How Nudge Theory can support your customers’ financial wellbeing and bolster Consumer Duty compliance for your business

There has been a lot of interest in Nudge Theory over the last few years - but what does it mean in practice, and more importantly, how can it help promote financial wellness, and bolster Consumer Duty compliance for your business?

What is a nudge?

In a nutshell, nudges are interventions, which can be both large or small, aimed at getting people to act in their own best interest. It could be as simple as a sign placed near the door in an office to remind employees that turning off the light when they leave will reduce electricity consumption, or supermarkets influencing people to eat healthier by putting fruit and nuts beside checkouts instead of confectionery. 

That said, nudges are at their most effective when personalised, relevant and timely, and that the individual maintains freedom of choice and feels in full control of the decisions they make.

Nudge Theory

As described by Imperial College London, ‘Nudge Theory is based upon the idea that by shaping the environment, also known as the choice architecture, one can influence the likelihood that one option is chosen over another by individuals.’ 

The concept was introduced by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their book: ‘Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness’ in 2008 and was originally created to influence health indicators by inducing behavioural change (think 10,000 steps). Indeed, findings from an Imperial College London study estimated that health-related nudges were responsible for a 15.3% increase in healthier diet and nutritional choices.  

Now apply that to the finance world, and you can see how nudges based on real-time insight could be a true game changer. 

When we speak about nudges in a financial context, we are usually referring to specific messaging displayed to customers throughout their journey of product application or a product life cycle, to promote a positive action.

However, where the magic happens is when nudges are combined with rich, real-time financial insight about an individual customer, along with on-brand messaging to truly reflect your unique brand tone of voice - meaning as a business, you can proactively communicate with each customer in a hyper-personalised way to significantly influence positive behavioural change. 

But the really clever new magic is when Moneyhub link these messages together!

Chained nudges and Consumer Duty 

Moneyhub’s pioneering methodology of ‘chaining together’ nudges, encourages and then continues to respond to the natural progression of behavioural change, providing insight, support or useful education material at timely moments - a capability unique to Moneyhub. These ‘chains’, or journeys, mean that nudges are relevant and appropriate for each customer - relevant to their financial situation, their mindset, their relationship with their bank or provider, providing appropriate wording and encouragement at the right time - thus achieving ultra-high engagement and conversion.

Moneyhub creates these personalised nudges based on triggers from our market-leading, AI-powered decisioning engine. Data-powered nudges influence behavioural change even more effectively, by prompting timely, relevant actions when customers are most receptive. For example, a mortgage lender could simply nudge customers when their loan-to-value ratio passes a threshold. But imagine when the lender can proactively engage with a customer who isn’t quite eligible for a lower rate. Supporting them to make affordable over-payments so the customer at the end of the term now becomes eligible for the lower rate.

Data-driven insights made possible by Moneyhub’s AI-powered categorisation will ensure your business achieves higher engagement and conversion rates - in addition to being able to evidence Consumer Duty compliance. 

Use cases

1. Detect and Intervene - Always-on optimised nudges, supporting & evidencing Consumer Duty for better outcomes

The Challenge

The new Consumer Duty meant that one of our large enterprise clients needed to accelerate its strategy to improve customers' financial situations, and implement a messaging framework that could Detect, Intervene and Report on customer outcomes.

The client’s existing messaging platform already provided communication to customers through product silos, but the challenge was to create an overarching messaging framework to analyse customer data holistically and intervene with personalised, chained nudges when vulnerability or a bad outcome was detected.

The Solution

Moneyhub implemented Detect and Interviene,  Moneyhub’s always-on customer messaging approach, enabling timely, relevant and personalised nudges to encourage an alternative outcome based on customers' historic and current financial spending behaviours. Using holistic customer's data, mapped across the usage of all their financial products, our client is able to detect characteristics of vulnerability, and customers who are at risk of poor outcomes, going on to provide appropriate chained nudge interventions to continually recommend and encourage alternative actions for improved outcomes.

2. Detect, Intervene and Report.  An evidence based approach to encouraging good outcomes

The Challenge

Another large enterprise client wanted to evaluate a specific customer segment under their Consumer Duty compliance activity, and was looking for a solution to quickly detect outcomes and fair value at a holistic customer level, and provide evidence of the interventions to the FCA and its own board.

