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CreditLadder can now ask banks to make payments for consumers to businesses.
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Authorisation also granted for CreditLadder to consolidate bank account information to offer consumers insights and added value from their banking transactions.
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FCA approval is a huge step forward for CreditLadder, enabling it to significantly widen its ground-breaking service and help improve consumer finances and credit scores.
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The authorisation will also allow for assisting SMEs with payment processing efficiency and reduced processing costs potentially replacing existing payment services.
The UK’s fintech CreditLadder has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a Payment Institute.
This approval enables CreditLadder to organise and request payments on behalf of consumers from their bank to a businesses bank account as an approved Payment Initiation Service (PIS). PIS gives CreditLadder the ability to initiate payments on behalf of SME’s across any industry. It can now also offer personal financial information ‘dashboards’ to customers as an approved Account Information Service (AIS) provider, should they wish to do so. Combining this with the ability to improve a tenants credit score could offer users significant financial savings.
CreditLadder is now one of only 15 companies in the UK to be registered for both AIS and PIS.
Sheraz Dar CEO of CreditLadder.co.uk, says: “Winning FCA approval is a huge step forward for CreditLadder because it significantly widens the range of services we can offer consumers and SMEs and underlines to them as well as commercial partners and investors the integrity of our platform.”
Greg Michel of Tech Nation, says: “We are delighted to see members of our fintech programme excel. CreditLadder receiving approval from the Financial Conduct Authority for both AIS and PIS is a huge statement about the fundamental importance of their work. We look forward to seeing how this will open up new avenues for CreditLadder as their work and company develop.”
AIS and PIS have been made possible by the the revised Payment Services Directive or PSD2, which earlier this year brought tech-based payment companies like CreditLadder into the regulatory fold.
PSD2 was designed to create a level playing field for all payment services providers while ensuring enhanced security and strong customer protection but also driving innovation, with the ultimate benefit to be felt by the consumer.
About CreditLadder
CreditLadder is the UK’s first and biggest rent recognition platform that enables renters to add their payments to their credit history.
Tenants have their rent payments read by CreditLadder using Open Banking enabled APIs. This allows the tenant to have their rental payment track record added to their credit file, and ultimately help improve their credit score.
CreditLadder works with leading credit reference agency Experian and since launch has reported over £30 million in rent. This year the company was announced as a final stage winner of both the HM Treasury’s Rent Recognition Challenge and became one of 20 companies chosen from nearly 100 applicants to join the HM Treasury-supported Tech Nation programme.
CEO Sheraz Dar has worked at and invested in many of the UK’s leading digital businesses including PrimeLocation, Quidco, eMoov and OpenRent; the latter being the UK’s biggest letting agent by volume.
