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Choosing a BIN sponsor: key questions to ask when making a decision

Increasing numbers of businesses in all industries are making financial services part of their business proposition to improve their traditional offering and delight their customers.

Whether it’s offering branded cards or buy-now-pay-later payment accounts, embedded finance (or Banking as a Service) can help you offer attractive new features and drive customer engagement and loyalty.

To offer electronic payment accounts like these, companies need an Electronic Money Institution (EMI or eMoney) license. For companies offering payment cards, they’ll also need to be a member of a card scheme like MasterCard or Visa.

Businesses exploring the potential of adding embedded finance features into their business offering quickly discover that the process of applying for these licenses is complex and daunting. Instead, many opt to partner with a BIN sponsor, leveraging another organisation’s license and scheme membership to offer services without the regulatory burden of becoming authorised themselves.

There are a number of BIN sponsors on the market, and it can be difficult to differentiate the benefits offered by different providers. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a BIN sponsor for your business…

Does my BIN sponsor have the right licenses for my needs?

Starting with the obvious – it’s important that your BIN sponsor has the correct licenses for your needs. This sounds simpler than it is, particularly if you want to offer your services internationally.

For the UK, for example, eMoney licenses are issued by the Financial Conduct Authority. However, since Brexit, UK-authorised EMI’s are no longer automatically able to access SEPA, the Single Euro Payments area, to make and receive payments across Europe. If you’d like to offer payment services in Europe, your BIN sponsor will need a separate license for this if they’re a UK EMI – B4B Payments is authorised by the Bank of Lithuania, meaning our Emoney License is applicable across Europe, as well as by the FCA for UK operations.

In the United States it’s even more complex; eMoney licenses are managed at a state level rather than federally, so you’ll need to apply to the individual licensing boards for the states you’d like to offer services in. Other countries across the world have their own individual, separate requirements too. Similarly, it’s important to check you’ll have access to the right card scheme memberships, to be sure you’re able to offer cards which are familiar and widely-usable in stores or ATMs in your target country.

Does my BIN sponsor have experience working with businesses like mine?

While the first area to check is that a prospective BIN sponsor holds the relevant licenses and scheme memberships, that’s not the end of the story. Not all BIN sponsors are cut from the same cloth, and like all businesses, each will have its own specialist areas of expertise.

It goes without saying that different businesses have different needs, and even though BIN sponsorship may seem a simple service, partnering with a BIN sponsor who has experience working with businesses in your industry or sector can help smooth the path and ensure a positive, productive relationship for years to come.

For example – a fast-moving fintech needs a partner who understands the importance of maximising speed to market, and who’s willing to push the boundaries of their service offerings to deliver new and innovative solutions and to work with them through their own applications for EMI licenses or scheme membership. At the other end of the spectrum, a business who simply wants to issue store cards will have simpler needs and could be happier with an off-the-shelf co-brand solution which can be cheaper to mobilise.

What other areas could my BIN sponsor support me with?

At its simplest level, BIN sponsorship simply involves issuing BIN ranges – the first six numbers on a payment card which identify the bank who issued it. However, if you’re in the process of launching your own card scheme it’s likely that you’ll need far more than just this service.

Some additional services, such as regulatory reporting, compliance management and fraud monitoring, are the responsibility of the BIN sponsor by default. However, things like card manufacturing or foreign exchange services may not be.

To avoid having to coordinate multiple third-party suppliers, it’s worth checking the full range of features a prospective BIN sponsor is able to offer throughout your growth lifecycle, as investing in an end-to-end solution could significantly reduce the time it takes to bring your card scheme to market.

Can my BIN sponsorship solution scale as my company grows?

Many fintech organisations see a partnership with a BIN sponsor as a temporary state, and have ambitions to hold their own eMoney license, scheme memberships or even their own banking license.

The process of applying for these licenses is lengthy and expensive (with good reason – it’s vital that regulated entities are asked to prove their suitability to offer such critical services), and can take many years to acquire. They’re also not a one-and-done process – there are a number of intermediate steps on the path to becoming a fully regulated financial institution, and in the fast-moving world of fintech the path to authorisation can seem painfully slow.

For fintech companies, a BIN sponsor should be able to accommodate and support your business through each stage of its growth with a flexible and scalable set of services. Gaining an eMoney license means you’ll no longer need to leverage your BIN sponsor’s license, but you may well still need to leverage card scheme memberships. Further down the line, should you be granted your own scheme memberships you may still need support from your BIN sponsor for things like funds safeguarding or accounts.

B4B Payments’ BIN Sponsorship 2.0 solution is designed to support fintech organisations through every step of their transition from a new, unregulated business to a fully regulated EMI with scheme permissions. Our offering is designed to flex and scale as you grow, helping you to become more independent whilst continuing to offer the features you need to get to the next stage of your journey.

Does my BIN sponsor’s platform integrate with my technology?

It’s important to consider how you and your customers will access their services, and this means checking that they have a robust technology platform which will integrate with your own offering.

