A team of experienced investors, technologists and Fintech professionals, Mode has been offering innovative financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe and across the globe since their inception back in 2018.
Although we might be aware that Mode serves as a Bitcoin app, its vision or goal spans wider than just making BTC or cryptocurrency mainstream, according to a blog post published by UK Fintech Modulr. The firm has plans to disrupt or transform the financial status quo and develop what it “believes to be the financial products of tomorrow, today.”
As noted in a blog post by Modulr:
“By leveraging the payments potential of Open Banking, Mode is well on the way to realising its ambition to bring its business customers a cheaper, safer, smarter alternative to card payments, powered by Modulr.”
Mode’s vision is to “build a next-generation financial ecosystem that connects consumers and businesses; combining the best in payments, investment, loyalty and digital assets to offer a full suite of financial services, in one single super app,” Modulr’s blog explained.
As mentioned in the update:
‘”The result is Mode for Business – a revolutionary mobile payments solution designed to allow businesses to reap the benefits of both payments and loyalty.”
By leveraging Modulr’s API-enabled, Open Banking-powered platform, Mode’s business clients may soon be able “to overcome traditional payment challenges; replacing cards at checkout with account-to-account transfers that are seamless, secure and mutually rewarding.”
Card payments are a widely-used payment option in the UK and many companies depend on them. UK Finance reveals that in April 2021 there were 1.6 billion debit card transactions, “59.5% more than in April 2020 and 1.4% more than April 2019, and 258 million credit card transactions.”
The Modulr team also mentioned:
“But debit and credit card payments are not ideal for the businesses that receive them. They tend to be expensive as for each transaction, a percentage of the value may be charged. That can add up to a significant loss of revenue for companies that process large volumes of payments. And card payments are slow – it can take up to three days for funds to settle in the recipient’s account.”
However, Open Banking is starting to pave the way for innovative and next-gen payment services. It’s led to the establishment of the Payment Initiation Service Providers (PISPs) – which is a third party organization, like Modulr, that is able to carry out payments on behalf of clients.
By leveraging this key capability, Mode’s business and merchant customers will be able “to enjoy instant payments from one account to another, initiated by Modulr and powered by Open Banking,” the update noted.
While sharing how Mode presents Open Banking payments, the Modulr team explained:
“Giving end-users the smooth payments experience demanded by the Instant Economy, Modulr’s Open Banking payments solution will allow Mode’s business customers to route end-users directly to their banking apps on checkout.”
They added:
“Expensive card processing fees and cart abandonment will become a thing of the past, as merchants will be able to use QR codes to limit the steps involved in the checkout process and allow shoppers to seamlessly transact, in just a few clicks.”
Clients are able to select their bank, be redirected accordingly and will then be able “to authorize the payment, before being directed back to the merchant’s completion page,” the update noted.
As mentioned in the blog, they won’t have to go through all the hassle of manually entering payment card details. They also don’t need to sort codes or account numbers; “delivering an unrivalled customer experience.”
As stated in the blog post:
“Unlike other Open Banking Payment offerings on the market, Modulr’s connects natively with Modulr eMoney accounts. This means businesses are paid directly into their business accounts; making fund flows visible and reconciliation automated.”
Not only will this help with saving a lot of time, but it will be “especially important for Mode’s merchant customers who need to know when to ship the goods,” the announcement noted while adding that with Open Banking payments, goods can be “shipped with confidence because funds are transferred immediately to accounts via the Faster Payments scheme, without the risk of fraudulent customer chargebacks.”
Refunds can be “processed easily and in real-time which further improves relationships with customers, building trust and transparency,” the blog post explained.
As noted in the update:
“By enabling businesses to accept payments directly from their customers’ banks via Open Banking, Mode will give its merchants the opportunity to invest more in their customers and to build relationships that extend beyond the transaction.”
This next-gen payments and loyalty platform will “build on banking, financial and payment-related insights, allowing businesses to run targeted loyalty campaigns, with cashback on everyday purchases paid in Bitcoin, and to engage with consumers in new and innovative ways,” the announcement noted.