Fintech and Open Banking are all about automating and improving financial services. By its very nature, the industry is fast-paced, innovative and highly creative. So it makes sense that the people and companies operating within it also display these qualities. With new developments taking place every day, we thought it would be interesting to delve into some of the freshest and most inspiring companies in the industry. What are they doing, why are they doing it and where might their ideas lead us?
Open bank Nomo makes headlines by offering a solution connecting Middle Eastern customers with a UK banking solution
Open Banking Case study 1 – Nomo
Designed to appeal to customers that lead “international lifestyles’, Nomo is a Sharia-compliant digital bank. Based in the UK, the company says it has “…one clear vision: to create a new digital future for Islamic digital banking.”
Nomo wants to do this by allowing its customers to access their Sharia-compliant current accounts and banking services, wherever they are in the world. The company has a strong focus on simplicity and accessibility. One of its biggest aims is to fully automate everything from account creation (something it claims customers can do with a few taps on their smartphones) to purchases and transfers.
Open Banking Case study 2 – Sustainably
“A new way of living and giving.” That’s how Sustainably’s co-founder, Loral Quinn, described the business to our colleagues over at XDesign in a podcast last year.
Sustainably’s users sign up to an app and then connect their debit cards to it via open banking. Once the two are linked, users can donate any “spare change’ from card purchases to one or more of the charities supported by the app. These “micro-donations’ take place automatically, but the amounts are subject to limits set by the user. Once a customer’s donations have reached £5, they get an “impact update” on how their recipient charity (or charities) will spend the money.
More and more of us are beginning to recognise the need to address environmental concerns and social injustices. With trends in consumer behaviour changing accordingly, apps like Sustainably could really come to the fore.
Tide is a leading fintech platform offering a range of services to SMEs in the UK and India
Open Banking Case study 3 – Tide
In an earlier post, we talked about how open banking and fintech companies could help to address the issues faced by small UK businesses. Tide, an online business banking platform, is one of the companies doing just that.
Tide’s services and solutions are designed to make business banking simple for the smaller company. Its products are streamlined and original. Like Nomo, Tide wants its sign-up process to be straightforward and fast. It even offers the option of registering your limited company at the same time as opening a Tide account.
Other features include compatibility with accounting software packages, transaction categorisation and easy invoicing. All of these are designed to make life easier for small businesses, allowing time and resources to be redirected for other purposes.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our quick round-up of some of the most innovative and interesting companies that are coming to light in the open banking space. Of course, things change quickly in the fintech world and developments are very fast-paced. Keep checking in on our blog for further insights and the lowdown on exciting new companies and concepts.