incuto blog: July 2021

With the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and furlough pay coming to an end in September, it’s likely that individuals across the country will face a period of prolonged financial uncertainty. This is where credit unions and community banks come in. Their approach to personalised, holistic financial services will be needed more than ever.

A recent Metro article looked at the unique benefits of joining a credit union, and how they have stood up to the challenges of digital transformation and changing customer expectations posed in recent times.

Our most recent webinar looked at how credit unions and community banks, as well as building societies, have an opportunity to rebuild, expand, and capture the market in 2021. Our mission at incuto is to ensure that affordable lenders can grow and reach more people who need it in the UK, and to reduce the barriers of cost and capability for organisations, no matter their size.

Smaller credit unions perform a crucial role, in that they serve very particular communities with a level of personalised service that has become synonymous with ethical lending. However, the challenges for credit unions are magnified for those with smaller member bases, as they do not enjoy the same economies of scale, meaning the solutions to grow are often out of reach.

At incuto, we’re proud to be able to aggregate the same services that allow organisations to digitally transform and grow. Our platform is available with no set-up fees or licence costs, meaning services such as Faster Payments and MyCredit, provided in partnership by providers including Experian, TransUnion and Clearbank, are available on a pay-as-you-use basis.

The latest of these developments is our launch of Direct Debits for our credit union partners. We are now a Facilities Manager, meaning that credit unions can offer direct debit as a form of payment for members, regardless of their size, and without the usual cost of setting up their own SUN. This gives credit unions much more control in setting up first loan repayments, and avoids the problem of potentially unreliable standing orders and missed payments.

Our quick, straightforward onboarding process allows Credit Unions to easily implement a new method of transaction that was previously unavailable to them, given the barriers of cost and size. With incuto’s pay-as-you-use model, there are no minimum volumes, so Members of all Credit Unions can enjoy the increased flexibility on offer, safe in the knowledge that they are much less likely to miss payments or overpay.

We also appreciate how important it is for financial organisations to be fully compliant, so the incuto platform provides approved templates for regulated communications and notifications, such as setting up first payments or payment amendments.

To find out more about the our platform, and how it can help your credit union or community bank transform, book a free demo with us today.

Andrew Rabbitt, CEO