Community banking platform, Engage, has spread its Faster Payments service, which empowers credit unions to send money to members in real-time through a bulk faster payments process, to new organisations. In lieu of the traditional BACS or CHAPS payments which could take days to complete, 10 credit unions have partnered with Engage to make the most of the bulk faster payments process.
Typically, money arrives in a member account from either the members’ employer, their own bank account, or direct from Department for Work and Pensions. When the member wishes to access their savings, or takes out a loan, the Credit Union must send this money to the member.
Through the partnership, the new community bank and credit union members can download the free digital mobile app to access a variety of features expected from a digital banking app, in addition to receiving a Visa Debit Card. Members can take advantage of budgeting tools (Engage Envelopes tm), while also earning cash-as-they-spend at retailers including ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Argos and B&Q. This will impact the day-to-day lives of members and accelerate the payment transaction times which previously could take three to four days.
Stephen Hope, partnerships development manager at Engage said: “Instant payments is a capability that most bank account holders take for granted when it comes to paying bills or moving money.
“By offering Bulk Faster Payments, community finance providers and credit unions that need to make multiple money transfers can improve customer satisfaction by bringing payments to real-time, removing three-day wait times for funds. We are proud to be able to offer such an essential solution at a very competitive price point that enables credit unions to continue to digitalise their offering.”
Successfully Utilising Engage’s FPS
Knowsley Credit Union, Chesterfield & North East Derbyshire Credit Union and Kingdom Community Bank are three of the UK-based credit unions that are already utilising Engage’s Bulk FPS service to send money to their members via the bulk payment option built into the Engage dashboard.
Sofia Dogan, chief executive of Kingdom Community Bank says: “The Engage Faster Payments service works seamlessly via a simple online portal and we simply upload our payment file and payments are sent to member accounts in minutes. The costs are over 50 per cent less than our bank was preparing to charge us and our members can now benefit from receiving payments quicker into their account.”
There are 1.4 million people in the UK who are members of a Credit Union. The 250+ Credit Unions and Community Banks in the UK are safe, fully regulated financial institutions where members can save and borrow safely and ethically. Credit Unions are non-profit making and run as financial co-operatives.
