Volt, the global real-time payments platform, today announces its partnership with Bumper, a payment platform for car dealerships, to harness the power of open banking and real-time payments so that consumers can pay for vehicle deposits, repairs, parts, services, and even purchase vehicles outright.

This partnership comes amidst a rebound in UK car sales, as more were sold in the UK in 2023 than in any year since the Covid-19 pandemic, with used car sales particularly booming, experiencing 5.5% year-on-year growth in Q3 2023. This rebound is already being reflected in Volt and Bumper’s sales volume, as since dealerships began quickly adopting the integration in January 2024, more than £3 million in payments has been processed in the UK, with some customers using Volt to buy cars outright.

Volt now powers Bumper’s ‘Pay Now’ function, facilitating these automotive payments, with dealerships receiving the benefit of instant settlements, which are tracked in real-time. Helping to digitize dealerships, the integration also allows checkout flow and pay-by-link options, providing a mobile-first experience to the service car dealerships provide.

The collaboration addresses a key pain point for dealerships by eliminating friction caused by slow settlement times. With the freedom of knowing payments settle instantly, dealerships gain greater control over their cash flow and inventory, also reducing the risk of non-payment or system errors. Volt’s integration is currently available in the UK, but will later launch in more European countries, as part of Bumper’s European expansion plans.

Volt and Bumper’s collaboration shows that when merchants actively push open banking payments, customers are happy to use them, reporting safer and safer experiences; helping to drive UK open banking adoption in a pivotal year of the technology’s development. The partnership brings open banking payments to customers of over 5,000 dealerships throughout the UK, including several of the world’s major automotive manufacturers, such as Audi, Ford, Porsche and Volkswagen.

Commenting on the news, Richard Drury, VP of Partnerships at Volt, said: “For car dealerships, the payments process has been a major challenge and our solution is a real asset in alleviating those challenges many dealership owners are facing today. We’ve created a perfect solution for Bumper, with the initial results and quick adoption proving that it resonates with both buyers and sellers. There’s huge potential for real-time payments to take off in the automotive industry, so this partnership was a no-brainer for Volt.” 

Jack Allman, CCO and Co-Founder at Bumper added: "The move to Volt as Bumper's Open Banking payment provider will have a huge impact on functionality for our partnered dealerships and their customers, providing them with a frictionless account-to-account payment experience.

"This new partnership enhances our open banking infrastructure with increased functionality including settlement accounts, real-time notifications, and refunds. These developments will increase operational efficiency and automation across all users, whether they work in accounts, sales or service. Additionally, Volt’s global payment network facilitates Bumper to roll out our Open Banking product across Europe shortly. We're incredibly excited to have launched this next phase of our Open Banking platform and can't wait to see the increased value this new iteration will bring to our partners."

Having announced partnerships with Shopify and Worldpay last year, working with Bumper marks another step in Volt’s growth journey, which includes a successful Series B funding round and Australia expansion in 2023. Meanwhile, Bumper has started 2024 on a high, raising £40m in its own Series B funding round, fuelling plans to launch in more European countries this year, which Volt’s global payments network will help facilitate.

Today, FinTech Scotland, working with professional services supporter Deloitte, and with Tesco Bank, Morgan Stanley and abrdn, launched a first-of-its-kind innovation challenge. The industry-led call to action will encourage financial institutions and innovators from across the Fintech community and beyond to learn collaboratively and facilitate industry forums to collectively share best practices for companies to develop new solutions to key financial regulatory challenges.

The inaugural innovation challenge, spearheaded by the newly established Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), and funded through the UK Governments’ Innovation Accelerator programme, delivered by Innovate UK, focuses on 'Simplifying Compliance through the Application of AI and Emerging Technologies'.

The first in a series of industry-led innovation calls, the initiative is dedicated to fostering confidence in the adoption of emerging technologies into financial services. Notably, this call aims to demonstrate the ability technology could have in meeting global regulatory requirements, setting a new standard for future advancements in the industry.

FinTech Scotland and the financial services firms, in conjunction with professional services leader Deloitte, are inviting entrepreneurs and innovators to identify and use technologies to address industry compliance challenges. Launched under the principle of responsible innovation, these calls set the stage for exploration and development of effective solutions that will yield positive outcomes for the pressing needs of consumers and businesses alike, resulting in an overall economic contribution.

Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, said: “We are extremely excited to kick off this inaugural industry innovation challenge. Demand-led innovation calls are an important part of the toolkit that the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab will employ to drive positive outcomes. It is also an opportunity to bring together financial institutions and innovators, enabling financial institutions to learn collaboratively about ways to improve compliance processes to drive efficiency for the sector and, ultimately, increase consumer protection.”

In partnership with the University of Strathclyde and the University of Glasgow, the Lab aims to leverage expertise in financial services risk and compliance and combine this with emerging technologies to build capabilities that maintain and grow both Scotland and the UK’s position as a global leader in financial services regulatory innovation. 

Kent Mackenzie, Fintech Lead for Scotland at Deloitte said: “Deloitte is excited to be one of the challenge supporters of the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s first innovation call. Simplifying compliance is critical to delivering change in financial services, and industry-wide solutions can help enable us to accelerate this positive change. The Lab provides a unique environment to support collaboration, and this groundbreaking initiative will further support how financial services firms are innovating to meet their regulatory obligations.”

Joanne Seagrave, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Tesco Bank: “At Tesco Bank we embrace the opportunity that the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab’s innovation call series offers to collaborate with innovators. This will allow us to gain further insight on how utilising AI and emerging technologies could help support us in managing the evolving regulatory change landscape. It also presents a significant opportunity to advance industry understanding.”

Angela Benson, Head of Glasgow Finance at Morgan Stanley: “Morgan Stanley recognises the opportunity in employing AI and emerging technologies to address the industry’s global regulatory obligations. We are delighted to partner with FinTech Scotland on this innovation challenge to foster ideation and support the next generation of innovators in this space. Having opened our office in Glasgow over 20 years ago, we have seen first-hand the depth of talent Scotland has to offer.”

Gareth Murphy, Chief Risk Officer at abrdn: “At abrdn, we're delighted to join the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab's inaugural innovation call to action.  It is essential that we continue to evolve the mix of people, process and technology in all of our activities.  We draw on extensive experience in financial services, in Scotland and globally. This collaboration is a testament to our commitment to seizing the ongoing opportunities that financial services and innovation present."

The programme includes three phases: challenge definition, solution design & testing, and final demonstrations. Applicants will receive invaluable insights about financial firms through close collaboration, a support network, academic expertise and service design support. Successful companies will receive grant awards up to £50,000 for further development and implementation.

Fintechs and other teams of innovators are invited to join the challenge. The application window is open from 1st February. To find out more click here

The Innovation Challenge Call finale event will take place in April 2024.

The FRIL project is funded by the Glasgow City Region Innovation Accelerator programme.

Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerator programme is investing £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands. Supporting the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda, this is a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation in support of regional economic growth and help attract private R&D investment and develop future technologies.

Glasgow has a remarkable history rooted in industry and innovation and is home to world-leading science and technology expertise. The Innovation Accelerator programme will support the Region’s key economic aims of increasing productivity, delivering inclusive growth and achieving net zero.

Virgin Money has chosen mental health charities Mind and SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) as new corporate charity partners.

Given the intrinsic link between money and mental health, Virgin Money will work alongside Mind and SAMH to support anyone affected by mental health problems and money worries and direct them to the vital services the charities provide - regardless of whether they are a Virgin Money customer or not.

The charitable partnership, which was voted for by Virgin Money colleagues and will run for two years, will also raise funds to support the charities’ vital work. In addition, Mind and SAMH will explore specialist training opportunities for Virgin Money colleagues, which could involve upskilling them to better understand how financial difficulty can impact mental health and how to identify the best support for anyone experiencing a mental health problem.

Mind works across England and Wales to ensure everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect. This includes information and support services, as well as campaigning for improvements and reform. SAMH has been a pioneering change in Scotland since 1923 and campaigns for better mental health support while also operating an infoline, national programs and over 70 services in communities across Scotland.

James Peirson, General Counsel & Purpose Officer at Virgin Money, said: “Our colleagues voted for Mind and SAMH as our chosen charity partners because they recognise the vital impact that these charities can have, both on people that use their services and on raising awareness and reducing the stigma around mental health problems.

“We understand that financial difficulties can have a devastating impact on mental health and how experiencing mental health problems can affect how people manage their finances. We must do all we can to create an inclusive banking experience and offer additional support for those who may need it, which is why we’re proud to be working with Mind and SAMH and are confident that together we can make a difference.”

