Guy Willans

GoCardless launches ‘Outbound Payments’ for lenders Businesses can now use GoCardless to handle both account-to-account collections and payouts on the same system.

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💡 How is Nationwide Building Society modernising payments to build a more resilient, trusted and future-ready mutual? In our latest FinTech Strategy feature, Dan Wilson, Head of Customer Journey – Payments, shares how Nationwide is transforming its core payments infrastructure, scaling innovation and delivering secure, seamless experiences for millions across the UK. 💬 “We’re seeking to modernise the Group’s core infrastructure but also build the tools and features our customers need to help them manage their money and payments.” Dan Wilson, Head of Customer Journey – Payments Here are five standout highlights from Nationwide’s payments transformation: • ⚡ Migration of Faster Payments to a pioneering Dual-Cloud architecture • 🏦 91.5% of Faster Payments traffic already live on the new cloud-native platform • ☁️ ISO 20022-compliant payments system built for billions of annual transactions • 🤝 Strategic partnerships with Form3 and Accenture accelerating secure modernisation • 📈 Faster Payments volumes up nearly 93% in five years, requiring scalable resilience Nationwide is redefining what it means to be a modern mutual — combining trusted service, advanced payments infrastructure and a customer-first approach built for the future. Read the full story and interview with Dan Wilson in the latest edition of FinTech Strategy Magazine: 🔗https://zurl.co/fwv9y 🤝In partnership with Form3 Accenture #Fintech #Payments #DigitalTransformation #BankingInnovation #Nationwide #FinancialServices #ModernMutual

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Barclays is actively exploring a blockchain platform for payments and deposits, aiming to partner with technology providers by April, and has invested in Ubyx to enhance digital money connectivity.

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Late payments & solutions for small businesses | Paylists Delays in payments are a growing issue that is stifling the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UK. These late payments can lead to cash flow problems, increased stress, and even the closure of businesses. In this article, we will dive into the severity of the issue, its implications, and explore some effective payment solutions for small businesses. https://lnkd.in/d5FTKvgF

Great discussion yesterday at Payment Systems Regulator round table. My key takeaways are: - there is a lot of inefficiency due to a lack or fragmented data - Acquires face a lot of complexity with scheme fee management and requirements - there is an opportunity for a systemic fix that improves the MI and workflow automation. Let me know if your scheme requirement management process involves a lot of manual work or if you want better insights into the fees you pay. I have a solutions for those challenges. Rivero Pinnacle Payment Economics Auxo Advisors

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Some positive movement today with regards to Retail Payments infrastructure in the UK. The Bank of England's announcement (https://lnkd.in/eMfqDUyQ) sets out the next steps: The creation of a Retail Payments Infrastructure Board (chaired by the Bank) under which sits an industry led Delivery Company whose role will be "focused on procuring and funding next-generation infrastructure". Pay.UK retains its role as operator of the existing systems.

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On Monday, AMLA published 3 new draft RTS documents for public consultations on AML penalties, customer due diligence and business relationships. I haven't had the chance to fully digest yet but Adrian Barnett and Clarinda Woodford will be sharing some more specific reflections on the RTS documents over the coming days.  I posted over the last 2 weeks about the changes taking place and specifically the AMLR changes. This week, I was going to share some thoughts on the implementation challenge that firms are facing. During the recent workshops I was helping facilitate for the Council of Europe, feeding into AMLA's technical standards, we were discussing potential changes to SAR reporting with Obliged Entities. SARs are a relatively small part of the overall AMLR package, but the level of feedback from OEs was striking. Seemingly small regulatory changes are significant for OEs as they consider data, systems, processes, policies and change capacity. It was a good reminder that small regulatory changes rarely feel small when you have to make them work day to day. This is the reality that OEs are facing now: a significant regulatory change with very little time (relatively!) to react. Timeframe is certainly a major challenge, with final ITS documents to be published later in the year, leaving only a small window for OEs to implement. The RTS documents being released now provide a first more detailed view in certain areas - it is important firms are digesting these, understanding the gap to their current environment, and have a programme in place to manage this change. Planning meaningful change without knowing the full end state is somewhat uncomfortable, but I would be surprised if the ITS documents differ wildly from the draft standards. The second challenge is really about implementation: this change will impact OEs policies and need to feed all the way 'down the stack' into procedures, processes, systems and data. Roles will be changed and training will be critical. For those organisations operating in multiple EU jurisdictions, harmonising internally will also be a key challenge. OEs will need to examine their operating models and understand how they organise themselves given the new standards. Even with a “single” AMLR rulebook, most firms will still be overseen by local regulators whose supervisory styles and interpretations vary widely. Because AMLR is more prescriptive in areas like PEPs, beneficial ownership and reporting, firms operating across borders will have to navigate the gap between what the rules say and how each regulator expects them to be applied in practice. I fear OEs will bear the brunt of any resulting misalignment. What are your key concerns with implementation? #AMLA #AMLR #CDD

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Digital Company ID can help tackle the annual £6.8bn cost of fraud to the UK economy by enabling secure data-sharing and disrupting fraud networks.   Key insights from our latest research include: ✅SMEs are looking for solutions that boost efficiency, reduce fraud risk and improve credit access ✅ The UK’s digital identity market is a rapidly growing sector with significant commercial potential   Janine Hirt Bryan Zhang Jessica Rusu Colin Payne Laura Mountford Katie Ramsey Jana Mackintosh David Raw CBE David M. Brear Hannah Rutter

