I N D U S T R Y O U T L O O K
I N D U S T R Y O U T L O O K
aligned in many ways . We ’ re both API-first and focused on speed and execution . Our philosophies , values and culture are similar . It makes it easy to work with a partner when you ’ ve got a shared vision for how things should be delivered and run ,” said Sattar .
Delivering a market-leading business current account for SMEs
Established SMEs have found themselves stuck in the middle . Their needs are too complex to be met by a bank geared towards micro-SMEs , but they ’ re too small to be afforded the kind of service they need from a big bank . They also require agility to execute their plans quickly . payment schemes to its current account customers , enabling Allica to focus on building relationships with customers and offering value added functionality in the product . Partnering with ClearBank also protects customers like Allica from upgrades in scheme connectivity , as ClearBank is responsible for building , testing , maintaining and upgrading connections .
“ ClearBank excels at building , maintaining and updating the connectivity . For example , when the CHAPS upgrade to ISO20022 occurred , that was a huge piece of work , and we didn ’ t have to really think about it
It was important for Allica Bank to build and launch the bank account in the most efficient way possible . Working with ClearBank , it could quickly set up a test environment to understand how the different payment schemes would work for its customers .
It launched its business current account externally to established businesses in 2023 , offering cashback rewards , no monthly fees and dedicated relationship manager support , along with an integrated Savings Pot with market leading interest rates . Through ClearBank , it provides SMEs with the broadest possible deposit and withdrawal options including Faster Payments System ( FPS ) and CHAPS , as well as credits via Bacs Direct Credit and access to outbound Bacs Direct Debits .
In less than a year , Allica Bank had opened accounts for more than 2,000 established SME customers .
“ The advantage working with ClearBank has given us is that we could launch the account and get the product to market faster . The API integration also means it ’ s flexible in the sense that we can overlay quite a lot of other services . As a result , we ’ ve been able to focus on those Value Added services for SMEs and not have to worry about the infrastructure ,” said Sattar .
Reduced operational overheads
By collaborating with ClearBank , Allica Bank can offer all the benefits of
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