Fintechs often live or die based on their customer experience, and most invest huge amounts of time and effort into designing an intuitive, inviting and easy-to-use interface for their customers. It’s vital, then, that the transition from your company’s own platform into the areas your BIN sponsor controls, such as payments or accounts, is seamless – an ugly iFrame could negatively affect your customers’ experience, and your brand’s reputation in turn.

Ensuring that features like card issuing, management and payment are integrated with your own systems in a way that maintains the high quality experience and technology, you’ve spent so long developing means finding a BIN sponsor who has the same commitment to UX as you do.

B4B Payments’ card issuing and payment platform is designed to integrate seamlessly into your own workflows for an end-to-end embedded finance solution. Our robust API and webhook functionality makes it easy for developers to build our advanced payment features into your own platform, whilst maintaining the highest levels of security and compliance throughout.

With over 19 years of expertise in payments and now as part of the Banking Circle group of companies, B4B Payments is a globally recognised and trusted provider of card issuing and payment services.

Since 2006, we’ve supported thousands of businesses to bring innovative fintech solutions to market via our robust payments platform.

Our next-generation BIN sponsorship 2.0 solution supports fintechs along every step of their journey from co-brand to fully regulated issuer and scheme member.

Our team has a market-leading level of knowledge and expertise to help you grow your business with the power of scalable and secure payments, and our market-leading solutions provide everything you need to put payments at the heart of your proposition.

Get in touch today to find out how B4B Payments can help you make your fintech ideas a reality with our next-gen BIN Sponsorship services.

Company News Newsroom

How BIN sponsorship can make your fintech ideas a reality

Fintech is big business, and the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have only accelerated the pace of the sector’s development.

64% of consumers worldwide have used one or more fintech platforms, up from 33% in 2017. In 2021, $102bn in investment was fed into the fintech sector.

It’s no surprise, then, that an ever-growing number of startup companies are working to bring their own innovative fintech offerings to market. London alone plays host to over 2,500 fintech companies, and there are thought to be well over 25,000 startups operating in the space worldwide.

Growing a successful fintech startup in such a competitive landscape requires a diverse range of expertise, not least a solid understanding of the financial sector and the rules and regulations to which fintech’s are subject.

While in the UK initiatives such as the Kalifa Review are seeking to create a more welcoming environment for fintech innovation, founders still struggle to expand their businesses, particularly in the face of international regulation, with 47% citing regulatory compliance issues as the main barrier to international growth.

BIN sponsorship as a solution to regulatory bottlenecks

While it’s possible to go it alone, many new companies find themselves overwhelmed by the level and complexity of red tape surrounding financial regulation, which threatens to hold back their ability to deliver innovative new services to their customers. In these situations, partnering with a BIN sponsor could offer a lifeline to many fintech startups.

For fintechs looking to issue cards or offer payments, obtaining an Electronic Money Institution (EMI or eMoney) license and card scheme membership could be a significant hurdle – in the UK, companies applying for an EMI license must provide in-depth information about the structure and objectives of their organisation, as well as proving they hold a significant amount of starting capital.

Instead of going through the rigorous process of obtaining these licenses ahead of launch, partnering with a BIN sponsor allows brands to leverage another company’s existing licenses and partnerships, getting your offering off the ground without the complexity of becoming a financially regulated entity.

While many fintechs have ambitions of becoming regulated entities in their own right, BIN sponsorship is an attractive first step on the road that offers a number of benefits to startup companies.

Increased speed to market

While the value of so-called “first mover advantage” is sometimes debated, there are undeniable advantages in being first to offer an innovative new service. Bringing an offering to market quickly allows startups to outmanoeuvre direct competitors, establish early brand loyalty with customers, and use resources and investment effectively by minimising costs with a shorter development roadmap.

Launching faster also puts your product in front of potential users more quickly, giving you first-hand insights and feedback at a much earlier stage and providing vital data for further development of your offering.

Even if your ultimate goal is to operate as a fully-regulated entity with your own scheme licenses, BIN Sponsorship could allow you to launch your offering while your applications are still in progress, accelerating your development roadmap and cementing your brand’s position early. With B4B Payments next-generation BIN Sponsorship 2.0 offering, you’ll get access to the licenses and scheme memberships you need to get to market, alongside longer-term support and flexibility as you move along our journey to becoming fully regulated in your own right.

Confidence in regulatory compliance

While speed to market is a high priority for many startups, in finance it’s vital that this doesn’t lead to cutting corners. Security breaches or instances of fraud can be hugely damaging to fintech brands, and can lead to serious consequences if they’re discovered to have been the result of compliance issues. For example, OCBC bank’s fraud prevention measures are currently under scrutiny from the Monetary Authority of Singapore after customers lost S$8.5 million in an SMS phishing scam.

By partnering with a BIN sponsor, you’ll receive a raft of support for all aspects of regulatory compliance. As well as being able to leverage your sponsor’s e-money license and card scheme memberships, your BIN sponsor will handle AML checks, fraud monitoring, funds safeguarding and more, so you’re free to focus on developing an innovative tech offering and exceptional customer experience.

