Outstanding balances on credit card accounts contracted by 4.5%

UK Finance has published its latest Card Spending Update for September 2021 which showed that outstanding balances on credit card accounts have contracted by 4.5 per cent over the twelve months to September, as a result of repayments outstripping new borrowing in the year. The latest data indicated that there were 1.9 billion debit card…

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Consumer credit predicted to fall 0.7%

13th December 2021 Consumer Lending | #consumer credit

Net lending via credit cards and personal loans is also set to end the year in negative territory, falling 0.7% on top of 2020’s 9.8% decline according to the latest EY ITEM Club for Financial Services Forecast. The lrnfingfigures equates to a £1.4bn fall in the stock of consumer credit, as households have made more repayments…

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Payment Systems Regulator publishes framework for the New Payments Architecture

10th December 2021 Consumer Lending | #payments

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) publishes its regulatory framework for the renewal of the UK’s interbank payments infrastructure that allows people and businesses to make payments from one payment account to another.  Earlier this year, the PSR consulted on reducing risks to competition and innovation once the New Payments Architecture (NPA) is operational. If these risks materialise, competition…

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PSR outlines Confirmation of Payee plans

3rd December 2021 Consumer Lending | #payments

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has outlined its plans for the Confirmation of Payee (CoP) system. The plans will allow more banks and building societies to work together to ensure even greater number of customers are protected by the name-checking service. Confirmation of Payee (CoP) is designed to help stop fraud and accidently misdirected payments…

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2021 Credit & Collections Technology Company Power List announced

Credit Connect has announced its annual Credit & Collections Technology company power list for 2021. The third edition of the power list is a round-up of the most prominent innovating companies within credit and collections technology. Credit Connect has identified the top 20 ‘Premier’ innovators highlighting the achievements and successes of the top-performing companies. The…

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Payment software firm acquired by Secure Trust Bank

25th November 2021 Alternative Consumer Lending |

Secure Trust Bank PLC (STB) has announced that it has agreed to acquire AppToPay, owner of a proprietary technology platform to support STB’s planned entry into the digital Buy Now Pay Later (digital BNPL) market. STB, through its V12 Retail Finance business, is already a provider of point-of-sale retail finance, with a network of more…

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Ecospend appoints Head of Solutions

Ecospend, a provider of Open Banking APIs, has announced the appointment of Sarah Lambert as Head of Solutions. Lambert will be working with the team to help Ecospend identify and deliver data-based solutions, powered by open banking technology, that meet the needs of more vulnerable customers. As a Sales and Affordability product specialist, Lambert will…

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UK Finance announces strategy for open banking payments

23rd November 2021 Consumer Lending |

UK Finance has set out recommendations for the future strategy of open banking payments in a new report. There are now over 2.5 million open banking payments a month compared to just 320,000 in the whole of 2018, and the recommendations in the report will help support the development of more products and services for consumers.…

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AI and Machine Learning revolutionising payments

18th November 2021 Consumer Lending | #payments

The Payments Association (formerly The Emerging Payments Association (EPA)) has announced the release of its latest research, ‘Using AI Intelligently: Smart ways to use Artificial Intelligence in Payments’, showing how artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are being used in the payments, finance and banking sectors and how they may be used in the…

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Businesses predict strong festive trading period as payments volumes rise

British SMEs are starting to feel more confident about the performance and resilience of their own businesses, despite challenges in the wider economy, according to the latest quarterly Barclaycard Payments SME Barometer. Over half (54 per cent) of UK SMEs are expecting revenues to increase in Q4, compared with performance in Q3 2021. Yet concerns…

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Credit & Collections Technology Awards announces 2021 winners

5th November 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #innovation

The winners of the 2021 Credit & Collection Technology Awards have been announced following a live in-person event yesterday (Thursday 4th November) at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. The awards are the flagship event for innovational technological professionals working in credit and collections and the fifth annual event honoured the UK’s technological innovators, celebrating outstanding…

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Payment Systems Regulator publishes card-acquiring market review

4th November 2021 Consumer Lending | #payments

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has published its final report into its card-acquiring market review. The document sets out the regulator’s conclusion that the supply of card-acquiring services does not work well for small and medium-sized merchants and large merchants with annual card turnover up to £50 million. Merchants with annual card turnover between £15,000…

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Consumer spending slows

4th November 2021 Consumer Lending | #economy

While consumer spending has continued to bounce back post-pandemic, research by Nationwide shows that growth has started to slow. Between July and September growth in consumer spending hit 3%, marking a slowdown following the 14% increase recorded in Q2.  The study, which looked at more than 620 million transactions by Nationwide consumers, also revealed that…

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