Published by Gbaf News
Posted on September 13, 2017
Proven FinTech leaders enable nationwide launch of Irish payment account online, mobile and in-branch
Payment Cloud Technologies (PCT), the London-based FinTech business, has today announced that its cloud-based digital banking platform bank.VISION is now live on a national scale with An Post, Ireland’s largest postal service provider.
bank.VISION has enabled An Post to launch its new Smart Account, a payment account with all the benefits of a standard current account, with two unique additional features: Digital wallets that allow for the subdivision of spending, budgeting and bill payments; and Smart Rewards, a cash-back loyalty scheme that benefits customers who use the account at selected retailers.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of digital banking adoption in Western Europe, with 41% of consumers using online banking and 32% using mobile banking more than they did 12 months ago. Ireland has also witnessed a significant reduction in physical contact with bank branches, with 41% reporting that they visit their bank branch significantly less than 12 months ago.
Despite this digital shift, Ernst & Young report that nearly 50% of Irish customers do not trust a financial organisation without financial branches, and almost 60% desire the ability to visit a branch or talk to someone over the phone to secure advice at key moments.
Using PCT’s bank.VISION, Smart Account customers are now able to make payments, transfers, switch funds between main accounts and wallets and check their balance online or via mobile. They can also complete transactions in-branch including account application, lodgements, withdrawals, mini statements and balance enquiries at one of An Post’s 1,100 branches nationwide.
Ian Clowes, CEO, Payment Cloud Technologies, said: ‘’We announced An Post as the first customer of bank.VISION in November, and are delighted to now go live for the delivery of a unique digital banking proposition for all the citizens of Ireland. Our partnership with An Post represents a significant step for PCT as we build on our proven reputation in the digital banking market and further our goal of widening access to fit-for-purpose financial products for customers worldwide.’’
Smart Account is the second banking-grade product to go live with bank.VISION after the financially inclusive transaction account Change Account, and aligns with PCT’s core goal of widening and improving access to the financial services market worldwide. Having launched in Africa in March, PCT has established itself as a proven provider of rapid, cost-effective and cloud-based digital banking solutions for prospective financial services businesses worldwide.
John Rice, Head of Retail Development, An Post, said: ‘’Our retail customers report near universal satisfaction with our product range and our customer service levels. Our new Smart Current Account is central to the development of our digital-age products which have the added strength of a unique, well-trusted national retail network. We closely guard our unique market strength and we choose our suppliers carefully.
In delivering our Smart Account PCT lived up to their track record – exceptional technical expertise and a collaborative approach to working with the An Post team and other suppliers, anticipating challenges, solving problems and applying learnings. Together we succeeded in building a digital payments platform which will benefit our long-standing customer base and facilitate stronger connection with new digital-age customers.’’
Following the successful rollout of bank.VISION with An Post, PCT recently demonstrated bank.VISION at three international workshops hosted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which has 192 international PO members. The workshops, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are part of a UPU initiative to assist post offices worldwide to digitise their financial services.
The well-received workshops took place in Harare 25th-27th April, Abidjan 2nd-4th May and Bangkok 30 May – 1 June, to provide localised advice on the importance of digitisation to the financial directors of post offices in the African and APAC markets.
Proven FinTech leaders enable nationwide launch of Irish payment account online, mobile and in-branch
Payment Cloud Technologies (PCT), the London-based FinTech business, has today announced that its cloud-based digital banking platform bank.VISION is now live on a national scale with An Post, Ireland’s largest postal service provider.
bank.VISION has enabled An Post to launch its new Smart Account, a payment account with all the benefits of a standard current account, with two unique additional features: Digital wallets that allow for the subdivision of spending, budgeting and bill payments; and Smart Rewards, a cash-back loyalty scheme that benefits customers who use the account at selected retailers.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of digital banking adoption in Western Europe, with 41% of consumers using online banking and 32% using mobile banking more than they did 12 months ago. Ireland has also witnessed a significant reduction in physical contact with bank branches, with 41% reporting that they visit their bank branch significantly less than 12 months ago.
Despite this digital shift, Ernst & Young report that nearly 50% of Irish customers do not trust a financial organisation without financial branches, and almost 60% desire the ability to visit a branch or talk to someone over the phone to secure advice at key moments.
Using PCT’s bank.VISION, Smart Account customers are now able to make payments, transfers, switch funds between main accounts and wallets and check their balance online or via mobile. They can also complete transactions in-branch including account application, lodgements, withdrawals, mini statements and balance enquiries at one of An Post’s 1,100 branches nationwide.
Ian Clowes, CEO, Payment Cloud Technologies, said: ‘’We announced An Post as the first customer of bank.VISION in November, and are delighted to now go live for the delivery of a unique digital banking proposition for all the citizens of Ireland. Our partnership with An Post represents a significant step for PCT as we build on our proven reputation in the digital banking market and further our goal of widening access to fit-for-purpose financial products for customers worldwide.’’
Smart Account is the second banking-grade product to go live with bank.VISION after the financially inclusive transaction account Change Account, and aligns with PCT’s core goal of widening and improving access to the financial services market worldwide. Having launched in Africa in March, PCT has established itself as a proven provider of rapid, cost-effective and cloud-based digital banking solutions for prospective financial services businesses worldwide.
John Rice, Head of Retail Development, An Post, said: ‘’Our retail customers report near universal satisfaction with our product range and our customer service levels. Our new Smart Current Account is central to the development of our digital-age products which have the added strength of a unique, well-trusted national retail network. We closely guard our unique market strength and we choose our suppliers carefully.
In delivering our Smart Account PCT lived up to their track record – exceptional technical expertise and a collaborative approach to working with the An Post team and other suppliers, anticipating challenges, solving problems and applying learnings. Together we succeeded in building a digital payments platform which will benefit our long-standing customer base and facilitate stronger connection with new digital-age customers.’’
Following the successful rollout of bank.VISION with An Post, PCT recently demonstrated bank.VISION at three international workshops hosted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU), which has 192 international PO members. The workshops, supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, are part of a UPU initiative to assist post offices worldwide to digitise their financial services.
The well-received workshops took place in Harare 25th-27th April, Abidjan 2nd-4th May and Bangkok 30 May – 1 June, to provide localised advice on the importance of digitisation to the financial directors of post offices in the African and APAC markets.
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