Revolut has launched its Open Banking feature in Ireland, providing customers with aggregated account data from AIB, Permanent TSB, Ulster Bank, and Bank of Ireland.

Creatio, a global software company providing a leading low-code platform for process management and CRM, announced the release of a new solution on its marketplace called Contact Center Product Suite for Creatio. The product is developed by Creatio’s partner, Velvetech. This advanced solution for setting up an inbound or outbound call center with AI-based agent scoring and call analytics lets businesses connect with their customers via phone calls, emails, text messaging, social networks, and beyond.

Contact Center Product Suite helps users make data-driven decisions and improve call center performance thanks to AI-based agent QA with Call Analytics and Voice-to-Text transcription, instant access to custom-set dashboards and reports. It seamlessly integrates with Creatio and allows to make maximum use of the data generated by a front desk and call center to power up customer communications. The solution is meant to take sales, customer engagement, and customer service experience to a new level: From optimizing onboarding for new agents to spotting the areas for improving employees’ performance to optimizing approaches thanks to in-depth call analytics.

“A Contact Center with AI-Powered Call Analytics is making every company’s dream come true,” said Yuri Yushkov, CEO of Velvetech. “Imagine a world where each customer is dealing with your top-performing salesperson. Is this just a dream or reality? We’ve already seen this technology transform the insurance business for one of our partners, where they experienced a 52 percent lift in customer conversion rates. And we can’t wait to see what other forward-thinking companies will do with our solution, powered by one of the best-in-class low-code platform for process management and CRM — Creatio,” said Yuri Yushkov, CEO of Velvetech.

Contact Center Product Suite seamlessly integrates with Creatio and provides users with the following features and capabilities.

1. VELVETEL Cloud Phone System that includes:
   • Nationwide calling and SMS texting service
   • Support for Soft- and Desktop phones
   • Call Reporting and Dashboarding
2. Softphone for iOS Mobile Devices (coming soon):
   • Phone Contact Book integration
   • Call history
   • Dial Pad with integration to calling over SIP and/or GSM
   • Voice Messages
   • SMS Chat Messages
   • Access to call recordings and call transcripts
   • Video Conferencing
   • Fax Messages
3. AI-Based Call Analytics:
   • Speech Analytics: voice-to-text transcripts, call timing details, agent scorecards with automatic detection of script adherence, and customizable statistics
   • Call Recording: downloadable and shareable (among agents) call records in MP3 format, UI for playback of recorded calls
   • Dashboards & reports: a comprehensive overview of agents' performance by top skills, etc.
4. Inbound Call Center: 
   • Call queue management
   • Call routing
   • Mute / Hold / Transfer calls
   • Contact and Account identification and access to the entire communications history with the client
5. Outbound Call Center:
   • Outbound calling to contact lists
   • Power Dialer for high productivity of outbound call center agents
   • Compliance with regulations: get notified if a number is on the National Do Not Call Registry
   • Knowledgebase
   • Dynamic call scripts
   • Email follow-ups and scheduling follow-up calls
   • Data capture for call disposition, call notes and results
   • SMS notifications to customers in case their calls have been missed with a promise that an agent will call back

MCI Club has integrated its digital broker platform Burrow into Knowledge Bank’s API to provide brokers with up-to-date criteria information when qualifying new and existing mortgage customers.

Through the Burrow platform, potential borrowers coming from search engines, a broker’s website or other channels, by answering just a small set of questions, will receive a qualified, personalised mortgage report. This is then available to the broker, enabling them to engage effectively with the customer. 

The mortgage report uses a combination of product, affordability and criteria sourcing data. The Knowledge Bank integration provides more qualified and up-to-date eligibility information so that customers receive the widest possible range of representative options.

With a number of back-office integrations and notification options available to the broker, Knowledge Bank’s inclusion into the platform continues to enhance the qualification and onboarding journey for customers seeking mortgage advice.The integration also enables Burrow to scale its coverage of lenders and criteria more rapidly.