With the regulatory aspects of your payment service taken care of, you’ll be free to innovate with confidence that your customers will be safe and that your compliance risk is minimised.

Expert support and guidance

While they may have talented developers and visionary ideas, fintech startups often lack knowledge of the inner workings of the banking and payments world. By partnering with a BIN sponsor, fintechs can gain access to a team of experts with many years’ combined experience in the industry, and all of the benefits that brings.

B4B Payments’ BIN sponsorship service gives you direct access to a team of seasoned industry veterans, each with many years’ experience in the payments space as well as a deep understanding and appreciation for fintech innovation. They’ll be on hand to support you from your first steps towards launching a card issuing or payment platform, right through to taking over the reigns as a regulated entity in your own right.

Our BIN Sponsorship 2.0 offering also provides access to a wide range of pre-built processes and procedures to make it simple to stay on top of your compliance and regulatory responsibilities, without the pressure of developing these yourself.

Robust underlying technology

Innovative technology is only as good as the foundation upon which it’s built, and while fintech companies rely on their own teams of expert developers, there’s a definite advantage to being able to leverage tried-and-tested solutions, at least at first.

While not all BIN sponsors offer an end-to-end service, B4B Payments’ next-generation BIN sponsorship solution includes access to our cutting-edge payment platform, designed to be integrated using our API and webhooks to create your own embedded finance solution. By leveraging our trusted payment platform, fintechs can focus on the developing the advanced features and innovations that make them unique, with the confidence that the basics are taken care of via a robust, established and secure technology platform.

With over 19 years of expertise in payments and now as part of the Banking Circle group of companies, B4B Payments is a globally recognised and trusted provider of card issuing and payment services.

Since 2006, we’ve supported thousands of businesses to bring innovative fintech solutions to market via our robust payments platform.

Our next-generation BIN sponsorship 2.0 solution supports fintechs along every step of their journey from co-brand to fully regulated issuer and scheme member.

Get in touch today to find out how B4B Payments can help you make your fintech ideas a reality with our next-gen BIN Sponsorship services.

Company News Newsroom

Fintech start-up leverages B4B’s issuing solution

LONDON, England, 10^th May 2022: B4B Payments, a leading global payments provider, is pleased to announce an exciting new partnership. Swedish fintech start-up Juni has chosen UK payment solutions provider B4B Payments to deliver their innovative financial services offering for ecommerce companies, this is delivered as part of a new service by B4B, designed to help fintech start-ups scale their offerings more rapidly.

Gothenburg-based Juni was listed as 2021’s fastest-growing fintech startup in Europe, raising $76M in Series A funding and has recently come out of beta with its all-in-one financial management platform. With a goal of eliminating common challenges faced by ecommerce businesses, Juni has leveraged B4B Payments’ BIN sponsorship 2.0 service to power their prepaid card proposition, with the aim of making it easy for businesses to keep track of their finances across multiple platforms.

“We’re delighted to be supporting Juni to bring the Juni prepaid Mastercard to market, and to see our payment solutions leveraged in such an innovative way to empower ecommerce and digital marketing entrepreneurs. As an established fintech firm ourselves, we’re excited to be part of Juni’s success, and we look forward to working closely with them to achieve their ambitious roadmap.”
Paul Swinton, CEO of B4B Payments

“We’re really excited about our partnership with B4B and their support in building our infrastructure. It will enable us to scale Juni and continue our fast-paced growth while, most importantly, give our customers more value when using our platform. Through B4B, we’ve recently launched our new USD accounts and Mastercard cards, and we’re looking forward to launching additional currencies and features in the coming months.”
Samir El-Sabini, Co-founder and CEO of Juni

B4B Payments’ issuing solution is designed to provide an easier path to market for innovative fintech firms like Juni by removing many of the complexities of regulatory compliance. While Juni is not currently a financially regulated entity, B4B Payments enable them to offer fully secure and compliant card issuing and payment services integrated seamlessly into their platform without first needing to jump the hurdles of gaining regulated status.

Juni has selected B4B Payments to support the launch of their virtual Mastercard prepaid card. With the option to make payments in multiple currencies, process FX transactions with a 0.25% capped fee, earn 1% cashback on ad spend, and access data from multiple ad accounts in a single dashboard the Juni Card empowers ecommerce businesses to gather data insights, make better decisions, and scale their activities more effectively than ever before.

B4B Payments’ next-gen solutions are designed to scale flexibly over time to support fintech companies from their earliest days as a start-up through to becoming a fully licensed entity in their own right. By offering not only access to the required licenses, but a raft of resources and expert support, B4B Payments aim to support a new wave of fintech companies on the path to success.

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How reloadables are driving better CX and loyalty

Portrait of happy young attractive smiling woman scientist with protective eyeglasses in the scientific chemical laboratory

One of the benefits of prepaid cards is that they don’t have to be a single-use item – they can be reloaded again and again.

