Every Wednesday, we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from Payabl., Dojo, Smart Ease, Reevo Money and Canada Life.
Payabl. secures UK EMI license
The payabl. Group, the European payment fintech, secured an Electronic Money Institution authorisation (EMI licence) in the UK.
The UK EMI authorisation enables payabl. to transfer its UK-based customers onto its UK EMI. Following Brexit, the number of businesses acquiring an EMI licence has significantly slowed, with only seven applications being approved in the first quarter of 2023.
Sean Forward, UK CEO at payabl., said: “Becoming an authorised EMI in the UK is a major achievement for payabl. The whole team has worked incredibly hard on this, regularly engaging with the FCA to meet the requirements and we’re extremely proud of our achievement.
“Being an authorised EMI provides us with a robust regulatory framework that’ll allow us to support UK merchants and allow them to thrive, as we have been doing for merchants across Europe. The next step for us will be to grow our UK team, increasing our pool of talented payment professionals to support our growth ambitions, as well as guiding our existing customers who already operate in Europe as they expand their presence in the UK.”
Business confidence remains high despite cost of living struggles
Business confidence is high among SME leaders in the UK, with three in five forecasting increases in revenue over the next 12 months, according to payment technology provider Dojo.
In a survey of 500 UK decision-makers, Dojo found that 60 per cent of business leaders expect their revenues will increase in the next 12 months; while 24 per cent expect revenues to stay the same.
Jon Knott, head of customer insight at Dojo, said: “Growing businesses on the high street have been forced to weather all manner of unpredictable storms over the last three or so years – so it’s a testament to them that so many are confident of delivering growth in the current economic climate.
“With the right strategic investments, SMEs will be best-placed to continue improving the experiences they deliver for customers, supporting continued growth.”
Making solar energy more accessible
York-headquartered cleantech company, Green Building Renewables, has strategically partnered with Australian-based fintech Smart Ease to bring new payment plans to UK commercial customers.
The collaboration aims to make the adoption of solar energy even more accessible and affordable for businesses, contributing to a greener, more sustainable future. By offering flexible and competitive payment plans, the companies aim to empower commercial customers across various industries to embrace solar power, drive cost savings, as well as reduce their carbon footprint.
Chris Delaney, managing director of Green Building Renewables, commented: “Our mission has always been to promote renewable energy adoption, and this collaboration allows us to extend our reach to businesses seeking sustainable energy solutions.”
Freedom Finance joins forces with Reevo Money
Freedom Finance, the UK-based digital borrowing marketplace and embedded finance provider, is adding personal loans from Reevo Money to its market-leading lending panel.
Personal loans from Reevo will be available through all of Freedom Finance’s partners and via its direct-to-consumer marketplace.
Those eligible for the personal loan, will be able to borrow between £1,000 and £7,000 over a period of 12 to 36 months.
Michael Davidson, chief revenue officer at Freedom Finance, said: “We pride ourselves on being able to offer the right loan to the right applicant and adding Reevo’s product helps our marketplace serve even more borrowers.”
26.8 million UK adults fall victim to scams
Around 51 per cent of UK adults have or know someone who has experienced a financial scam attempt in the last 12 months – equating to approximately 26.8 million UK adults. Of these, 3.6 million went on to personally fall victim to the scam, according to new research from UK financial services provider Canada Life.
The average amount lost to scams was £4,715 per person, or £17billion as a nation. Forty-three per cent of victims got all their money back, but 26 per cent were unable to recover any of their stolen funds.
Julia Peake, tax and estate planning specialist at Canada Life, commented: “With the cost-of-living crisis continuing to squeeze many households, it’s a real field day for criminals and scammers to target vulnerable people. They are opportunistic and play on insecurities, family connections and fear, taking advantage of crises and market disruptions both home or around the world, and the number of targeted people seems to be going up.”