Pradeep Raman, Director of Digital Solutions at DPR Group, owners of the MCI Club and Burrow commented, “Burrow is about bringing together best-in-breed technology solutions to provide truly unique ‘customer onboarding as a service’ to the mortgage market and reflecting how UK consumers are demanding to engage with financial services. Digitising the fact-find process, and providing borrowers with an engaging and detailed instant mortgage report, means that brokers can focus on what they do best: providing quality advice in a faster and slicker way.  Burrow is there to help brokers stay ahead of the curve and ensure they are at the forefront of digital transformation in financial services.”

Nicola Firth, CEO of Knowledge Bank, said, “Innovative technology providers such as Burrow and MCI Club recognise the value that criteria data adds to the advice process. Knowledge Bank is the UK’s most comprehensive mortgage criteria search system. By integrating with Knowledge Bank, the Burrow digital broker experience translates responses from consumers and matches these against over 100,000 criteria from more than 200 lenders. The effect will be to take client qualification to a new level, providing a wholly unique consumer experience and enhancing the reputation of the brokers who use both Burrow and MCI Club.”

Head of MCI Club, Melanie Spencer, added, “Following the launch of the Burrow platform in March 2020, we’ve continued to onboard several broker firms onto Burrow and they are already receiving greater volumes of qualified enquiries as the mortgage market re-establishes itself after the COVID-19 lockdown. Knowledge Bank increases the credibility of the platform by providing more up-to-date and qualified data to the end-consumer, ensuring better and more relevant conversations with our member brokers.”

Cardtronics, the world’s largest ATM operator today announced its ATMs would be the first in the U.K. to allow individuals to withdraw cash using a new cardless cash service from fintech solutions provider Pin4. The Pin4Cash service will enable organizations to send cash to individuals in real-time using an SMS text message. This unique and innovative solution allows people to complete card-free cash withdrawals at the majority of Cardtronics’ CashZone ATMs around the country using only their mobile device, without requiring a payment card.

Up to now, U.K. organizations have been delivering funds by bank transfers and cards. These methods have been cumbersome and less desirable for many recipients, particularly those preferring cash or seeking to avoid, in-person interactions. This challenge has become a particular issue for organizations struggling to provide emergency funding for those in financial difficulty because of the COVID-19 virus.

Businesses, charities, and government agencies can now use Pin4Cash to send people in the U.K. a simple text message containing a unique code the individual can use to access the funds at a participating Cardtronics ATM location. Once at the ATM, the individual enters their phone number, the unique code, and their four-digit pin, with no card required.

The Pin4Cash solution offers a simple, easy way for organizations to pay wages, issue hardship funds, and provide cash incentives and awards, even to those without banking accounts or debit cards.

This unique capability has proved to be particularly attractive to the U.K.’s credit unions, many of whose members do not have debit cards associated with their accounts and are unable to get cash over-the-counter because of the lockdown restrictions. Now, thanks to Cardtronics and Pin4, almost half of the U.K.’s credit unions can provide their members with access to the cash in their savings accounts using only their mobile phone at a participating Cardtronics ATM.

“Cash use remains very strong and resilient during this crisis. Every month, our ATMs distribute over £1bn, and millions of people are relying on it more than ever during the lockdown,” said Marc Terry, International Managing Director for Cardtronics. “The U.K. ATM infrastructure continues to play a vital role in society, and we are delighted to deliver this innovation at this time of need for so many. This is our initial entry into the U.K., and we are thrilled to be partnering with the largest ATM provider in the market, one at the forefront of ATM innovation. We share with Cardtronics the common goal of ensuring access to cash for people all around the U.K., particularly for those in need during this difficult time. We look forward to expanding the uses for this solution as the crisis begins to abate,” said Jim Leroux, CEO of Pin4 International."

Gareth Evans, Director of Cash Perks, the new enterprise behind the scheme said: "Our innovative facility offers Councils, Housing Associations and Charitable Trusts an essential way to get emergency funds direct to the most vulnerable households facing financial hardship as a result of Covid-19. Without the need for a bank account, Cash Perks is uniquely placed to get funds instantly and securely to the 1.2 million unbanked and more than 2.5 million consumers who are shown to be constantly overdrawn – an issue that will be greatly exacerbated by the current economic crisis. We are already working with a number of Councils on the roll-out of our payment facility to deliver the government's recently announced £63 million Local Welfare Assistance fund." 