While many incentives are one-off’s, there’s value to be had from using a prepaid card to build a longer-term relationship with your customers, driving an improved customer experience and building loyalty and engagement with your brand.

So how can reloadable pre-paid cards drive better customer experience and loyalty?

Guarantee Faster Payouts

For businesses who regularly pay out gaming winnings, commission or expenses, chasing payments can be an unnecessary hassle. And for customers who are waiting to receive payments from a business, waiting can be stressful and affect their opinion of a company, even if the payment delay isn’t their fault.

Whether your business is paying out insurance settlements, gaming winnings, referral commissions, or anything else, a pre-paid card can take the stress and uncertainty out of payouts. Because the payments are instant, there’s no waiting for bank transfers to clear, and customers can even receive an SMS notification when their payment has been made.

Drive Repeat Customers

For companies who pay out gaming winnings, commission or other regular loyalty payments, a reloadable pre-paid card can be an efficient way of not only getting customers their funds faster, but of maximising repeat business, too.

Funds loaded onto a prepaid card are automatically “ring-fenced” from a customer’s main bank account, and are therefore less likely to be used on general expenses.

If winnings or loyalty earnings are stored on a separate, branded card, there’s a much greater chance they’ll be used to play again or to purchase a “treat” that’s over and above that customer’s usual spending habits.

Build your Brand

As well as the function of a card, simply having a branded pre-paid card in a customer’s wallet can act as incentive and reminder enough. Having a branded card is a nice, easily recognisable reminder for the customer of your brand.

As well as that though, business today is becoming more and more values-driven – we see customers making decisions on where they spend their money based on ethics, and a pre-paid card is an opportunity to harness this.

For example, offering your customers eco-friendly cards will demonstrate commitments to the environment. You could even partner with charities and offer a donation for every £1 spent on the prepaid card, giving your customers choice in how their spending can have a social impact.

The knowledge that their spending is bringing a benefit to a cause that they identify with can create an all-round better experience for the customer and encourage them to keep coming back.

Keep customers engaged

While a one-off incentive campaign can drive brand awareness and engagement in the short term, some of the most successful customer loyalty campaigns run over the long term – Boots’ Advantage Card scheme and Tesco’s Clubcard have both been around since the 1990’s, meaning some customers will have grown up with the brand as a constant presence in their wallet.

Reloadable cards make it easy to offer similar long-term loyalty schemes – offering cash back for a certain level of spend is a tried-and-tested method of keeping your customers coming back for more. Reloadable prepaid cards can be set to closed-loop, meaning a customer’s earnings can only be spent in your stores.

And with no loading fees on prepaid cards, making small payments is cost-effective, meaning customers can get their loyalty credits or winnings in smaller, more regular increments, keeping engagement levels high.

Gather customer insights

One of the key reasons major brands like Tesco and Boots invest so much in their loyalty schemes is that, as well as driving repeat purchase, their cards provide crucial data and insights into their customers’ shopping behaviours.

B4B’s prepaid cards allow you to view transaction data and understand your customers’ purchase patterns, providing vital insights to feed into your customer experience strategy.

Reloadable prepaid cards can help you build a long-term relationship with your customers, not only by encouraging loyalty and repeat purchase but by providing insights into their behaviour to improve your overall customer experience.

To find out how we can help you with your own prepaid card loyalty scheme, get in touch with B4B Payments today.

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Why insurance firms should take advantage of fintech innovation

PwC found that 74% of insurance companies see fintech as a challenge for their industry.

But, with consumer behaviours already changing pre-COVID and becoming evermore geared towards digital in the post-COVID world, insurance is at risk of being left behind.

But why is it so important that insurance firms take advantage of the latest fintech innovation?

Reaching a younger audience

Younger audiences are an important target audiences for insurance firms. Getting young people to take out a policy now and making sure that your offer suits their needs means potential customers for life, so getting it right with young people is a must.

Typically, Millennial audiences and younger Generation X consumers prefer digital methods for payments and communications. The less direct interaction with a business, the more convenient it is for this demographic to use a service.

Not only that, but this demographic are far less likely to be loyal to financial companies, swapping and changing as their needs evolve. This means that flexible, digital options are absolutely vital.

But PwC’s fintech global report found that, until COVID-19, apps were seen as ‘nice to have’, which means that many insurance companies and financial institutions might not yet be meeting the needs of a younger demographic.

Today, customers expect a great deal of flexibility, and insurtech offers this. Free from legacy products and processes, they use emerging technologies to build brand new systems and are much more targeted, rather than the old-fashioned end-to-end solutions that don’t meet everyone’s needs.

US insurance firm Metromile is a great example of this: by offering customers pay-per-mile insurance, particularly for those who live in urban areas and don’t drive very often, Metromile can offer customers flexible, bespoke insurance policies that meet their unique needs.

Another good example of a flexible, bespoke approach to insurance policies is life insurance firm Vantis Life. By making use of artificial intelligence, Vantis Life were able to underwrite life insurance policies in the US based on public records and third-party data, which meant that many customers didn’t need to undergo medical tests. Again, this minimal contact between customer and insurer will help to attract younger customers.