The Solution

Moneyhub built a customer metric and detection framework, and decisioning model across multiple products for the customer segments in question. When run across the holistic customer data, the client could quantify situations, actions and customer behaviours thus enabling the detection and projection of consumers’ outcomes.  They could also better identify if a customer was, or could in the future become, at risk of becoming vulnerable. In addition, the framework provides a Consumer Duty outcome report to evidence compliance, and an always-on messaging framework to continually nudge and encourage customers from good outcome to good outcome.

Ready to get started?

Get in touch to see how Moneyhub can help support and engage your customers with our Detect, Intervene and Report solutions using chained nudges to bolster and accelerate your Consumer Duty strategies in 2024 and beyond.

Passing on the baton, for us all to get pensions dashboards done

Amongst numerous recent changes in our political leadership, Guy Opperman has handed the Pensions Ministerial baton on to Alex Burghart.

Like Guy, Alex is a keen Pensions Dashboards advocate and that renewed passion is really welcome.  But it’s now more up to industry than Government to get dashboards done, as regulations are finalised.

The Pensions Dashboards Relay

Government passes the baton to industry: The Government originally handed the dashboards baton to industry in March 2016 when the Coalition Chancellor George Osborne said he would ensure the industry designs, funds and launches a dashboard.

Industry hands it back to Government: Industry took up that challenge enthusiastically, with the ABI leading a prototype dashboard project.  The prototype was delivered at Easter 2017, with an accompanying report later that year.  Crucially, the prototype report said that, for dashboards to be successful, Government would need to introduce legislation compelling pension schemes and providers to make their data available digitally for display on dashboards.  Baton passed back to Government!

Government delivers it back to industry: That compulsion request was actually a huge ask, which Guy worked tirelessly to deliver over the last five years.  A Government feasibility study in 2018, followed by a consultation in 2019, led to a Pension Schemes Bill in 2020, enacted in 2021, with secondary legislation being consulted on earlier in 2022.  Very shortly, the Government will publish the final dashboards regulations (and accompanying standards), delivering on industry’s 2017 request for dashboards compulsion.  This finally passes back the baton to us in industry to get dashboards done.

Up to industry to finish the job

Whilst Alex finds his feet, there’s no need for a hiatus on dashboards.  Rather, this now gives leading industry providers the opportunity, or duty even, to become the voice of change and drive better outcomes for consumers.

Industry mustn’t wait.  Dashboards have cross-party support, for good reason: millions of Britons need more control over their futures, and soon.  We should learn from previous initiatives, like Open Banking, where industry grasped the mantel and drove out the change.

Industry’s big providers should be encouraged to join Moneyhub in now testing the standards, and setting the pace for delivering the benefits to the consumers we all serve.

What’s left to do?

So how must industry now step up and deliver dashboards success?  There are three crucial areas:

• Data: Pension providers must comply by connecting up their data to the Government’s central digital architecture or equivalent alternative testing solutions.  This starts with early volunteers this autumn.  Then, from Easter 2023, all data providers must connect, in stages. 

• Consumer experience: At the same time, dashboard providers, such as Moneyhub, must test the most effective ways to display all the connected pensions data to many different consumers of different types, refining the alpha dashboards which are already in place.

• Launch: Remember George? Back in 2016 he said industry must also launch dashboards.  So whilst we’re busy getting all the back-end data connections and the front-end dashboards working correctly, we must also prepare for a highly successful launch to the general public.

Getting dashboards done

Millions of people in Britain will finally be able to see their pensions together.  If they use the Moneyhub dashboard they’ll be able to see their pensions alongside their other finances too.  This will really help grow consumers’ control and confidence, much needed in times of financial stress.
Grateful thanks to Guy for getting us this far. Alex has a tough act to follow but a great opportunity to support the pensions industry as it embraces innovative technologies for the ultimate benefit of consumers.

Insights from this year’s Open Banking World Congress event

It was brilliant to be part of the insightful discussion at Open Banking World Congress - with speakers presenting from all over the globe and thousands of live viewers tuning in to hear from them - plus many more to follow as the on demand viewing figures rise.