Jack Matthews, Associate Director of Fundraising at Mind, said: “We are delighted to start a new partnership with Virgin Money, and want to say a huge thank you to them for choosing to support Mind in being there for the growing number of us affected by a mental health problem.

“We are continuing to see a huge toll being taken on the nation’s mental health because of the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. That’s why the money raised through this partnership is crucial. It will allow us to continue to provide our support services, like our confidential phone service, Mind Infoline, and online peer support service, Side by Side, so people have somewhere to turn to for advice and information. It will also enable us to continue campaigning, so everyone gets the support and respect they deserve.

“We’re really looking forward to working with Virgin Money colleagues, customers and communities over the next two years and can’t wait to see what we can achieve together.”

Billy Watson, Chief Executive at SAMH, said: “We want to say a huge thank you to Virgin Money colleagues for choosing to support SAMH in our work to improve people’s mental health across Scotland.

“In December, the latest Scottish Health Survey showed that Scotland’s mental health is in particularly bad shape and, on several measures, the worst ever recorded. The money raised through this partnership is so important, as it will allow us to continue to provide our person-centered, community support services and help us campaign for change at the national level.

“We’re looking forward to working with everyone at Virgin Money over the next two years to help support even more people with their mental health and wellbeing.”

European employee benefits platform, Club Employés, has partnered with embedded finance specialists, Weavr, to power a debit card solution for employee benefits, which gives employees the power to pick the perks they prefer. By expanding access to relevant benefits through the capabilities of embedded finance, employees are more likely to engage with the benefits provided by their employers.

According to a recent study, 79% of individuals who quit their previous jobs did so because of a lack of appreciation. Club Employés is on a mission to turn this around by giving employees the choice of a range of relevant offers, discounts, and exclusive experiences to use within their app. At present, over 1 million active users across 4000 business customers benefit from the Club Employés platform. 

Utilising Weavr’s Employee Benefits solution, the Club Employés card empowers employees to make their own decisions regarding the benefits they want. Employees can pick from a huge range of perks thanks to 98% coverage of French cinemas, plus 500 leisure parks, 3,000 sports halls, and thousands of concerts and shows. Available now in France, but soon to expand internationally, employees can access over 500,000 offers at attractive prices in both major brands and independent stores. 

Lack of employee engagement with benefits is an age-old issue in the industry. Through collaboration, employees have full visibility over their benefits allowance whilst gaining control over where they spend it, and in a payment form, they readily understand. Club Employés demonstrates that employee engagement with benefits can be developed through flexible, convenient, and user-friendly solutions with financial services as a key enabler. 

Speaking on Weavr’s new partnership with Club Employés, Alex Mifsud, CEO and Co-founder of Weavr commented:

“At Weavr, we’re passionate about using embedded finance to revolutionise existing industries by injecting additional value through integrating financial services. This is especially true with Club Employés’ employee benefits solution, which directly targets the very real issue of employee churn resulting from a lack of appreciation in the workplace. We’re excited to see how embedded finance transforms the freedoms of these end users.”

Speaking on the new partnership, Romain Rostagnat, CEO and co-founder at Club Employés commented:

“Club Employés has been in pursuit of revolutionising the employee benefits landscape since 2016, offering businesses an efficient route to improving employee satisfaction. We chose Weavr as it was the most complete solution that offers the best combination of speed to market, simplicity to run, and seamless customer experience. In the next phase of Club Employés development, we are confident the team will help us with our international expansion and product development goals.”

“Tango pioneered the digital-first reward experience through its powerful API, coupled with world-class service and exceptional breadth of global content, making it the perfect complement to BHN’s global product portfolio,” said

Talbott Roche, CEO & president, BHN. “We have been a longtime partner to Tango and were also an early investor. We are thrilled with the opportunity to combine the best of BHN with the best of Tango to provide leading, global, scalable solutions and innovation to the rewards and incentives industry.”

“I started Tango 15 years ago to fundamentally improve the incentives industry for customers and their recipients,” said David Leeds, Tango’s founder and CEO. “Customers today need global rewards, innovative technology, reliable supply chains, and an unwavering focus on support and service. Joining BHN at this time provides a once-in-a-company opportunity to continue innovating in this space, better support our customers’ evolving global needs and create awesome experiences for recipients.”

