Hope Macy

🚨 We were recently thanked by a Family Connect user who helped prevent his daughter from losing her life savings to a romance scam. She had transferred the funds to send to a fraudster, but Family Connect alerted him to the unusual transaction, allowing him to intervene before it was too late. This week, during Scam Safe Week, the BBC is highlighting ways consumers can protect themselves, yet many continue to fall victim to scams. Once money is transferred, it’s nearly impossible to recover. That’s why Hope Macy is committed to protecting vulnerable consumers with our Family Connect service, which lets trusted family members monitor bank statements without accessing the account directly. For Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland customers, this service is free. Let’s raise awareness and protect those at risk. Stay alert! #ScamSafeWeek #FraudPrevention #FinancialSafety #HopeMacy #FamilyConnect #Phew

🚀 Transforming Access to Fair Credit: Hope Macy Acquires Slick Solutions We're excited to announce a strategic merger between Hope Macy—an FCA-regulated open banking payments and credit reference agency—and Slick Solutions Ltd, a leader in loan origination technology. This collaboration is a game-changer for low-income consumers, offering better access to fair credit through advanced, consumer-centric technology. By integrating Hope Macy's AI-driven APIs into Slick Solutions’ trusted platform, lenders gain the tools to make faster, smarter, and compliant lending decisions while reducing costs and unlocking new opportunities. Key highlights: ✅ Enhanced lending processes from application to payment with FCA-compliant technology. ✅ Machine learning tools to assess loan risks beyond traditional credit scoring, promoting inclusivity. ✅ Empowered lenders to meet consumer duty obligations and protect vulnerable consumers. ✅ Streamlined loan management with an innovative payment gateway for greater efficiency. As demand for fair financial solutions grows, this merger positions us to deliver meaningful impact. Together, we’re setting a new benchmark for ethical lending and consumer protection. 📢 In the words of our leaders: Sam Manning, CEO of Hope Macy: "By starting at the credit process, we help lenders make better decisions and advance consumer duty while delivering good financial outcomes for consumers." Luke Scowen, CEO of Slick Solutions: "This merger establishes a new standard in efficiency, speed, and consumer protection across the credit journey." A big thank you to Square One Law | B Corp™ for their expertise in bringing this transformative vision to life. Let’s reshape the future of ethical lending—together. 🌟 #EthicalFinance #ConsumerProtection #AI #FinancialInclusion #MergersAndAcquisitions #HopeMacy #SlickSolutions #OpenBanking #FamilyConnect #ResponsibleFinance

Countdown to 4 November 2024 and PS24/2 (BiFD) - Training 14/10/2024 #inclusivedesign #vulnerabilitymanagement #datasharing #collaboration Further to the FourNet event that I supported on 11 September 2024, the FCA has since confirmed that in the consumer credit market, they are particularly interested in #supplychains, #consumerunderstanding of products & services, #suitability of products and consumer support, and monitoring that firms are acting to deliver good retail #customeroutcomes in line with the #ConsumerDuty. Video link below. https://lnkd.in/eF9BKymK I made a number of references to the changes that take effect on 4 November for consumer credit firms as part of PS24/2, notably around #vulnerabilitymanagement. The removal of 'particularly' from 'particularly vulnerable' is a significant one, broadening the spectrum of risk that firms need to deal with. Data sharing, #affordabilityassessments, impact on credit file and collaboration with the #debtadvice sector also feature. The recent Financial Conduct Authority update on their findings around 'Fair Value Assessments' highlighted the importance of taking a pro-active approach to vulnerability identification. https://lnkd.in/ej8B9qiW ↘Poor practice: included many firms not having adequate processes to proactively identify vulnerable customers. Relying solely on customers to self-report vulnerabilities can mean some characteristics of vulnerability are invisible to assessment, and customers would need to keep reporting vulnerabilities. Firms should have processes to proactively identify vulnerable consumers, as consumers themselves will experience barriers to effective identification and reporting... ✔VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT TRAINING - 14/10/2024 Join me, Kevin Still, with Chris Warburton of ROStrategy, Helen Lord of Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) and Sam Manning of Hope Macy (Family Connect) on the 14 October 2024 for our virtual Vulnerability Management training covering these 'hot topics'. Registration link below. https://lnkd.in/esgrCa2h Barry Hind Luke Cuthbertson Neil Reddin Nigel Bryant Simon Towers Jamie Davies Steven Coppard FCICM Craig Simmons Bryan Foss Daniel Calcott Sharon Burt Gemma Cryan Rachel Curtis Daniel Spenceley

If you haven't already, please sign up for the event below.

