Hargreaves Lansdown (HL), the UK’s leading provider of savings and investment services, announced today that Ecospend’s Pay-by-Bank solution is now available for HL’s ISA, and general investment accounts following its initial launch in May 2023 to its Active Savings clients where it processed over £850 million. The adoption rate is expected to reach well over 30%.

Ecospend, the UK’s leader in Open Banking technology recently acquired by Trustly, provides a solution that helps HL clients make payments directly into their HL accounts without the need for cards. Payments are authorised through the client’s chosen online banking service (in-app or website) typically using a biometric ID, which significantly reduces the chance of fraud.

The account-to-account Pay-by-Bank method not only makes it easier for clients to top up their accounts, and also bypasses card networks and interchange fees, helping to drive business efficiency and bring about meaningful cost savings for HL.

As an instant and automated service, Pay-by-Bank has also resulted in considerable savings on reconciliation for HL. As payment references are auto-populated, Ecospend’s payment method provides unmistakable accuracy in reconciliation, thereby eliminating all manual aspects of the transfer for HL.

After assessing the Open Banking market in February 2022, Hargreaves Lansdown selected Ecospend based on the quality of its technology and services and the robustness the solution has demonstrated through its open banking relationship with HMRC.

George Rodgers, Lead Product Manager of Hargreaves Lansdown comments:

“We’re dedicated to improving client experience including when making payments into Hargreaves Lansdown accounts. Our partnership with Ecospend has proved to be a great success so far with Pay-by-Bank now accounting for 30% of payment volumes where available. As a result, we’re now live on mobile and rolling this payment method out to our entire ISA, SIPP and general investment account range, to continue providing solutions that make the payment journey faster, easier for clients, reduce fraud risk and also help improve business efficiency.”

James Hickman, CCO of Ecospend comments:

“It’s excellent to see the tangible benefits that account-to-account payments can bring to a business such as Hargreaves Lansdown. We’re proud to provide a solution which helps drive efficiency and improves the overall customer experience. As a natural replacement for card payments, and a response to changing consumer behaviour and digital adoption, we’re excited to see further benefits realised when the solution is rolled out to every HL client.”