Paystand, the only feeless B2B blockchain-enabled payment platform, today brings its automated payment solution to Acumatica, an all-in-one cloud-based ERP system for business management that includes finance, inventory, CRM, and payroll. Now, finance departments using Acumatica can accelerate AR processes to reduce days sales outstanding (DSO) and speed time-to-cash, all with zero transaction fees.

Acumatica users, who number in the thousands across multiple industries from construction to distribution and retail, will be able to fully leverage digital finance and automation as part of a modern Payments-as-a-Service model. Finance departments looking to move away from antiquated, expensive payment methods that delay settlement can use Paystand tools to incentivize customers to change financial behaviors including earlier payment. Additionally, AR staff can utilize full reconciliation automation and feeless bank-to-bank payment options that eliminate card fees.

“Many SMB finance AR departments are still stuck in a time-consuming and error-prone manual accounting mode where spreadsheets must be reconciled and emails are sent independently of the ERP system, creating tracking headaches,” said Jeremy Almond, CEO and co-founder, Paystand. “With the new Acumatica integration, accounting teams can achieve accelerated payments, synchronize payment data and achieve more efficiency that serve to increase margins and operational cash flow.”

Paystand’s Acumatica native integration allows users to take advantage of multiple time-saving tools and processes:

• It enables access to Paystand’s Bank-to-Bank Network – the only zero-fee, real-time payment rail available for business
• It unlocks Paystand’s profitability behavior model
• It creates smart invoices and flexible email templates with embedded payment options that incentivize customers and to make earlier payments, while sending them through the Paystand Checkout experience

The Paystand Checkout experience allows payers to choose payments via the zero-fee Paystand Bank Networks, via ACH or credit card. Acumatica users have the option of setting convenience fees, or creating incentives that encourage earlier payment. When payers complete the Checkout experience, the cash is immediately applied as well as any merchant-set convenience fees, enabling CFOs to have the cash on hand immediately.

“By embracing complete digital automation and integrating blockchain technology in finance, Paystand empowers companies to scrap the constraints of outdated systems. This shift allows for significant cost reductions and the advantage of near-instantaneous transactions,” said Bindu Gakhar, head of product at Paystand. She estimates that Paystand can save Acumatica users 50% or more on receivables costs by eliminating transaction fees. She adds that finance departments can also speed up time to cash by up to 60%, which is important for helping them scale and increase ROI.

The integration with Acumatica helps users to move their entire chain and customer environments into a fully digital B2B payments structure – providing all businesses within the Acumatica ecosystem a way to streamline processing of receivables and revenue.

The Acumatica integration is Paystand’s fourth native integration, expanding its proven record and its reach to SMB finance departments. Paystand first integrated with NetSuite, then Sage in 2021 and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central in 2023.

As investor demand for private debt and direct lending investments grows, Silverview Credit Partners has optimized its technology capabilities to support this asset class with global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc’s. Sentry Portfolio Management solution. This technology will enable Silverview Credit Partners to achieve greater operational efficiencies and increase transparency in its portfolio management activities for its direct lending business.

“Through the partnership with Broadridge and their innovative Sentry cloud-based solution, we are able to customize, automate, and streamline our portfolio management, reporting, and loan administration process to scale and support the ongoing growth of our business,” said Garrett Yuan Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Compliance Officer at Silverview Credit Partners. “This enhancement is helping us meet the growing reporting demands of our investment team, borrowers and investors, and has had a valuable impact on our day-to-day operations.”

“There is a surge in interest in direct lending, and especially among private credit firms, it has caused a more urgent focus on modernizing legacy investment management systems so organizations can efficiently scale,” said Mike Sleightholme, President of Broadridge International and Head of Asset Management Solutions. “Broadridge is thrilled that Silverview Credit Partners has chosen Sentry to build the infrastructure to help them scale their business for front, middle and back-office functionality, and gain greater visibility into the investment management lifecycle.”

Broadridge’s Sentry cloud-based technology supports private debt investment and portfolio management processes, enabling firms to increase control and efficiently strengthen investment decision workflows and deal performance. The scalable platform provides an integrated approach to tracking private debt investment as well as syndicated loan markets in real-time. Sentry supports firms' compliance, operations, research and pipeline management through analysis of hypothetical trade scenarios, dynamic waterfall projections, loan administration, and data aggregation across strategies, portfolios, and assets.