ONE.io collaborates with ClearBank to deliver more efficient payment services
Benefits
- Agency banking delivers client segregated GBP accounts, complemented by connectivity to the UK Faster Payment System (FPS).
- Virtual customer segregated accounts efficiently support customers without the operational cost and complexity of servicing thousands of individual accounts.
- Confirmation of Payee (CoP) provides additional confidence to customers by verifying the account they are paying into before making a payment, reducing the risk of misdirected payments.
Founded in 2017, ONE.io is a rapidly scaling fintech specialising in providing a unified end-to-end financial services solution for corporate clients. After acquiring its Payment Institution licence from the FCA in 2020, it launched its proprietary payments platform in 2021.
Through a single onboarding journey with ONE.io, clients get access to a full suite of products and services, including named IBANs in multiple currencies, foreign exchange, access to major global payment rails including SWIFT, SEPA, Faster Payments and CHAPS, and 24/7 digital asset trading capabilities.
Finding the perfect bank partner
As ONE.io looked to enhance and expand its suite of services, it took the strategic decision to partner with a bank that could provide access to the UK Faster Payment System (FPS) and broader agency banking services.
“Our criteria for selecting a provider included a strong reputation, balanced risk appetite and the prospect for significant growth within the partnership. We valued seamless payment processes, market-leading account products and fast, secure technology. We also sought a partner who could address our immediate requirements and long-term goals, enabling us to expand our payment capabilities and support our growing client base.”
That selection process led to ClearBank.
“ClearBank excels at agency banking, with its accounts and building and maintaining FPS connectivity. We appreciated that it would be much faster working with ClearBank compared to if we'd tried to do it ourselves.”
Agency banking supports the long-term strategy
By partnering with ClearBank, ONE.io is delivering all the benefits of the UK Faster Payment System (FPS) to its customers, without going through the cost and complexity of becoming a direct participant. It’s also avoiding the ongoing capital investment to maintain those connections to ensure the uptime its customers demand, and testing and preparing for scheme updates.
In addition, ClearBank is providing ONE.io with a Confirmation of Payee (CoP) service for FPS, which checks payees’ details in real time before a payment is made. CoP is an overlay service that runs separately from the UK payment schemes and aims to bring peace of mind when sending funds, while reducing the risk of fraud and misdirected payments.
Following the successful rollout of accounts and payment services with ClearBank agency banking, ONE.io enhanced its domestic payment capabilities with ClearBank’s multi-currency payments. Firms have tended to shy away from these due to the cost of integrating and implementing them, a lack of fee transparency, or the required currency pairings. ClearBank addresses this straightforward access to send and receive payments in real-time across 12 currencies.
“Alongside domestic GBP, we wanted to add additional currencies to our solution, enhancing our offering to support our clients on their own expansion journeys. ClearBank was the ideal choice,” comments Emma Campbell, Head of Banking at ONE.io. “ClearBank offers a single, coherent tech stack, unlike other providers who require multiple connectors for the solution to operate. A singular API solution with various adaptors for each payment scheme has made the time from development to production a seamless experience, which would take a traditional bank many months.”
Virtual accounts are enhancing operational efficiency
ONE.io also opted for ClearBank’s Virtual GBP solution for its client segregated accounts. These virtual accounts are built for flexibility with the freedom to open accounts, each with its own addressable vIBAN (virtual International Bank Account Number), with no limit on the number of logic layers that ONE.io can create within its ledger. The ClearBank API allows ONE.io to open virtual accounts in real-time, 365 days a year, each with its own vIBAN. This structure enables it to efficiently support hundreds of customers with one or just a small number of real accounts.
This flexibility is critical for ONE.io. Its customers have their own virtual account, which, on the surface, behaves exactly like real accounts. This provides an infrastructure for ONE.io to see where funds are held for each of its customers without the cost and complexity of managing individual real accounts for all of them.
“We wanted to ensure efficiency in managing a high volume of accounts while maintaining simple reconciliations, supporting the firm to scale without increasing the cost or complexity of servicing customer accounts. We also wanted the ability to set up those accounts via an API so we could be as efficient as possible,” Campbell comments.
"ClearBank virtual account capabilities ensured we could scale at pace with full oversight of all customer movements. This structure makes a big difference because we don’t have to set up individual physical accounts for every single customer.”
Proactive partner for ongoing growth
During the selection process, ONE.io was searching for an agency bank that could support its immediate requirements and grow with its ambition. That meant finding a partner that was proactive and engaged at every stage, from onboarding to support and evaluating new business opportunities.
“Our journey continues to be one of open collaboration and problem solving, while continuing to bring flexible, secure payments to our end customers. For example, the ClearBank client portal has been a fantastic tool, enabling a swift resolution to any payment investigations. It is available 24/7 with a clear escalation process." Campbell comments.
"We have a dedicated relationship manager who is always on hand to help, and we conduct detailed quarterly business reviews that are a great tool for both partners to understand the trajectory of the business, as well as review new market opportunities together. We share a vision for delivering seamless, innovative and secure payment solutions to customers. As we both grow into new markets, the partnership will continue to evolve as ClearBank is the go-to partner we trust.”
