August Insights

In our monthly Fintech & Open Finance Insights newsletter we highlight the key industry news that has got us talking, shine a light on our SHIFT Fintech Members, and share exciting Woodhurst updates.

• ?? New partnership with Bath Building Society: Woodhurst have partnered with Bath Building Society to help the Society navigate changes in the sector, bolster the change capability, and support with a sustainable transformation so the Society can continue evolving to meet the changing expectations of its customers.
• ?? Listen Here: In our latest episode of our ‘Fintech Diaries’ podcast we were thrilled to be joined by Emmanuelle Johaadien from Sikoia discussing Data-Driven Solutions and Empowering Women in Sales and Commercial Roles across Fintech.
• ??Modern Mutual Spotlight - Leeds Building Society: Woodhurst’s Ben Nadel recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Richard Fearon, CEO of Leeds Building Society, to explore Leeds Building Society's impressive modernisation journey and their commitment to making homeownership more accessible. Read the full interview here.
• ?? Partnership with Eliq : Woodhurst have partnered with Eliq to help mortgage lenders reduce their financed emissions and empower customers to lower energy costs and carbon footprints through personalised insights and sustainable actions.

Industry Download

• Lenvi partners with Credit Canary to enhance arrears risk management: Lenvi, a leading fintech provider, has announced a new partnership with Credit Canary, a specialist in consumer credit assessment. This collaboration will provide lenders with real-time data to predict and manage repayment risks more effectively. The integration of Credit Canary's predictive models with Lenvi's PF1 platform will streamline credit assessments, reduce operational costs, and help lenders engage borrowers proactively. This partnership marks a significant step in enhancing lender performance and supporting compliance with Consumer Duty regulations.
• Yorkshire Building Society partners with Doshi to offer educational programme: Yorkshire Building Society has partnered with Doshi, a financial education platform, to launch an educational program aimed at improving financial literacy among young people. The collaboration highlights Yorkshire Building Society’s commitment to supporting the financial well-being of the next generation and aligns with Doshi’s mission to make financial education accessible and engaging for young audiences.
• UK start-up Sync Savings to make market debut next month: The UK-founded start-up Sync Savings aims to provide banks, building societies and credit unions with a solution to embed their savings accounts into untapped third-party channels. Its launch, following a six-figure friends and family funding round completed last year and supported by the Lloyds Launch programme, will first see the plug-and-play service extended to a cloud-based payroll provider.
• HSBC UK follows Nationwide and Lloyds as they join forces with OPDA: HSBC UK has joined forces with the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), which was founded last year, hot on the heels of Nationwide who announced it’s membership in July and Lloyds Banking Group who merged with OPDA in March. The move is set to streamline homebuying by allowing access to digital property information across the mortgage market.
• Finance app Cheddar unveils spending tracker tool: UK-based finance app Cheddar has launched a free spend tracker to enable users to gain insights into their spending habits. Having started out as a peer-to-peer payments app, Cheddar is now a rewards platform that uses Open Banking technology to enable users to save money by linking their bank accounts to enable them to access personalised cashback offers from more than 100 brands.
• UK’s SME Finance Taskforce puts Smart Data at centre of action plan: The SME Finance Taskforce, chaired by the UK’s Centre for Finance, Innovation, and Technology (CFIT), has placed Smart Data at the core of its seven-point action plan to accelerate access to finance for UK SMEs. This initiative, which began in April, focuses on using advanced data insights to enhance lending practices and support SME growth. The taskforce's approach aims to boost competition and streamline the lending process, ultimately benefiting the UK’s economy by enabling quicker and more secure access to financing for SMEs.
• Mastercard taps open banking for streamlined lending: Mastercard has enhanced its open banking program to simplify the loan application process by streamlining income and employment verification. Through partnerships with payroll data aggregator Argyle and the integration of its open banking platform, Mastercard allows lenders to verify income and employment digitally, helping to reduce manual paperwork and improve access to loans for gig economy workers and other non-traditional income earners. This innovation aims to make the lending process faster and more inclusive, supporting both lenders and borrowers in the digital economy.

SHIFT Member Spotlight

Nova Credit is a credit data and analytics platform that enables lenders to underwrite the thin-file and new-to-country segments. It is an FCA-regulated CRA in the UK that has built direct integrations with Credit Bureaus in 20+ markets, with access to 3B+ consumer records to drive responsible lending growth via consumer-permissions access to this data.

By providing their unique cross-border credit data (Nova Passport) to a UK-standardized format, they are enabling banks and lenders to acquire more New to country users for:?

