RationalFX levels-up payments proposition with ClearBank

ClearBank, the cloud-based clearing bank, today announced it is supporting RationalFX, a leading UK payments and foreign exchange provider, with a range of tailored payments services that will improve the visibility, liquidity and control of funds for RationalFX’s customers. The partnership will allow RationalFX and Xendpay – both part of the Rational Group – to offer customers a combination of sort code, account numbers and an addressable IBAN. The companies also gain access to real-time Faster Payments, BACS and CHAPS payment rails.

Founded in 2005, RationalFX was one of the first non-bank Financial Institutions to be named an Authorised Payment Institution. The firm offers market-leading deliverable FX services to individuals, SMEs and corporates, and continues to build on its impressive product suite in response to evolving client needs. Most recently, RationalFX focused its efforts on building a tech-stack that sped up customer payments, provided a smoother onboarding and gave better visibility on funds.

With this partnership, RationalFX customers can now bid goodbye to error-prone transactions references and incorrect reconciliation. With their own IBAN accounts, customers can transfer funds in and out directly, using just their account number and sort code, with automatic reconciliation built-in, that ensures their balances are updated in real-time. Further, these accounts are connected to Faster Payments, BACS and CHAPS, allowing flexible usage by customers with varying use-cases.

RationalFX sees immense client demand to these services, and has opened more than 10,000 virtual customer accounts in January alone.

ClearBank and RationalFX are connected to each other purely over APIs. Operationally, this is the most efficient method to ensure high levels of low to no-touch processing. For RationalFX, this is also foundational – this technical architecture allows them to add products in the future such as Cards, e-wallets among others, relatively easily without disturbing the other products.

“Our clients expect us to uphold exacting product standards, therefore we needed a partner who could deliver not just innovative technology, but also tailor it to our specific needs,” said Bhavin Vaghela, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at RationalFX. “ClearBank has helped us to dramatically improve our customer experience and operational efficiencies through a broader range of payments services. Now, through an API, we can open thousands of accounts at a touch of a button. This turbocharges the value we can add to clients on a daily basis, and we look forward to working with ClearBank to further evolve our payment proposition.”

“The FX and international payment sectors are beset by technological inefficiencies. Segregating and managing customer accounts is just one of many issues facing firms like RationalFX,” said Charles McManus, CEO at ClearBank. “Through our work with major institutions in this space we have created and honed dedicated tools – like virtual accounts – to tackle these complex and thorny issues. Not only has this eliminated an enormous administrative burden, it has also improved the customer experience and helped RationalFX boost customer retention in an increasingly crowded market.”