The new partnership is part of London Mutual’s ongoing digital transformation strategy, which is focussed on using new technology to enhance customer experience while retaining the ‘human touch’ that it says sets the credit union sector apart.

London Mutual Credit Union is the largest credit union in the South East of England, and offers a range of banking products—including current and saving accounts—as well as loans. It has 35,000 members, including many in the armed forces, NHS and local government.

Ecospend has been enlisted to implement its account-to-account payments technology across London Mutual’s savings and personal loan products, helping to streamline the payments process.

Through this technology, London Mutual’s members will be able to make direct bank transfers between the payer and the payee. This approach bypasses all card network fees, acquirer fees and issuer fees. As such, the credit union will be able to significantly reduce the cost of processing payments. It hopes to reinvest the money saved into services that directly benefit consumers.

The credit union has also expressed hopes that Ecospend will significantly reduce fraud risk and eliminate chargebacks, both of which are significant costs to the credit union and its members. Ecospend includes a more secure payment process, with every transaction authorised by bank level security.

As a result of the partnership, payment processing times will become instant, having previously taken up to three working days. By making the process more efficient, both the credit union and its members will be able to better manage their cash flow, resulting in a frictionless customer experience.

James Hickman, COO, Ecospend, comments:

“Everyone at Ecospend is delighted to be partnering with London Mutual to help modernise its services and offer its members the chance to pay-by-bank. By using our account-to-account services, not only will London Mutual be able to offer customers a smoother and more efficient payments experience, it will also see the credit union significantly reduce the cost of processing payments. This is particularly important, as every penny of profit generated by London Mutual is invested back into its customer base. As such, this partnership is an explicit example of how Ecospend’s technology can be used to democratise the payments landscape and bring real benefits to its users.”

Leanne Phillips, Business Analyst, London Mutual comments:
“We are excited to be working with Ecospend to enhance our digital banking services to our members. As a credit union, we believe that banking should be simple, safe and inclusive. This new facility is a great example of how we are using open banking technology to achieve those goals. Members will find it more convenient than ever to pay into their accounts, via a process which is fast, secure, and, perhaps crucially, simple to use.”