This was an event we were fortunate to participate in ourselves, with a keynote presentation from Moneyhub CTO Dave Tonge on whether API security is up for the Open Finance challenge, which is available to view now:

CEO Sam Seaton took part in three comprehensive panel discussions which are now available to view too:

How Open Finance can boost financial wellness

Consumer money management - Open Banking style

Tech & Data Driven Innovation in Open Banking

So what were some of our main outtakes from this year’s event?

1. When it comes to API Security, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel – there are really good security standards already in place. And with FAPI 2.0 on the way, we’ve ironed out any areas of confusion and put in place stronger industry standards.

2. The new currency that everyone will need to survive and thrive is trust. That’s the way that we will make it as businesses in the future. Open Finance and Open Data are the keys to unlock trust.

3. 20 million say their financial situation is worse since the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact will drive behavioural changes that are here to stay. Open Finance can help these people in ways that any business can leverage, through: 

   • Connectivity that gives greater clarity and control to consumers over their finances

   • Technology that delivers real-time, data-led personalised understanding and does the heavy lifting for you

   • Better engagement via unique insights and tailored smart-nudges that help any company to build trust with their customers  

   • Bringing convenience to the forefront with account-to-account payments

4. Simple propositions make Open Finance accessible and appealing to everyday consumers. Just putting long-term savings and pensions alongside day-to-day money drives a huge shift in consumer engagement with their long-term finances.

And finally, whilst we miss travelling, getting to meet new people and hear from other speakers in person, there are some real advantages to the impact the pandemic has had in driving events online. From an attendee point of view, you can join any talk you like at the click of a button, whether that’s live, or later on at your own convenience, giving us far greater opportunity to truly engage in and absorb the discussions that matter to us - on our own terms. 

If you have any questions or feedback for us following  Open Banking World Congress, or if we can help you with you Open Banking or Open Finance journey, please feel free to drop us a line, we’d love to hear from you. 

The Future Payments Landscape - Variable Recurring Payments

The UK’s roughly 90 trillion-pound payments industry is on the cusp of a dramatic makeover:  The pandemic has accelerated a broad digitisation that had been gathering pace since the creation of the iPhone, while three years after the launch of Open Banking, a range of new possibilities have been unleashed, including Variable Recurring Payments.

We asked two industry experts to help guide us through the evolving payments landscape: Mike Chambers, Chairman of AnswerPay, who served for over a decade as Chief Executive Officer of the UK’s biggest retail payment system, and Dan Scholey, our very own Chief Operating Officer at Moneyhub, who facilitated the first ever Open Banking payment by a member of the public.

What follows is a synthesis of their thoughts on the future of payments:

Where are we today?

Even with the vast technological advances of the past decade, we still rely on too many legacy cumbersome payments systems that are increasingly not fit for purpose and make it very difficult to move our money in a way that suits our modern lifestyles.

Payments between individuals can be time-consuming and laborious, while, for businesses, receiving payments can be expensive and inefficient.

“The development of Variable Recurring Payments, which are enabled by Open Banking, is a big step forward for the industry. VRPs are an emerging and novel way of making payments where customers set up mandates via regulated third parties known as Payment Initiation Service Providers, such as Moneyhub, to execute payments automatically based on set and personalised rules.”

Open Banking can help remedy a lot of these pain points, but for most of the three years since its 2018 introduction, much of the industry’s focus has been on access to and aggregation of data.

Away from the public eye, organisations including Moneyhub have been collaborating to commercialise the Open Banking payments infrastructure. And today we are at an inflection point where a slew of large enterprises, as well as government agencies, are starting to take advantage of the massive payments opportunities afforded by Open Banking.

Where will we be tomorrow?

The development of Variable Recurring Payments, which are enabled by Open Banking, is a big step forward for the industry. VRPs are an emerging and novel way of making payments where customers set up mandates via regulated third parties known as Payment Initiation Service Providers, such as Moneyhub, to execute payments automatically based on set and personalised rules.

VRPs can strip out layers of complexity and cost, while also providing greater flexibility and control for customers and facilitating the creation of new types of financial services.

Sweeping, automated payments where funds are moved between two accounts in the same name allowing, for example, customers to avoid unnecessary fees by moving money between accounts so as not to go overdrawn, are enabled by VRPs.

