of engagement and innovation.

Marinelli is a highly accomplished, business-oriented human resources professional with more than 25 years of experience in providing strategic leadership in the development and successful implementation of organizational and integrated human resources programs. Before joining Tier1, Marinelli held various senior executive positions in human resources and organizational development with BTI Systems, St. Joseph Communications, CATENA Networks, and Spar Inc.

“As we continue to expand our operations globally, especially in light of Tier1’s recent acquisitions of Alessa and Satuit, alignment of values across our organization will be vital to delivering the best possible experience to our clients,” said Tier1 Financial Solutions CEO Jiro Okochi. “I’m excited to welcome Franca to Tier1 and know she will be an invaluable member of our executive team, given her impressive track record in recruiting, corporate and employee development, and employee relations in multinational companies.”

Earlier this year, Tier1 expanded its senior leadership team with the hire of James Mitchell as Managing Director (International) to accelerate the adoption of Tier1’s advanced CRM and compliance solutions across Europe and drive further global expansion within Asia Pacific. 

Recently, Tier1 was voted ‘Best Mobile Solutions Provider’ in the 2021 Waters Rankings, an annual awards program recognizing the leading technologies, services and providers across the banking and capital markets landscape, for the second year in a row. 

FXCM Group, LLC, the leading international provider of online foreign exchange (FX) trading, CFD trading, cryptocurrencies¹ and related services, announced today that it has been crowned the winner of three categories of the Ultimate Fintech Awards 2021. The firm won Best Customer Service, Best Trading Platform and Broker of the Year.

FXCM was first listed for the awards by Ultimate Fintech, which, every year, determines leading market participants that are spearheading groundbreaking achievements, innovations, and progressive contributions in the fintech industry. The final list was then put to subscribed and logged in users to cast their votes. FXCM received the most votes for Best Customer Service, Best Trading Platform and Broker of the Year.

Having recently launched its ‘Client First, Trader Driven’ initiative, which focuses on expanding the company’s product offering and boosting its client service, the award is a testament to FXCM’s commitment to client service and bringing the most sought-after trading opportunities to its clients.

Over the past year, the firm has rolled out popular and emerging products to the retail trading market, adding 79 products, including SSCFDs, cryptos and stock baskets. FXCM has demonstrated its client service commitment so far in 2021, reporting that its average live-chat pick-up time was five seconds, whilst 100% of calls were answered in 45 seconds and emails replied to within a day.²

Brendan Callan, CEO of FXCM, said: “Over the past year, we’ve really focused our efforts on connecting with our clients and providing a best-in-class trading experience from the moment they start their trading journey. Being crowned winners of three categories at the Ultimate Fintech Awards 2021 is testament to our team’s hard work and we look forward to continue working closely with our clients to provide them the service they deserve.”

The firm also won a number of other awards in the past year, including the Best Zero Commission* Broker in the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2021, Best FX Platform at the 2021 Online Personal Wealth Awards and Best Forex Trading Platform (Global), Most Trusted Forex Broker (Africa) and Best Value Broker (Europe) at the 2020 Global Forex Awards.

¹Cryptocurrency products are only available to Professional and Eligible Counterparty Clients under FXCM LTD.

²Jan – May 2021 FXCM Service data

*Award granted to the FXCM Group by ADVFN in March 2021. FXCM can be compensated in several ways, which include but are not limited to adding a mark-up to the spreads it receives from its liquidity providers, adding a mark-up to rollover, etc. Commission-based pricing is applicable to Active Trader account types.

Molo Finance has partnered with the In Partnership Group, a growing community of over 500 investment, mortgage and protection advisers delivering high-end services to their clients.

This partnership allows Molo to expand its intermediary distribution and offer the best in unique digital mortgage services while expanding its reach to a larger pool of customers.

As a fully digital lender, Molo Finance uses technology to speed up the lending process and provide a seamless experience that’s completely paperless.

Molo will now feature in the In Partnership’s mortgage options, giving members and their customers more choice when looking for the right mortgage option.

