Bondsmith, the UK’s provider of cash management and savings solutions to the wealth management industry, has become a principal member of Visa, a key player in digital payments, “to further its mission of improving the wealth management industry through embedded banking services.”
“Super-apps” and fintechs are gradually “increasing their market share in the wealth management industry and so incumbent wealth management institutions need to innovate to retain assets and attract the next generation of investors.”
Now a principal member of Visa in the UK, and associate member in New Zealand, Bondsmith will be “providing white labelled Visa debit cards for their wealth management clients.”
This gives clients the ability “to offer payment accounts to their customers, expanding their propositions beyond investments and into transactional banking.”
Michael Doyle, Founder and CEO at Bondsmith, said:
“Our vision is to bring embedded banking to the wealth management industry to enable holistic financial management and planning. We are thrilled to be working with Visa and leveraging their secure global network to bring this new solution to our clients, helping them innovate and improve their customer offerings.”
Claire Dopson, Head of New Business Development at Visa, said:
“Fintech companies play a crucial role in driving innovations that meet specific consumer demand. We’re delighted that Bondsmith has become a principal member of the Visa network, to enable access to embedded banking in the wealth management industry.”
As reported last year, FNZ, the global wealth management platform, led a Series-A investment in Bondsmith, the fintech “providing innovative cash management and savings solutions for the wealth industry.”
The investment forms “part of a wider partnership that sees Bondsmith’s solutions integrated into FNZ’s global wealth management platform, further enhancing the technology that supports over 650 of the world’s leading financial institutions and 8,000 wealth management firms in 21 countries.”
Cash held on platforms “tend to see poor returns for customers due to the difficulties platform providers face in finding suitable banking counterparties that meet both risk appetite and that pay a good yield.”
In addition, due to a lack of suitable options, savers typically “do not invest cash assets onto platforms, preferring instead to go direct to banks or utilize specialist cash savings options.”
Bondsmith seeks “to address these problems by offering a wide range of savings solutions that seamlessly connect savers, banks and financial companies, to increase the opportunity for competitive returns and make cash a more viable option within the wealth management spectrum.”