“Existing electronic payments methods, such as Direct Debits, are not going anywhere just yet, and new services will develop gradually. And challenges of identification, fraud and financial inclusion when using digital services could serve to slow the move to a world of ubiquitous Open Banking payments.”

How will we get there?

Taken together, VRPs and sweeping allow individuals to act like corporate treasurers: managing their cash flow and seeing their financial position in real time.

“We will have a bank in our phone and we will be our own bank,’’ says Scholey. “So we will be in control of our money: we will be choosing who we pay, how we pay and when we want to pay them.’’

Even with all this innovation and the rapid Covid-inspired digital transformation the long-standing rule of the payments industry, that evolution takes time, still holds true. To take just one historic example: it took over 15 years from the first use case for contactless payments to widespread adoption.

Existing electronic payments methods, such as Direct Debits, are not going anywhere just yet, and new services will develop gradually. And challenges of identification, fraud and financial inclusion when using digital services could serve to slow the move to a world of ubiquitous Open Banking payments.

Still, fortune favours the brave and early-adopters will be best placed to benefit in the long term.

“Some of the established payments providers stand to lose out here and they won't go down without a fight,’’ says Scholey. “Even so, I think as an industry we need to take each of the objections raised and really think about how we tackle them. The end result being better for consumers and merchants."

To read the full article, please click here. 

Find out more about VRPs or get in touch to find out how we can help your business innovate.

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Why now is the time to innovate with Open Finance

The ‘Amazonification’ of financial services is truly a game changer for businesses and individuals alike. With Open Finance, businesses (in any industry) now have the opportunity to develop innovative propositions that use that sector’s resources, without the capital and regulatory burden of becoming a direct participant in the regulated financial services markets - just as Amazon Web Services has enabled the explosion of SaaS businesses over the last decade. 

Previously siloed aspects of financial services data, such as mortgages, consumer credit, bank accounts, investments, loans, savings, pensions and more can now be seamlessly connected thanks to the power of Open Finance and innovative TPPs (third party providers) such as Moneyhub.

As Angela Strange, general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, predicts: “nearly every company will derive a significant portion of its revenue from financial services” - and in the not-too-distant future too.

What do we mean by ‘The Amazonification of businesses?’

Before we had Amazon Web services, if you had a brilliant idea you had to go out and buy equipment, find a building and spend ages wiring things together. All of this had to be done before building the first line of code. AWS flipped this on its head and now anyone with an idea can quickly and easily start a tech business. The same is now happening with financial services.

What is Open Finance and what benefit does it have?

When it comes to finances, there are three questions people tend to have:

1. What have I got?

2. What do I need?

3. And how do I get what I need?

Open Finance is a consumer content-driven approach to answering these questions by bringing your financial world into one place, and providing unique and relevant data, tools and insight.

In practice how can it be used?

Open Finance helps people solve real world problems. such as applying for a mortgage, saving, getting rid of debt, enabling payments, tax returns, and planning for career breaks, as well as even more technical challenges.

What is Open Banking?

Open Banking is built on top of the Payment Service Directive Two (PSD2). Open Banking has finally unlocked bank data and put it in the hands of its true owner - the business or consumer who owns the account. This has been a great first step for organisations towards true open data (and Open Finance) - something Moneyhub has always been working for.

Using Open Finance to help engage people with their pensions for Mercer Money

Mercer is the world’s largest outsourced asset management firm. They approached us with one core problem: “pensions modelling tools are typically over-complicated, arduous and stressful to use, and provide no incentive for people to come back and manage their finances.” We set out to tackle this problem using our technology to build the Mercer Money platform - offering Mercer customers a complete financial wellness tool.

Using Open Finance to support ethical investing with The Big Exchange

The Big Exchange (co-founded by The Big Issue) are building a community focussed on making a positive impact through an inclusive financial system that is available to anyone. We used Moneyhub technology to power their digital wallet and their marketplace - offering a win-win scenario where The Big Exchange can increase assets under management, the consumer is happy with returns, and the world benefits as a result of these investments doing good.

