Modulr, the leading payments as a service API platform for digital businesses, has announced that it has become a direct participant in the Faster Payment Service. Modulr is one of a small number of non-bank service providers to hold an account in the Bank of England’s Real Time Gross Settlement system. This has been achieved under the Bank of England’s new settlement account policy directive that enables direct access to payment systems through provision of settlement accounts to non-bank PSPs.
Modulr will now be able to process payments without going through a commercial bank, as well as connect directly to the payment schemes removing the operational reliance on third-party bank systems.
Myles Stephenson, Chief Executive at Modulr, said, “This is a significant milestone for Modulr; enabling greater control over our payments infrastructure allowing us to drive further innovation faster. This capability will support our rapidly scaling organisation as we migrate volume in the coming months; in October alone, we processed over £1.3bn of Faster Payments value.”
Paul Horlock, CEO at Pay.UK (Operator of the UK’S Payment Networks including Faster Payments), said, “We are pleased to welcome Modulr on board to provide real-time payments on a level playing field with the best-known banks on the UK high-street. This is possible because Modulr is now using its own settlement account with the Bank of England, rather than making payments through a commercial bank.”
This news follows the announcement that Modulr is investing £20 million into the Scottish fintech industry to drive disruptive innovation and to boost its growing prominence as a tech hub. The funding will provide a minimum of 53 jobs to highly skilled professionals as well as nurture new talent in Scotland by hiring graduates from Scottish universities every year for the next five years.
Myles said, “Scotland is packed with fantastic technology talent, world-renowned universities and businesses, so we’re tremendously excited to be growing our presence in Edinburgh and investing to raise the profile of Scottish fintech. Our base here will be absolutely critical as we work to drive innovation and competition in our sector, and to make money flow more efficiently through the economy.”
Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work said, “I welcome the announcement of this award of £10m which is both great news for Modulr and great news for Scotland’s fintech sector. This award will enable Modulr to create more than 50 additional jobs at its Edinburgh operation by accessing the pool of highly-skilled people available in the surrounding area. This is further evidence of the strength and attractiveness of Scotland’s fintech sector and Edinburgh in particular which now has over 100 fintech companies established.”
Mark Hallan, Head of inward investment at Scottish Enterprise, added, “Modulr is a valuable member of Scotland’s fintech community and I welcome this further investment that will create more high-quality jobs. This will take the company to over 100 employees in Edinburgh and highlights Scotland’s attractiveness for investment in a very competitive sector.
You can read Modulr’s press release on their Faster Payments announcement here and their investment into the Scottish industry here.