FIS^® (NYSE: FIS), a global leader in merchant and financial services technology, today announced Open Banking Hub, an innovative new payment solution for its Worldpay merchant clients and their consumers. Merchants who enable this digital bank account payment method in their online stores can allow their consumers to pay for purchases directly from their bank account, while also allowing consumers to view their bank account balance in real time during the checkout process. Because the new solution routes users directly to their personal bank to authorize payment, they never have to enter card or account information into a third-party site.

The open banking movement is reshaping the global banking and payments industry, giving consumers greater access and control over their financial data through the use of open application programming interfaces (APIs). However, the move toward open banking is also presenting challenges for merchants in complying with a range of standards for accessing API-based networks and offering new payment options to shoppers.

Worldpay’s Open Banking Hub simplifies the process for merchants by providing a single API integration to banking providers. When consumers make a purchase via a mobile device through the Open Banking Hub, they are automatically redirected to their banking provider’s app to complete their order. During the online checkout process, the solution intuitively allows the shopper to see their bank balance, choose which account they’d like to pay with, and then make the payment in real-time.

For shoppers who have requested a refund, the solution also allows merchants to credit those bank accounts in real-time, providing a superior experience and greater choice to their shoppers.

“Simplicity is key to meeting the expectations of today’s consumers,” said Asif Ramji, Chief Growth Officer, FIS. “The beauty of our Open Banking Hub is that it allows merchants to offer real-time pay by bank account options to consumers and the ability for consumers to see their bank account balance during the sale – all without needing to share account details. Merchants that invest in digital payment options that provide consumers with greater control over their finances, will be the ones to capture the attention of today’s digital-native shoppers.” 

“By breaking down barriers to innovation in the industry, the open banking movement is making banking services more convenient, better tailored and fundamentally smarter for consumers,” said Imran Gulamhuseinwala, Implementation Trustee of the Open Banking program funded by the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority. “To see technology leaders like FIS bring to market a new payment product based on open banking is a powerful testament to the growing market adoption of this new model.”

In a report from Ovum, alternative instant payments, including those like the Worldpay Open Banking Hub, could overtake card payments online in 2024.^[1] The Open Banking Hub is available to consumers and covers all major banks in the UK, with other markets to follow later this year.  

One of the world’s largest independent financial advisory and tech wealth organizations is to launch a first-of–its-kind onboarding verification app amid “soaring global demand” for fintech solutions.

deVere Group’s pioneering Ident Me app provides a secure identity verification system - as an alternative to traditional customer onboarding - and a notary services function when required, which is a first for the international financial services and fintech sector.

Of the launch of this new service, the founder and CEO of deVere Group, Nigel Green, comments: “We’re in an exciting new world. In recent months, the future has happened faster. There have been major shifts in the way we live, work, and manage our finances. Much of this is being driven by digital technologies, and our financial lives are no exception. There’s soaring global demand for fintech [financial technology] and it’s clear it is going to become an increasingly dominant part of our lives moving forward. Indeed, fintech is already the ‘new normal’ as we increasingly insist on immediate, on-the-go, 24/7 access to, use and management of our money. We demand personalised, on-demand services and lower costs.”

He continues: “Against this backdrop of growing demand, we decided that we needed to make the set-up process of onboarding to use our fintech apps as quick, easy and secure as possible. Ident Me is a hassle-free, simple and safe way for clients to provide identity verification for themselves via a KYC (Know Your Client) form.”  

KYC is a financial services standard. The Ident Me app consists of an easy three-step process. First, proof of identity. This is done by taking pictures of the front and back of your ID card or passport. Second, the capture of documents. This is undertaken by taking a picture of a document with your address on it, for example, a utility bill or rental agreement. Third, the liveness test. A live selfie you take will get verified against your ID/Passport photo. Once this has been approved, clients will soon be able to have access to and enjoy the benefits of deVere’s suite of fintech apps.

deVere is one of the very few financial advisory organisations that has been actively and consistently pushing into fintech and is now widely regarded as one of the leaders in the sector.

Currently, the organisation’s apps include deVere Vault, a global e-money currency app and multi-currency prepaid card; deVere Crypto, a cryptocurrency app to store, transfer and exchange major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin; deVere Core, an app that allows clients to monitor their investments in real-time, on-the-go, keeping them informed with news and events that impact investor returns; and deVere Catalyst, a low-cost investment and savings app that offers best-in-class globally diversified funds.