And AI isn’t just beneficial for the customer – in early 2017, home insurer Lemonade (also based in the US) reported that its AI-powered technology managed to process and settle a theft claim in just three seconds, without paperwork from the customer. It’s estimated that long claim processes can inflate a claim value by up to 30%, so speeding up the payment process can save insurers a great deal of money.

So making insurance processes simpler, more flexible and – most importantly – digital can work wonders for reaching a younger audience. Do it right, and you’ve got a customer for life, so investment in fintech and insurtech can have immense long-term returns for your business.

Build trust between you and your customers

IBM reported in 2020 that less than half of customers trust the insurance industry. However, a Salesforce study found that 80% of customers consider the experience a company provides to be as important as its products or services.

This means that insurance has a long way to go to meet customers’ expectations. But, through fintech, that trust can be built and the customers’ needs can be placed front and centre.

At the time of a claim, customers might be experiencing loss or trauma, through theft or injury, so the interaction between insurer and policy-holder is delicate. No business wants to contribute to a customer’s difficult experiences but some insurers may be inadvertently doing so.

The last thing that customers want when getting back on their feet is a complex and lengthy process – they want efficiency, understanding and, importantly, speed. The quicker the payout, the sooner the customer can get back to their day-to-day life.

Fintech can make this happen. Solutions like virtual cards can offer a simple method of paying a claim that works for everyone. By issuing these cards when a policy is taken out, insurers can be sure that money is being sent to the right place within minutes of a claim being assessed, making for a much simpler and convenient process for customers than old-fashioned methods like bank transfer or – even worse – cheque.

As well as this, customers who receive regular recurring payments, like disability or annuity, can access funds immediately through a prepaid card.

Understand and build loyalty with your customers

Fintech also provides you with opportunities to provide personalised incentives and rewards for your customers in a way that legacy processes simply can’t, whilst also bringing in new revenue streams for your business.

By forming partnerships with other businesses, you can harness fintech to provide bespoke offers. For example, pet insurance claimants can receive discounts at pet shops or health insurance policy-holders could receive discounted gym memberships, when paid for through their prepaid card issued when taking out a policy.

What’s more, by providing this payment option to policy-holders, you can gather useful data on their spending habits to offer tailored products and services that meet their individual needs. This means you can understand your customers better, provide them with a better service, and keep them coming back.

Fintech is opening doors in insurance – don’t be left behind.

With fintech providing opportunities to reach younger customers and, more significantly, keep them coming back, the importance of insurance firms embracing and investing in fintech in a post-COVID world has never been more clear.

To find out how we can help you embed fintech into your insurance firm, contact B4B Payments today.

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E-money leading the digital revolution for Fintechs

Last year, EY found that three out of four consumers across 27 global markets had used an e-money or fintech payment service.

The branch-based model of banking has been on the way out for a long time now – with banking available at customers’ fingertips, demand for digital has grown in huge amounts over the past decade.

In fact, in the UK, e-money and fintech are currently one of the strongest start up sectors. From 2019 to 2020, investment into the sector increased by 35% from £2.44 billion to £3.29 billion – and this was pre-COVID-19!

And, given that UK ATM withdrawals fell by £37 billion from March 2020 to March 2021, COVID has only sped up the move to digital payment.

So how has e-money led the digital revolution?

A major innovation of the past decade has been the development of neobanks.

Neobanks are similar to your regular bank but, instead of operating under the traditional branch-based model, neobanks are exclusively online, accessed predominantly via an app.

There are two type of neobank to consider: real, fully licensed banks, like Monzo, that can do everything a traditional bank can but is purely digital; and E-money instututions (EMIs), like Revolut. An authorised EMI is similar to a bank in that it provides services for customers to make payments and store their money digitally but has some key differences.

Unlike a bank, EMIs often can’t store customers’ money themselves. Instead, money is held by a licensed bank (such as Lloyd’s or Barclay’s) and the EMI provides payment services only. While this means that an EMI can’t give interest on accounts, customers money is kept separate from that of the EMI, which means that it will be protected should the EMI go bust.

Now, banks have been offering online services for years, so the concept of accessing money digitally isn’t new. And it’s true that, unlike a bank, an EMI couldn’t typically offer investment, deposit or credit services, unless they got additional authorisation. However, despite being subject to strict licensing, regulation and oversight, they can be set up much more quickly and efficiently.

This does of course mean that the services an EMI can offer their customers are more limited than those of a bank but what makes an EMI so revolutionary is that, they can be more agile and therefore more easily adapt to emerging trends, as well as integrate new innovations. This means that, as fintech evolves to meet customer demand, an EMI can evolve with it, where a bank wouldn’t be able to quite so easily.

So why are neobanks so popular? 41% of people who opened a digital-only bank account did so in 2020 because it’s more convenient, 39% because they offer better rates, and 28% because transaction fees abroad are cheaper.

What’s more, neobanks and EMIs have plugged a gap and made complex processes simple and easy. PayPal was the first online international money transfer company to provide a simple solution to complicated and expensive fund transfers that historically only a bank could facilitate.

