Every Wednesday, we delve into the latest fintech updates from across the UK. This week brings updates from Surfshark, Lanistar, Tink, Totally Money, Moneyboat and Freedom Finance
Lanistar moves to full banking solution in the UK and prepares for launch
Lanistar moves to full banking solution in the UK and prepares for launchLondon-based Fintech Lanistar is preparing for launch in the UK, which is expected to take place this Spring, 2023. Lanistar’s focus in the UK and EU has taken a backseat due to unprecedented interest experienced in LATAM, but now the Company is planning to refocus its expansion on its ‘home-turf’, using the valuable and exciting learnings from their proposition in the Latin American market.
Lanistar’s CEO, Jeremy Baber, explains: “The key to our launch (in Brazil) and those to follow in other parts of LATAM, has been our alliance partnership with Mastercard members, who offered a ‘Banking as a Service’ solution. This means Lanistar has a ‘one-stop shop’ solution for market entry in the region, offering a full suite of services including Bank Accounts, Card Issuing, fully digital onboarding, and best of breed Regulatory Compliance, KYC, and Transaction Monitoring.
The UK had the highest cybercrime density in the world in 2022
A new Surfshark study shows that the UK had the highest cybercrime density in the world in 2022 for the second year in a row, with 4371 out of 1 million British internet users hit by cybercrime throughout the year, 3 times higher than the runner up USA.
“Last year, 801,000 people fell victim to cybercrime globally, which resulted in a total of ten billion dollars in losses. Because of how lucrative cybercrime is, there’s no reason to think cybercriminals will stop striking anytime soon. That’s why it’s more important than ever to be vigilant and build up your cybersecurity defenses, which goes for businesses and individuals alike”, says Gabriele Racaityte-Krasauske, spokeswoman at Surfshark
Tink finds almost one in four Brits financially vulnerable
The latest research from Tink, a European open banking platform, finds that almost one in four Brits (23 per cent) are ‘financially vulnerable’ as their income no longer covers their essential spending. Of these, 56 per cent say the situation will worsen as they expect their discretionary income to fall over the next 12 months.
As a result, some of them have already made difficult choices – one in five (20 per cent) of the ‘financially vulnerable’ report having missed a monthly mortgage or rent payment, and a similar amount (22 per cent) have cancelled financial products such as insurance.
Tasha Chouhan, UK & IE Banking Lead at Tink, commented on the research: “It is clear there is an appetite for more support from banks amongst those experiencing financial distress. Open banking has a vital role to play here – with data driven financial services giving financial institutions an opportunity to identify struggling customers and provide tailored support and interventions to assist them. Not only can this make a meaningful difference to people who are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis, it also helps financial institutions to meet enhanced regulatory requirements around protection of financially vulnerable customers.”
TotallyMoney reaches five million customer milestone
TotallyMoney, the fintech with a focus on the UK’s financially under-served, has surpassed the five million customer milestone. The free financial app puts people in control of their open banking and credit report data, providing personalised plans, products and insights to unlock a life of more choices.
Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney comments: “While we’re delighted to announce that five million people have chosen to gain financial momentum with TotallyMoney, almost 30 million find themselves under-served, or struggling to make ends meet.
“The financial services industry is broken — which is why we’re shifting the balance of power, and putting people in control of their own data to create a system which works for all.
“We know we’re able to make a real difference to our customer’s lives — with data showing that users of our app have a better credit score. This achievement is a real testament to the people of TotallyMoney — who day in and day out, show dedication to our mission of helping everybody move their finances forward.
“The next phase of our journey involves the launch of new and innovative features enabled through industry collaboration, which will encourage financial inclusion and help people to unlock a life of more choices”.
Brits lose almost £900 a year due to difficulties with talking about money
A new study by Moneyboat shows how Brits feel when it comes to talking about finances, losing almost £900 a year due to difficulties with having conversations around money.
It was found that a third (33 per cent) of Brits admit to sometimes not asking for money back after buying an item for friends/family as part of their order (i.e. a coffee or event ticket), with the average Brit saying this happens at least twice a month.
Furthermore, only 11 per cent of respondents said that they always ask their loved ones for their money back.
The survey went on to reveal that Brits are spending £318.91 a year due to feeling like they can’t ask for money back after buying friends or family something as part of their order.
Laura Rettie, Editor-in-chief of Finance.co.uk says, “It’s hard-wired into our DNA that buying someone something small is a gesture of kindness, and asking for the money back would feel awkward and is simply not the done thing.
“Discomfort talking about money stems from fear of judgement – whether you have a lot or a little. It often feels inappropriate or impolite because traditionally, parents hide conversations about money from their children, so as adults, we haven’t learnt how to have open discussions about it with our colleagues, friends or even our partners.”
New lenders meet growing demand for consumer loans in 2022
Research from Freedom Finance, one of the UK’s leading digital borrowing marketplaces, reveals the leading challengers and neobanks added over £1.5billion of capacity to the UK’s unsecured personal loan market in 2022.
The analysis reveals that a basket of challenger brands and digital-only lenders increased unsecured personal lending to consumers by over £1.5billion, an increase of 34 per cent on 2021’s reported figures. That growth far outstrips the Bank of England figures for non-credit card consumer lending, which grew just 5 per cent in the 12 months to December 2022.
Emma Steeley, Chief Executive Officer at Freedom Finance said that tightening credit conditions are prompting more people to use soft credit search technology to shop around for competitive rates.
“Despite the worsening credit conditions at the end of last year, 2022 still saw significant increases in demand for credit on our platform and across the market. As loan sizes increased at the same time as credit conditions tightened, we have seen new lenders serving more affluent households shopping for credit products through our proprietary technology platform.
“We have also seen an increase in the number of people who have missed payments in the past using our platform. Because our soft search technology reduces the risk of people applying for loans that they are not eligible for, this is helping to protect their precious credit scores.
“These new users demonstrate the appeal that fintech platforms, like Freedom Finance, hold for increasingly savvy credit customers who are comfortable using digital tools to access the best financial products available on the market.”