How technology can totally overhaul Mortgage affordability checking - making it simpler, fairer and faster

A building Society came to us with a vision: “there must be a fairer, quicker and more cost effective way to run affordability checks on customers”. Open Finance makes it possible to truly understand all aspects of a customer's financial world - well beyond what is visible from traditional credit reports. The result is mortgage affordability checking that is faster and simpler than traditional approaches and can say ‘yes’ to more people, offering a fairer outcome for applicants.

Get in touch

To find out how we can help your business innovate with Open Finance.

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Variable Recurring Payments and Sweeping: What are they, and why do you need to know about them?

Variable Recurring Payments (or VRPs for short), are a hot topic in Financial Services right now, as the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE) launches its consultation into their effectiveness, alongside Sweeping. If you work outside of the sector, chances are you haven’t heard of them, however, with the obvious benefit to consumers and businesses alike, it’s worth familiarising yourself now.

What is a Variable Recurring Payment (VRP)?

In a nutshell, Variable Recurring Payments allow customers to safely connect authorised payments providers (PISPs) to their bank account so they can make payments on the customer’s behalf, offering more control and transparency than existing alternatives such as direct debits and card payments.

What is Sweeping?

Sweeping (which is enabled by VRPs), is the automated movement of funds for a customer between two accounts in their name. There are many examples of where this could be used, such as Sweeping funds from a current account to a savings account, or a current account to a loan account - the possibilities are endless, and more examples are covered below.

“VRPs and Sweeping form an exciting relationship to make personal finances run more effectively, encourage easier saving and ultimately make money work harder for the individual.”

What are the benefits of VRPs and Sweeping? 

This is where it gets genuinely exciting: VRPs not only provide a more secure and cost effective replacement for Direct Debits and card payments, but they are also faster and less prone to error. Gone will be the days of mistakes due to manual form entry, delays with BACS payments (which take up to 3 days) and worry about data breaches (as cardholder data will not be collected or stored).

Minimise error

Mistakes made due to manual form entry can and unfortunately do happen, with cards often used as a back-up. But even then, credit cards can increase customer churn when they expire, are lost or stolen.

Increased security

With VRP, no credit or debit cards are required to make a payment, nor is there a need for businesses to collect or store confidential cardholder data on file. This makes VRP more secure for the customer, as no data can be intercepted by fraudsters. Also,  it’s very easy to cancel mandates from either the bank or the PISP, meaning the consumer doesn't have to worry about leaving a credit card on file and forget about it. Businesses in turn don’t have to worry about data breaches, high card related fees, and the associated burden of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance. Instead, customers’ are securely connected to their bank’s website or app to pay by bank transfer.

EXAMPLE: Instead of a card on file, with VRP, a customer can connect their bank account to their Amazon account, only with rules to limit their spending based on their own preferences. The customer will be more secure and have a better experience, and businesses can receive funds faster and without concerns around cardholder data - win win.

With VRP, no credit or debit cards are required to make a payment, nor is there a need for businesses to collect or store confidential cardholder data on file.

Speed

Outdated systems such as the BACS system used for Direct Debits could really impact the potential of Sweeping. Often operating on a three working day cycle, a payment request is made on day one, with the funds debited and credited on day three. This means that any Sweeping instruction would have to be made three days in advance of when the funds are transferred (and even longer if the working days straddle a weekend or a Bank Holiday). We believe that this delay significantly undermines the ability to create valuable Sweeping propositions for the end customer.

Repayments

When it comes to repayments, there are some staggering benefits to using VRPs. At the moment, repayment plans rely on expensive Direct Debit payments. Direct Debits were never designed to allow money to move between people’s bank accounts - they were meant as a way for a merchant to take money from people with no restrictions. For Direct Debits to work for Sweeping, an Intermediary Account would be needed, which carries prohibitive costs - which are often passed onto the debtor as an additional charge. It’s made worse, because if the debtor has insufficient funds for the payment rather than being notified, the bank charges another fee. VRP stops this because the balance can be checked before the payment is triggered. 

EXAMPLE: A repayment is due at the end of the month, but the customer is paid a day late, meaning there are insufficient funds and they will therefore incur a charge or go overdrawn. With Open Banking, there can be a balance check first to ensure funds are available. Moreover, the missing income can be flagged and everyone involved alerted (with consent from the consumer) to wait an additional day and try again.