So, with EMIs able to develop this fintech that customers are demanding without the same red tape as a bank, e-money and digital payment services can slot very easily into other sectors.

As Angela Strange, general partner at a16z, once said, ‘Every company will be a fintech’.

Through e-money and digital banking, businesses can now offer simpler and more convenient products and services to their customers – and it’s not just about simpler payments but the whole customer experience.

Look at transport – the days of handing over loose change for a bus fare or scrambling coins together for a taxi are on the decline. Customers can now get from A to B digitally through pre-paid travel cards, and can even track their transport and split their fare through taxi apps like Uber. E-money isn’t just making the payment simpler but the customer experience too.

E-money has also revolutionised retail and hospitality. Loyalty cards, like Nectar and Clubcard, give customers e-money in return for repeat custom to gain discounts on future purchases. You’ve even got Starbucks and Greggs letting customers order food in advance and skip the queue to collect, meaning that the little pleasures can fit seamlessly into customers’ day-to-day lives. Again, e-money hasn’t just made it easier to pay but has made the whole shopping experience simpler and more flexible.

And it’s not just customer spending that’s been revolutionised but the spending of businesses themselves. Where previously, internal finance teams had to keep hundreds of even thousands of pounds worth of petty cash on site and complete lengthy and complicated expense and approval processes, now departments and individual staff members can have e-money transferred to prepaid cards within minutes, and spend can be tracked through a central, digital system.

The digital revolution is in full swing – with fintech now taking top spot in the UK’s strongest start-ups, businesses are flocking to take full advantage.

So don’t be left behind: contact B4B Payments today to see how we can help you be part of e-money’s digital revolution.

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Overcoming legacy payment processes in universities

Universities can have enormous incomes, with larger universities bringing in millions and, in a couple of the more prestigious ones, billions.

But with universities typically operating as not-for-profits, there’s just as much going out as there is coming in, which means that internal finance teams have a heavy workload.

With so much to keep track of though, we understand that modernising and streamlining some of your processes can be a massive undertaking in itself. But at B4B Payments, we can help.

So how can universities transform their legacy payment processes?

Tuition Fees

Tuition fees can make up 80% of some university’s income but processing these payments can sometimes be old-fashioned. Some universities still request cash, card or cheque payments, meaning that the act of paying tuition fees is not quite as simple as tech savvy students would hope for.

With students paying as much as £9,250 in tuition to universities, it’s understandable that they expect a high quality service, however in 2018 the Higher Education Policy Institute found that over one third of students didn’t feel that their university was value for money.

As a minimum, payment processes should be seamless and require minimum effort. Parting with this amount of money needs to be done transparently and efficiently.

For many students, payments have to be made via Student Finance England and there’s no way around that, but a significant number of students will be paying tuition directly to the university, either in part or in full. This is particularly the case for international students.

One third of international students come to the UK from China, where almost half of the population use mobile payments. Add into that; currency conversion rates, old fashioned methods of payment, such as cash and cheque, and the fact that international fees can be as much as triple the UK fees cap, payments become much more complicated. So it’s important that paying tuition fees takes a step towards digital to make it simpler and more intuitive for the students who are paying.

B4B Payments’ flexible payment solutions allow for the creation of virtual IBAN accounts, giving you the power to receive payments in 24 currencies with great-value FX rates and no hidden fees. With the option to receive international payments via Faster Payments, CHAPS, SEPA, ACH and more, students have a range of reliable, fast options for making their tuition fee payments in their local currencies.

Departmental Spending

With a staff team of thousand and dozens of departments, expenses and departmental spending can be massively complicated. The internal finance team have a huge weight of responsibility on their shoulders to keep the university running smoothly and, with lengthy processes and complex budgets to keep track of, this is no easy feat.

A great way of getting on top of and monitoring departmental spending is by rolling out prepaid cards for staff or departments.

Using these cards, the finance team can immediately respond to financial requests, transfer funds onto cards and keep tabs on what’s been spent in one integrated system. Staff can also upload images of receipts, essentially automating the reporting process and taking a huge burden off internal finance teams.

What’s more, staff can have control over their own budgets. By scheduling transfers onto the cards monthly or even weekly, staff can spend from their budgets with less back and forth. This means they can purchase their own resources and book their own venues without needing to ask finance to do it for them, spreading the admin more evenly across the university – another burden off the finance team.

Not only that, the staff expenses process will run much more smoothly too. By having access to their budgets on a prepaid card, staff can purchase train tickets or lunch expenses straight from the pot. This means that the lengthy process of buying out of their own pockets, filling in an expenses form, scanning receipts, having it processed by the finance team and receiving reimbursement up to a month later will be a thing of the past.

And, for special requests that may fall outside of usual departmental spending, finance can approve and transfer funds to the right person in a matter of minutes.

This streamlines processes significantly and also means there’s much less need for staff across the university to handle cash. Prepaid cards mean that, if staff need petty cash, they can withdraw this and manage it themselves – finance will not necessarily be required to keep large amounts of cash on campus.