The deVere CEO concludes: “We believe that everyone should have access to and reap the benefits of cutting-edge fintech. Ident Me, the first-of–its-kind onboarding verification app, helps further democratise financial technology. Fintech is meeting growing demand for on-the-go service, it is speeding up the advance of global financial inclusion which helps social advancement around the world, plus costs are lowered and the client experience is enhanced.”

Leading open banking infrastructure provider, Token.io, and the award-winning personal finance management tool, Money Dashboard, today announce that Token Pay^TM has been integrated into the new Money Dashboard app to power a range of smart open banking payment services for users. The integration enables thousands of UK consumers to initiate instant, low cost account-to-account (A2A) transfers from within the app. It also enables Money Dashboard to broaden its scope beyond account information services, and apply its machine learning (ML) technology to create new, blended payment initiation and data experiences for users.

With 600,000 registered users, Money Dashboard makes it simple for people to track spending and set budgets to achieve their financial goals. It enables users to view separate accounts and balances in one place, and uses ML techniques to categorise and analyse spending patterns, and provide tailored product and service suggestions according to the user’s preferences.

Earlier this month, Money Dashboard released a new app, built from the ground up using open banking APIs, with a host of new features and services designed to further simplify personal financial management. Among these is an A2A transfer facility powered by Token Pay^TM, which helps users avoid late charges and overdraft fees by quickly and easily sweeping funds between their accounts. Money Dashboard will soon enable instant peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, allowing users to choose an account from their portfolio and move funds directly across to the account of a friend or family member conveniently from within the app.

“Adding payments to our app is a natural next step for us,” comments Steve Tigar, CEO, Money Dashboard. “By integrating Token into the Money Dashboard experience our users can now act on the analysis we provide from within the app, making the job of managing money simpler and more convenient than ever before. Token’s early success in payments together with its breadth of bank connectivity marks it out as the clear leader in the open banking payments space. It was an easy decision to partner with them.”

Todd Clyde, CEO, Token, adds: “Payment initiation is emerging as the killer use case in open banking. The ability to move money instantly from within the Money Dashboard app will help consumers make better financial decisions based on a more accessible view of available funds. Token provides the ability to initiate low cost payments from thousands of banks across Europe and we look forward to helping Money Dashboard leverage this connectivity and deliver new features to its users.”

Token’s open banking API provides pan-European connectivity to thousands of banks, together with the ability to initiate low cost A2A transfers that clear instantly.

To learn more about Token, visit the website: www.token.io.

Today the British Business Bank has announced that it has approved one new lender for accreditation to the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), and six new lenders for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).

Investec will join the other 20 BBLS lenders who have been accredited since the scheme opened last month.

New CBILS lenders 4Syte, Asset Finance Partners, JCB Finance, Merchant Money, Sonovate and United Trust Bank will also be able to provide financial support to smaller businesses across the UK that are losing revenue and seeing their cashflow disrupted, as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Following their approval, each lender will be putting in place the operations required to start lending under the scheme and will confirm shortly the dates from which they will be ready to start receiving applications from smaller businesses across the UK.

Keith Morgan, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “Our accredited lenders continue to see high levels of demand for Covid-19 business loan schemes. Accrediting these additional finance providers means further support for smaller business customers and continues the British Business Bank’s long-term objective to offer more diverse sources of finance to smaller businesses.”

Government published statistics show more than 913,000 businesses have to date^[1] benefitted from over £38 billion in loans and guarantees through schemes delivered by the British Business Bank. This includes 863,584 Bounce Back Loans worth £26.3 billion, 49,247 loans worth over £10.1 billion through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and £1.7 billion through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme.

The accelerated accreditation process the British Business Bank has put in place for the coronavirus loan schemes means it has been able to more than double the number of CBILS lenders since the scheme’s launch, increasing the number from 41 to 92.

The Bank continues to review applications from a wide range of lender types – from PRA-regulated banks, to platform lenders, debt funds, invoice finance lenders, asset finance lenders and responsible finance lenders.