• Unsecured and Retail products (Cards and Loans)
• Telcos to acquire more subscribers via Device Financing
• Mortgage underwriting for (a.) UK nationals returning to the UK, and (b.) Long-term UK visa holders
• Line Assignment and Credit Limit Increase
• Seamless Current Account Opening and Private Banking opportunities

Nova Credit has been scaling its operations in the UK by partnering with Banks and Building societies to enable:

? Since partnering with Nova Credit, HSBC has reported a 79% y-o-y increase in credit card approval rates for newcomers to the UK with a credit history from eligible countries. They continue to increase approval rates as they gain share and experience, including a dedicated journey for New to UK card applicants.

? The Nottingham can approve nationals from 15+ countries, reducing their decisioning time and increasing LTVs, implementing via its broker partner for this growing need in the market.

? They’re working with [5/10] Top-10 financial institutions in North America and partnered with some of the largest card issuers, like AMEX and marquee banks like RBC and Scotiabank in Canada.

Upcoming Event: Nova Credit’s platform gives the power to underwrite anyone, and Nova Credit is pushing the envelope in cash-flow underwriting solutions in the U.S. If you are interested in staying ahead of where cash flow data adoption is headed, be sure to apply to attend the inaugural Cash Flow Underwriting Summit in NYC on September 12th, presented by Nova Credit.

"The widespread adoption of online, automated application, underwriting, and approval processes have transformed the experience of British residents seeking credit. Unfortunately, these improvements haven't reached the millions of people who cross borders each year to establish new lives overseas. The lack of access to most-suited credit offerings for this under-served segment is a result of credit reporting regulations that were built within national siloed and affordability assessment methods - that fail to meet the needs of an increasingly globalised ecosystem, where newcomers are driving ~100% net new population growth in the UK." - Collin Galster, COO of Nova Credit.

Nova Credit's mission is simple — to help newcomers arrive and thrive in the UK and facilitate responsible lending for its partners. Want to find out more? Email [email protected] or visit novacredit.com/uk

Woodhurst's latest insights

• Modern Mutual Spotlight: Leeds Building Society: Woodhurst’s Ben Nadel recently sat down with Richard Fearon, CEO of Leeds Building Society, to discuss their impressive modernisation journey. Key takeaways include the importance of reskilling colleagues amidst digital transformation, balancing personal service with innovation, and the success of Leeds' new online mortgage and savings platforms, which are delivering faster service. Richard also shared insights on how Building Societies can continue to thrive even in challenging times. ?? Read the full interview here

• Empowering Financial Institutions: Data-Driven Solutions with Emmanuelle Johaadien from Sikoia: In our latest episode of Fintech Diaries, we delve into Emmanuelle's inspiring career journey in the fintech space. We also discuss her experiences as a woman in sales and commercial leadership roles, and she shares her valuable insights on the industry’s current landscape and future directions. Emmanuelle offers unique perspectives on how Sikoia is addressing the complex challenges of customer and document verification with a seamless, customer-first approach.

• Woodhurst Partners with Bath Building Society: We are excited to announce our new partnership with Bath Building Society to support their journey towards becoming a modern, sustainable institution while maintaining a personal touch. The collaboration focuses on modernising systems and processes to deliver greater value to members. Together, we are enhancing Bath’s change capabilities and de-risking critical aspects of their transformation, ensuring smooth progress in their mission to empower customers through improved savings and mortgage products.

• Woodhurst and Eliq Partnership: Our new partnership with Eliq is transforming how lenders approach green mortgages by harnessing real-time smart meter data. While 57% of large lenders offer green mortgages, these products often focus on newer, energy-efficient homes, leaving older, less efficient properties underserved. Eliq addresses this gap by enabling lenders to assess home energy efficiency more accurately, moving beyond outdated Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). This innovation allows customers to benefit from favourable mortgage rates immediately after making efficiency improvements, while lenders enhance their sustainability efforts and reputation.

• SHIFT Fintechs Join TSB Labs for Open Banking Innovation: As part of our ongoing mission to drive the future of finance, the SHIFT Open Finance Community proudly supports fintech collaborations through our Fintech Champions initiative. Each year we help TSB scout the market for the most innovative fintechs and this year we were excited to see the theme of Open Banking take centre stage. A special congratulations to our SHIFT members—Credit Canary, TABBx, MyArk, Sikoia, and AperiData—on being selected to be part of the TSB Labs. We can’t wait to follow your journeys through Phase 1 and beyond.

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If you'd like to find out more about Woodhurst and how we can help you please get in touch at [email protected].