When combined with Account Information Services, we see even more innovation, as repayments can dynamically increase when spare cash is available and the consumer has consented to pay off their debts as quickly as possible, even building up credit should they need to take a payment holiday.

EXAMPLE: Any unused money at the end of the month, can be spotted automatically and the customer offered the option to automatically sweep the extra money to pay off any outstanding debt. Most lenders are comfortable with overpayment, and some even allow a payment holiday based on any previous overpayment made. Sweeping left over money can help repay debts quicker or build a safety net for months with unexpected bills or outgoings.

Savings

Sweeping has the potential to revolutionise the savings world. Through VRPs, you can sweep spare cash into savings, pensions or investments, and interest rates on savings can be maximised to reach saving goals sooner. Loans can also be repaid quicker, reducing the cost of debt, while funds can be swept into different pots to enable consumers to budget more effectively. The individual can set up rules with interventions, for example, when a pending recurring payment is due that might mean Sweeping is not the right thing to do. In the future, we believe it should be possible for money to be swept to a charity, house mate or family member - something that banks should already be championing, but aren't.

EXAMPLE: A customer who lives in shared accommodation is asked by their flatmate for their share towards the payment of a gas bill. With VRP, it is easy to trigger a payment that automatically sweeps the money from all involved parties, into the account of the person who paid - all on the same day the money came out. This means that nobody is out of pocket, and the house remains harmonious.

“It’s important to understand that it’s all about the rules which can be wrapped around VRP that trigger the innovation. To date, consumers rely on banks to do what is right. In the future, automated money management will be determined by the consumer or business who the money belongs to.”

VRPs and Sweeping form an exciting relationship to make personal finances run more effectively, encourage easier saving and ultimately make money work harder for the individual.

What’s next? 

The team at Moneyhub passionately believe in innovating for the benefit of the end customer, and helped develop the Open Banking Standards we use today. But we don’t want to stop there. VRP paves the way for the development of payment innovation and the creation of new financial services propositions that truly put customers first - we will be championing their use, and encourage you to do the same and join the consultation process.

We’ve made our response public in advance of the deadline to encourage the wider community to utilise the response and add their own voice to the consultation. All consultation responses are due by 12pm GMT on 4th December and must be submitted by the online Consultation Survey only.

To find out more about how we can help your business innovate with VRPs, please get in touch.

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Covid-19 and the Black Lives Matter movement prompts a rise in charitable giving

The unprecedented events of the last few months has prompted huge changes in how we spend both our time, and our money. New data from our Open Finance platform reveals significant increases in one particular area of spending - charitable donations.

Data from our Open Finance platform shows consumers are spending more time at home and less time and money on trips out, clothing and shoes. Spending on clothing and shoes in particular dropped significantly, by 22% in April, 41% in May and 23% in June, compared to the same months in 2019. As Barclaycard’s research shows, consumers have instead turned to spending their money on purchases like home entertainment, ‘insperiences’ (in-home experiences), and donating to charitable causes. Our user data confirmed this, showing that donations shot up in April - June 2020, compared to the same months in 2019, as the Covid-19 pandemic and causes like the Black Lives Matter movement prompted an outpouring of support.

The stats in a nutshell:

• Spending peaked in April, with 88% more going to charitable causes than in April 2019. May 2020 was up by 74%.

• Total spending on charitable giving in June 2020 was 25% more than in June 2019.

• This compares to February 2020, pre-lockdown, when the average spend per donation was significantly lower, only 4% up from the previous year.

Samantha Seaton, CEO of Moneyhub commented: “The coronavirus pandemic has caused us all to consider our own fortunes and has prompted a surge in support for good causes. Whether it’s giving to the NHS or those on the frontline of the crisis, or more recently rallying behind the global Black Lives Matter movement, Britons have been more inclined to do their bit and donate their extra cash. Increased charitable donations are a good sign that consumers are saving more and spending less, and therefore have more disposable income to give away.

“While this is a positive trend, we may see these transactions begin to drop as life returns to normal and people are encouraged to spend on businesses that will get the economy moving again. It’s important that people find a balance in their spending and maintain positive saving habits as we move out of the lockdown and potentially into a recession. Money management platforms that are powered by Open Finance data and intelligence can give users insight of all their finances in one place. This can help them understand the state of their finances, make more informed decisions, and ultimately build up more savings. This can help give people more financial security and allow us to carry on spending on the things that are important to us.”