Taking it a step further, prepaid cards could also be issued to students for use in campus shops and canteens, which means that even retail on campus can be cashless so there’s no need for totting up money to pay into the bank. Everything is already digitally transferred at the point of contact. Universities could even work with individual suppliers to incentivise “on campus” spend where appropriate.

Payments to Students

As well as tuition fees and departmental spending, another key benefit of prepaid is the ability to transfer funds to students. This might sometimes take the form of a scholarship or bursary, or it might be the transference of a hardship fund.

Historically, this may have been done via bank transfer or even cheque, but both incur risks – a bank transfer is open to fraud and a cheque can always get lost. But by issuing students with a prepaid card at enrolment, the university can get money to students’ pockets immediately and without the risks incurred by the more old-fashioned methods. Prepaid cards are inclusive for those without bank accounts, provide instant access to funds for foreign students and can used for standalone projects such as research and trials.

From implementing digital systems to allow for straightforward tuition fee payments to rolling out prepaid cards, there’s a whole range of options available to streamline your processes and take some of the burden off your finance team – and we’re here to help.

To find out how we can help you overcome your legacy payments issues, get in touch with B4B Payments today.

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Using prepaid cards to motivate an online workforce

Online working has taken off big time over the past couple of years, for obvious reasons.

Although the pandemic necessitated remote-working, businesses across the globe have seen the benefits, from the ability to recruit a more diverse staff team without geographical restraints to cost savings from not powering an office at full capacity.

However, remote working isn’t without its drawbacks. Without frequent face-to-face interaction with colleagues, some people may feel isolated, and some processes, like handing over cash for work purposes, might now feel like a nightmare.

So what can you do to motivate your online workforce?

Monthly lunch on the house

Before lockdown, it might have been a regular motivational strategy to treat your team to lunch every now and then. It’s a great way of getting the team away from their desks, chatting to each other and getting a little reward at the same time.

Obviously though, where teams are working remotely, this isn’t possible quite so regularly. Of course, you can go down the ‘Zoom or Teams lunch’ route to maintain the social aspect but there’s no reason you can’t provide the food from afar too!

By issuing your team with prepaid company cards, you can schedule cash transfers as frequently as you choose to pay for lunch as a thank you for hard work. And to make sure it’s going where you want it to go, you can specify which retailers that money can be spent with.

Presents

The old method of discreetly emailing the team and keeping an envelope of cash contributions in a drawer for birthday presents, leaving gifts or special occasions is on the decline. With people working remotely, the practicalities of slipping a few quid to the birthday pot every few weeks is tricky. And, as teams grow, knowing what to get someone from the team can be just as difficult.

But collections can still happen remotely!

Giving prepaid cards as presents for your team, whether they’re expecting a child, getting married or celebrating a birthday, can still be a personalised gift. By specifying a type of retailer – or even leaving it open as a simple cash present – you can show your employees how much they are appreciated by their employer and their wider team.

And the process of getting contributions from the team doesn’t need to be complicated either. Your team can transfer money directly onto the gift card from their own, rendering the old, complicated envelope in the drawer method null and void!

Entertainment passes

A happy employee gives more at work and leisure time is just as important for keeping your team refreshed and motivated as the time spent at work. So why not give your team some entertainment to help them wind down and to show them that they’re appreciated?

Cinema tickets are a typical perk that many organisations gift their employees, so that’s always an option – every month, transfer funds to their branded prepaid cards and specify which retailers that the money can be spent on to give your team the opportunity to see a film after work.

Or, moving into the modern age, why not pay for a streaming service, such as Netflix, Now TV or Disney+? You could even provide entertainment for while your staff are working. Studies have shown that listening to music can make workers not only more efficient but also feel happier as they work, so why not pay for a music subscription, such as Spotify, Apple Music or Amazon Music?

Pay expenses and give your team control

Using a prepaid company card, you can speed up the expenses claims or even pay expenses in advance. Through a simple app, your team can upload receipts to your finance team and have payment reimbursed as quickly as you choose!

This means that staff are spending less time out of pocket for work and, if they’re heading to a meeting at month end and need a train fare, money doesn’t have to be a factor in whether or not they can attend.

What’s more, petty cash doesn’t have to be complicated. Some staff, particularly charity workers who need to reimburse beneficiaries their travel and meal deal expenses, need daily access to cash – but this is messy for all involved. It’s difficult to get that cash to the employee in the first place if they work predominantly online and keeping hundreds or thousands of pounds worth of cash on site is risky.

By issuing your team with prepaid cards, all of this can be done virtually and, importantly, safely. Staff can request and receive the money they need with a fast turnaround and without the need to travel to the office to collect it. On top of that, they can take control of the change that they need – no longer do finance have to keep a store of 10 and 20p coins! The whole process is faster, simpler and safer, and it gives staff control over their own budgets – this can only help to motivate your team.