Speaking about the partnership, Francesca Carlesi, CEO and Co-Founder of Molo, said: “We are delighted to partner with In Partnership, who provide expert advice and services in the financial industry, including to anyone seeking new buy-to-let mortgage opportunities. In Partnership is another excellent addition to the partners we already have here at Molo".

Tim Coghill, Head of Strategic Partnerships said “We are delighted to partner with Molo Finance. In Partnership prides itself on offering members access to the best deals in the market in order that they can fully satisfy their clients’ needs. Molo Finance’s innovative mortgage offering is a valuable addition to our lender panel.”

• d prepaid): 57 percent, or 20 payments per month in 2020. 

• Also last year, 31 percent of all payments per month were executed using electronic devices; 14 percent of all bill settlements were made using a mobile phone.

According to a recently published study by the U. S. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, debit cards and credit cards are the most commonly used payment instrument by number for purchases among U. S. consumers. Electronic methods linked to a bank account are used for almost half of bill payments by number. 

In the pandemic year 2020, online or mobile purchases of goods and services in the U. S. increased to 24 percent of all purchases (as a share of in-person and not-in-person) from 17 percent. Of acquisitions not made in person, forty percent were accomplished via a smartphone.

The analysis “The 2020 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice” by the U. S. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Georgia, also revealed that debit cards and credit cards are the most commonly used payment instrument by number for purchases among U. S. consumers, accounting for about one-third of purchases each.

Irreversible trend

Marianne Bregenzer, CEO of cashless pay-tech provider Nets Switzerland SA, said: “The trends in the world’s biggest economy towards non-cash, contactless methods of payments show that there is no ‘return to normal’ or a pre-pandemic love for cash: cashless s the new normal.”

U.S. consumers made more than half of their payments with payment cards (debit, credit, and prepaid): 57 percent, or 20 payments per month in 2020. Also last year, 31 percent of all payments were executed using electronic devices; 14 percent of all payments per month were made using a mobile phone.

Compared with 2019, the volume shares of cards and electronic instruments increased and the volume shares of paper instruments declined; only the decline in the share of payments per month made by paper instruments is statistically significant. The study does not reveal the share of virtual cards (credit or debit cards not out of plastic but only existent online on the PC, tablet, or smartphone) which have been on the rise in the wake of the pandemic. 

Nothing alchemist

Of the average 35 payments per month that U.S. consumers reported, 12 were for everyday purchases (groceries, pharmacies, stores, and online shopping); six were for food consumed away from home (including restaurants, bars, and fast food, down from eight in 2019); three were at petrol stations; and three were related to financial services companies (including insurance; IRA and mutual funds; credit card, mortgage, and other loan payments).

Ms Bregenzer: “Kissing cash good-bye is not dedicated to youngsters alone – it is a phenomenon visible across the generations.”

“Although cards were used more frequently than electronic payments, the total value of payments made electronically exceeded that of payments within every four weeks made by cards: $1,476 compared to $1,269”, said the study. In relation to value, payments using electronic instruments were 34 percent of the monthly total, compared to 29 percent for cards and 27 percent for paper instruments. “None of the changes in share by dollar value were statistically significant.”

Debit cards, cash, and credit cards remain the ways to pay used most often, 6 with debit cards used most by number of payments. Twenty-eight percent of payments per months were with debit cards, 27 percent with credit cards, and 19 percent with bank notes. 

Digital lion’s share 

In order to sum these observations up, consumers made 75 percent of their payments using debit cards, cash, and credit cards. The distribution by value is different. Cash, debit, and credit payments accounted for 34 percent of the value of their payments per month: 6 percent in cash, 12 percent in debit cards, and 16 percent in credit cards. “The difference between the distribution by volume and by value reflects that consumers tend to use cash and payment cards more often, but for relatively low-value payments, and they tend to use checks and electronic payments less often, but for relatively high-value payments.” 

For example, U.S. consumers on average made fewer electronic-instrument payments per month than cash settlements (four compared with seven), but they used electronic payments for settlements that were higher in average value than cash settlements ($350 compared with $42). The average value when using payment cards fell between the two, at $64. ***