September 2022: Awards, Partnerships, and more.

September has been a very busy month for IE Hub, with lots of exciting things happening. We have had additions to the team, partnerships, awards and much more happening behind the scenes.

Industry News

New Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced an energy price freeze

In early September, Liz Truss announced plans to freeze energy bills at an average of ￡2,500 a year for two years. This plan commenced on the 1st October as part of a package to support homes and businesses through the cost-of-living crisis.

As her first big act as prime minister, Truss said that the government would fund the scheme to reduce the unit cost of energy through increased borrowing. For this, ￡150 billion in taxpayer funds will be transferred to energy suppliers.

The average household is set to save ￡1,000 in total from the October price reduction, which is on top of the ￡400 discount that has already launched. Even though this is a step in the right direction, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has said that the poorest families still faced an ￡800 shortfall in household income.

Many customers have faced increased confusion around the multiple announcements surrounding their energy bills, which is something to be conscious of. For creditors, this announcement is likely going to be met with reduced borrowing, as many households were turning to credit to pay for essentials such as energy bills. This also means that a customer’s expenditure is likely to be different than expected from October 1st and so introducing an effective affordability assessment in their debt management systems is imperative.

The government set to launch an ESG review

With everyone talking about energy, the government is becoming more conscious about the environmental impact. They reported that they want to take action to accelerate domestic energy supply, increase energy resilience and meet the new zero 2050 target in an “economically-efficient way”.

Chris Skidmore MP is chairing this initiative and expects to report on this by the end of 2022.

In anticipation of the target release, it is important that businesses are following ESG guidelines and are partnering with ESG compliant companies. Here at IE Hub, we demonstrate social and environmental responsibility, with ESG at the heart of our company.

For more information on how IE Hub safeguards the environment and uphold social standards, click here.

IE Hub News

IE Hub, StepChange and C&R Software agree financial hardship partnership

IE Hub has announced that it has joined forces with StepChange and C&R Software in a partnership to support consumers in financial hardship.

This partnership will see IE Hub’s income and expenditure solution integrated with both C&R Software’s solution Debt Manager, and StepChange’s debt advice and support solutions service.?

To read more about the StepChange, IE Hub and C&R Software partnership, click here.

IE Hub has been shortlisted for 6 categories at this years Credit & Collections Technology Awards

The finalists for the sixth annual Credit & Collections Technology Awards have been revealed. This awards ceremony celebrates UK tech innovators in credit and collections.

Congratulations to all finalists and we are looking forward to the ceremony in November.

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IE Hub has become a finalist for the Lending Awards’ Sustainability Award

Another exciting award to announce. IE Hub was announced as a finalist for the 2022 Lending Awards’ Company Award for Sustainability.

Sustainability is at the forefront of our company and is a core value of our company. So, it is great to be recognised for our efforts.

Congratulations to all finalists and we are looking forward to another exciting event in November.

IE Hub CEO, Dylan Jones, presented at FinTech Wales ‘FinTech for Good Huddle’

Our CEO, Dylan Jones, presented on the Cost of Living Crisis at the recent FinTechWales event, and discussed what organisations can do to better support vulnerable customers. It is really nice being able to attend conferences and events in person, so thank you to FinTech Wales for hosting.

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It is such an exciting time for IE Hub, both for the business and in our personal lives. We enjoy having the ability to share our news with you and we thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter. We look forward to October, with many new changes happening in the industry and for IE Hub.