Interested in using prepaid to motivate your own workforce or have your own ideas? Get in touch with B4B Payments to see how we can help!

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Global and innovative solutions for decentralised trials

The Covid-19 pandemic had a massive impact on clinical trials. As many people globally were unable or unwilling to leave their homes for a large portion of 2020, researchers had to develop new and innovative ways of gathering information for life-saving treatments.

While decentralised trials weren’t precisely new before the pandemic, only 34% of developers used them, and they were mainly for rare diseases, where subjects were complex to source, pediatric trials, and lower-level chronic diseases like asthma and dermatology.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the rise of decentralised trials, demonstrating their ability to overcome geographical and logistical barriers for patients. Even as the world stabilises, decentralised trials continue to thrive, offering better accessibility, reduced costs, and more reliable patient data. This shift has opened doors to a new era in clinical research, where fintech solutions, such as prepaid card systems, are crucial in keeping patients engaged and compliant.

The virtual clinical trials market is expected to grow at a rate of 5.7% per year until 2030 and with good reason. Decentralised trials have been proven to be effective and desirable for many reasons, a key benefit being the removal of barriers for patients. By bringing the trial to the patient, rather than asking patients to come to you, researchers have found not only a greater number of people willing to participate but that it’s also reduced costs.

There’s a whole range of tech out there to make decentralised trials run smoothly, so what do some of that look like?

Wearable devices

The usage and popularity of wearable devices like Fitbits, Garmins and Apple watches have grown massively over the past decade. In fact, the total number of wearable devices in use globally has more than doubled over the past three years and is expected to exceed one billion this year.

While the devices used recreationally to monitor heart rate, sleeping patterns and activity levels aren’t accurate enough for clinical trials, more sophisticated wearable tech, such as skin patches and smart pills, has huge potential. Sensors that track constant, real-time physiological data with necessary precision provide a great opportunity to gather patient data from a distance, without the need to travel to a trial site.

What’s more, the data captured is taken from a real-life setting, with patients going about day-to-day activities as normal, which means that data can be understood and interpreted in context.

And, with similar, commercial devices already very popular, wearable sensors make for a widely understood and accessible method of engaging trial subjects, removing a potential barrier for volunteers and empowering them to understand their own health.

Fluid communications

A key benefit of decentralised trials is the ability to communicate with patients regularly. Without the need to travel to test sites, communication can be much more flexible, fluid and, importantly, accurate.

The use of apps allows patients to make diary entries, complete questionnaires and speak to healthcare professionals from the comfort of their own home or even on the move. Results of trials can be uploaded and analysed in real-time, without the risk of human error in inputting. On top of that, with a virtual distance between patient and healthcare professional, subjects are more likely to be honest and less likely to omit information that they’d rather not discuss face-to-face.

What’s more, virtual communications allow for scheduled updates and reminders to be sent to patients on their mobile devices, meaning that information can be reliably gathered and submitted on time, with minimal fuss.

As well as this, the use of virtual communications tools allows trials to be accessible to multiple languages, meaning that patients can be recruited from a much more diverse, global pool.

And let’s not forget that apps allow for full audit trails and functions for capturing e-consent, meaning that security and protection of patient data can be top-notch.

Incentivising with Fintech

An important aspect of clinical trials is keeping participants engaged and often volunteers are compensated financially for their contributions.

In the context of decentralised trials, fintech innovation can play an important role in keeping patients on board and compliant throughout the trial but also in future trials. Card-based reward schemes can offer participants immediate return on their contributions – for every diary entry submitted or questionnaire completed, patients can immediately access their financial reward through a branded card.

With the ability to reward immediately and virtually, patients can take part in a trial and get immediate return from anywhere in the world. And, with a branded card already in their wallet, participating in future trials will be at the forefront of patients’ minds.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought decentralised trials front and centre, proven to increase the number and engagement of volunteers. There are a wealth of digital methods out there to help the development of pharmaceuticals run smoothly and effectively – from wearable tech to communication and fintech, global decentralised trials have a range of opportunities available for better data collection and valuable clinical trial results.

To find out how we can help with your decentralisation of clinical trials, talk to B4B Payments today.

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CEO of B4B Payments shortlisted for Director of the Year

We are thrilled to announce our Co-Founder and CEO has been shortlisted in the UK FinTech Awards 2022 for ‘Director of the Year’.

The UK FinTech Awards were developed to celebrate the incredible financial technology market, and the achievements and successes of the best and brightest of all four nations.

The year 2020 was one of the most tumultuous years in recent history. However, a strong leader provides direction, inspiration, and guidance during both the calmest and stormiest of times. Built on decisive action taken during the pandemic to secure the future of our business, B4B Payments has gone on to have an incredible year in 2021.

Paul’s strong vision has helped create a great place to work for staff who have committed wholeheartedly to supporting the needs of our clients and cardholders. It is wonderful to receive this recognition as B4B begins an exciting new chapter with expanded payment capability and new products.

The awards ceremony is taking place on 20 April 2022 at Leonardo Royal London St Paul’s and promises to be a must-attend event.