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In this week’s Giltspur Insights, I’ve focused on something that will probably receive less retail attention than it deserves. The Bank of England has moved its wholesale settlement work into live simulation. The Synchronisation Lab is now testing how central bank money might interact with assets recorded on external ledgers, using a model of the renewed RTGS system. Eighteen participants are involved - LSEG, Swift and others - alongside oracle provider Chainlink. That mix matters. This is not a crypto pilot. It is a central bank infrastructure exercise. Chainlink ($LINK) is infrastructure that allows blockchains to securely use data and instructions from outside their own network. TLDR: Blockchains cannot see the outside world on their own. They can’t access prices, bank balances, market data, or payment confirmations directly. Chainlink provides that bridge. At the same time, UK consultations on systemic stablecoins and broader cryptoasset regulation have closed. The framework is now shifting from drafting to implementation. The direction is becoming harder edged. The real test will be whether synchronisation logic can scale across asset classes without complicating the underlying settlement system it is trying to modernise. Full briefing: https://lnkd.in/eWkCzF-f #DigitalAssets #MarketInfrastructure #Tokenisation #CentralBank #Settlement

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Most SMEs don’t need a 50-slide deck. They need clarity. Founders often pay 12,000 SAR/month for advice that’s delayed — and already outdated. At Tiin, we built something better. For just 799 SAR/month, our report gives you the same level of understanding, grounded in your actual data — cleaned, corrected, and translated into real decisions. ✔ Real margins ✔ Menu items losing money ✔ Cost leaks & inventory waste ✔ Cashflow risks ✔ And most importantly — what to do next No complexity. No fluff. Just operational clarity for café owners and SMEs.

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First Enterprise - Enterprise Loans has launched a £13 million lending fund aimed at supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK that are unable to access finance from traditional banks and high street lenders. The new fund is one of the first to be delivered under the British Business Bank’s landmark £1.5 billion Community ENABLE Funding (CEF) programme. Find out more at: https://lnkd.in/e9TuTH-Z #InvestinginSMEs #FirstEnterprise #BritishBusinessBank #CommunityENABLEFunding #underservedSMEs

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FCA Fines Monzo £21M Over Financial Crime Control Failures The FCA has fined Monzo Bank £21 million for serious weaknesses in its anti-financial crime controls between 2018 and 2022. Key issues included: • Inadequate systems for customer onboarding, risk assessment, and transaction monitoring • Repeated breaches of FCA restrictions on onboarding high-risk customers • Over 34,000 high-risk accounts opened in violation of imposed conditions • Use of implausible customer data, such as famous London landmarks as addresses Monzo’s customer base grew from 600,000 to 5.8 million over this period, but its controls did not keep pace. The lesson is clear: rapid growth cannot come at the expense of compliance. Financial institutions must continuously align their controls with risk exposure and regulatory expectations. #FCA #Compliance #FinancialCrime #AML #RiskManagement #Banking #Monzo #RegTech

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We're up and running at the Association of Foreign Banks (AFB) financial crime conference. It's practically a full house and we've already heard from the FCA who have been outlining their focus areas for 2026, including: ➡️ Data sharing for transaction monitoring; ➡️ Use of synthetic data to test systems; and critically ➡️ How understanding your customer base and assoxiated risks (were you to be investigated) are your best opportunity to reduce any penalty. Food for thought as priorities are set for next year.

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The UK’s SME lending gap sits at £22 billion...Can you believe it! That’s £22 billion in delayed growth, missed hires, and frozen cash flow - Simply because traditional banks can’t keep up. But 70% of that gap could be bridged by fintech lenders using real-time data and AI-driven approvals.  Speed isn’t just convenience anymore - It’s the difference between a business surviving or folding. Are you worrying due to cash flow frustrations? If so, there is a Government backed scheme still around and if you turnover £200k+, you are virtually pre-approved for £250k! I’ve put some information together about it here which you may find useful: https://lnkd.in/ehT73YAQ

Despite survey results showing little appetite for the raising of the £100 contactless limit, the Financial Conduct Authority has announced that from March 2026 the limit will be abolished, giving issuers, merchants and consumers the flexibility to set their own. For some retailers allowing them the flexibility makes perfect sense, however as always it is going to come down to fraud risk, liability and who is responsible. However, is trying to encourage consumers to "be responsible" and take control of their limit a sensible move? Time will tell. BBC News - £100 contactless card limit to be lifted from March - BBC News https://lnkd.in/e8warByA

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🏦 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗼 𝗛𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 £𝟮𝟭 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗖𝗔 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗶-𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀. The UK Financial Conduct Authority has penalised neobank Monzo £21,091,300 for inadequate anti-financial crime systems between October 2018 and August 2020, during which the bank's customer base grew tenfold to 5.8 million whilst compliance controls failed to keep pace with expansion. Monzo has since established and completed a financial crime change programme to remediate its wider financial crime control framework in line with recommendations made in the independent review Fellow neobank Starling was hit with a similar £29m fine last year. https://lnkd.in/evkpxa5s #payments #AML #compliance #governance

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The FCA has opened consultation on removing the current £100 regulatory cap for contactless card payments in the UK. Issuers would instead be free to determine their own limits, with fraud controls and refund obligations remaining in place. The consultation runs until 15 October 2025. In the latest Asima blog post from our Head of Technology, John Blackmore examines this development through the lens of Strong Customer Authentication (SCA). Card payments rely on exemptions from SCA for contactless, which is why successive layers of compensating controls have been added over the years: PINs, CVVs, 3-D Secure, dynamic CVVs, contactless caps. By contrast, open banking payments embed SCA as a core requirement. That distinction has important implications for risk management, user experience, and the direction of regulatory policy. 👉 https://lnkd.in/darSts9H #OpenBanking #ContactlessPayments #StrongCustomerAuthentication #PaymentsInnovation #FintechPolicy

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