Head over to our Covid-19 spending tracker to get the latest insights on spending across all areas, or find out more about our Open Finance platform by getting in touch with our team today.

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Moneyhub Q&A - L&G Magazine

Samantha Seaton gives L&G magazine round up of how Moneyhub is disrupting the financial sector. Including insights on how the app is benefiting lenders and borrowers as well as how innovations in tech, such as 5G, will take the app to the next level. Asked what the future looks like, Moneyhub aims to unlock the power of Open Data and transform the way customers interact with financial data - truly maximising financial literacy nationwide.

What is Moneyhub?

Moneyhub is a truly unique financial management platform, deployed by companies in their digital propositions (directly as a white-labelled solution or embedded via APIs) enabling an entirely new level of personalisation and customer interaction. 

As pioneers of Open Banking, the Moneyhub platform offers the most data links of any aggregation provider in the UK. Giving easy, consolidated access to credit cards, loans, bank accounts, mortgages, investments, pensions, SIPPs, ISAs for the end user. 

Through AI, the platform will analyse an individual’s data and offer personalised ‘smart nudges’ to improve financial wellbeing. Standard nudges can be included or excluded on implementation by the company providing the solution, or bespoke nudges that are more tailored to the particular relationship they have with the individual can also be accommodated.  

Moreover, by automating simple administration tasks like alerting when a loan-to-value threshold has been crossed on a mortgage, through to complex machine learning insights, Moneyhub removes the time and effort required to achieve optimal financial management.

Culminating with Moneyhub’s Payment Gateway to make nudges immediately actionable means a 40% increase on take up. All at a fraction of the cost of legacy payment methods such as Visa, Paypal and Stripe. 

What are the greatest opportunities for borrowers and lenders using a platform like Moneyhub?

Lenders can benefit hugely from including a platform like Moneyhub in their proposition. It automates data capture and gives greater and more accurate insight into the spending patterns of their customers. Lending is no longer binary with a yes or no decision, a third option can easily be presented to help customers not yet meeting the lending criteria. 

For borrowers, the platform enables them to be smarter about their finances and make more informed choices when it comes to spending and borrowing. 

How do you see the generational gap affecting take up of mobile financial solutions?

In the digital age, consumer expectations are for smarter technology making it easier to achieve their goals.  

With mobile financial solutions being utilised across the ages, it is the level of expectation from money platforms that divides the generations the most. Where millennials expect technology to present clear but highly personalised options, the older generation want to understand the reasoning behind any recommendations. In all cases the demand for speed, efficiency and seamlessness is increasing. One key difference is in the device that different generations use to manage their money, be it their mobile phone, browser, or tablet, so it is important to be agnostic and let people choose.

With effortless money management it is now possible to prepare for a sustainable financial future from an early age. It is equally attractive in later life when managing finances in retirement.  

Even those that don’t directly embrace technology, and particularly vulnerable individuals, will benefit and be protected via Moneyhub Connect and chosen friends, family, advisers and solicitors.  

And from a business perspective, the opportunity to engage with customers across generations and income thresholds is maximised by financial technology.   

What will 5G and other innovations in communications make possible?

Knowing the next best thing to do with money and automating the action required will see consumers better off. Open Banking will become Open Data. This means the consumer will be in complete control of all their data encompassing pensions, insurance, medical, property, qualifications, driving profile and so forth. The result will be data working for the consumer to help them achieve their goals and improve their overall wellbeing.  

Measuring how often people interact with our digital propositions will be a thing of the past. Outcomes will be the measure of success. 

What are your aspirations for the future?

Moneyhub is a people first financial management platform designed to improve financial wellness by empowering individuals while providing businesses with insights that unlock growth. By championing the consent-based sharing of consumers’ financial data, we are seeing the maximisation of financial wellbeing across our client’s customers and employees.

Our goal is to unlock the power of Open Data and transform the way customers interact with financial data. By helping lenders and borrowers alike, we want to create a more sustainable and stable financial world. 

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