VRS live and virtual training on 14 October 2024 at 1pm - Improving Consumer Outcomes. We have resumed the very popular vulnerability management under the Duty training that we ran through the implementation window for the Duty. We are now in the ‘bedding period’ after the 31 July 2024 and the review of the FCA vulnerability guidance (FG21/1) is ongoing. We are now able to provide some really good use cases at scale around deployment of strategies to deliver better outcomes for all customer segments, notably those showing characteristics of vulnerability.   Chris Warburton is the host of this live event that will feature contributions from Helen Lord, CEO of VRS, and myself. We will focus on some of the key vulnerability sub-flags hosted by the Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) and how they can be deployed in real-life contact centre environments and self-serve platforms. Data sharing has started to evolve and become a strategic priority, including the changes required for PS24/2 (Borrowers in Financial Difficulty) and changes to CONC 7. We explore: * What have we learned from FCA vulnerability surveys concluding in May 2024? * What are the FCA Consumer Support expectations from their sector engagements concluding in June 2024? * Where does a ‘tell me once’ approach fit in to regulatory thinking?  * What is the direction of travel of the vulnerability guidance (FG21/1) review? * How will the implementation of PS24/2 (BiFD) build on Duty requirements? * Where does data sharing fit in and what are examples of good practice? * What do we do with the data we have access to? * How does this align with the ISO 22458 accreditation (Consumer vulnerability)? * Use cases and lived experience     Contact Chris if interested or register below. £225 (plus VAT) per delegate with multi-delegate discounts and a DEMSA discount code is available taking off the VAT. 3 hours of CPD and access to the training portal for 12 months.     E: chris.warburton@rostrategy.com https://lnkd.in/eiE9M924 #FCA #vulnerabilityguidance #consumerduty

Our CEO Sam Manning will be speaking at this training event on the 14th October. We hope to see you there.

When a vulnerable person goes into debt, they need a payment plan that is sustainable and affordable. UNITED KASH LIMITED are trailblazing new approaches to #DebtManagement by combining our #DataFlex #OpenBanking platform with their #DebtRecovery platform. Together, we are able to understand a vulnerable consumer’s financial behaviour and their ability to pay in seconds. This leads to outstanding recovery results, and protects the most vulnerable consumers from additional stress. #HopeMacy #FinancialInclusion #DebtAdvice #UnitedKash

ICO post on responsible data sharing #inclusivedesign #safeguarding #carers #economicabuse #fraudprevention #vulnerabilitymanagement #tellusonce Just after Sheldon Mills from the Financial Conduct Authority discussed a 'tell me once' approach on their #consumerduty webinar on 31 July 2024, the Information Commissioner's Office has made a strong statement around supporting responsible #datasharing. They have focused on safeguarding #vulnerable people and preventing harm from scams and fraud. In the Sheldon Mill's keynote (link below), he said: "Firms we’ve spoken to have developed new data and metrics to better understand their customers, for example to track customers who fall outside of their target market, allowing them to conduct outreach or implement intervention measures." "Others still have improved the way they capture and record information about customer vulnerabilities and expand support to better meet customer needs by adopting a ‘tell us once’ approach."  https://lnkd.in/eUruwqwt We hope that the spirit of collaboration will continue with a range of stakeholder driven initiatives, including the '10-principles of vulnerable data sharing' paper published in May 2024 that director, Kevin Still, co-authored with other industry experts (link below). Chris Fitch, PhD, FRSPH has driven this initiative and we hope that we can focus on early initiatives supported by the ICO to deliver tangible progress as we approach the November 2024 deadline for the FCA policy statement PS24/2 ('Borrowers in Financial Difficulty'). https://lnkd.in/e2yzz3Qn Vanessa Northam Johnny Timpson OBE We need to see some of the vulnerability management and affordability data sharing initiatives reach critical mass and a meaningful level of adoption to become routinely used 'best practices', where the FCA discussed being responsive and adopting continuous improvement/agile practices. Sam Manning of Hope Macy has recently announced the partnership with Lloyds Banking Group with their Family Connect service. Engaging with the 'carer' community is a priority. Experian SupportHub is adding leading financial services firms. More needs to be done. DEMSA has tried to showcase many of the emerging FinTechs working with established providers with large consumer client banks (e.g. retail banks, energy firms, insurers). The HM Treasury Fairness Group is one such forum enabling private/public sector collaboration. VRS example: www.vrshhs.org Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS) Trustfolio Inicio AI Aveni Hope Macy IE Hub Paylink Finvence FourNet The Digital DRA Ceverine Holdings Limited Consumer Duty Services Amplified Global™ MorganAsh https://lnkd.in/e-DxgR8E

More than 10m people in the UK are now using #OpenBanking.   It is fantastic to see how this figure has grown over the last 18 months, 66% in fact. Not only has there been exciting innovation by many businesses but for the many people using it, it’s been a huge help for their financial wellbeing. We’re looking forward to seeing how this technology can help to further improve the lives of vulnerable consumers all over the UK. #HopeMacy #FamilyConnect #FinancialResilience #ConsumerDuty

We were pleased to have been a part of this today, some great insights from all involved.