CreDec, the non-bank payment service provider, has announced a new real-time payments solution system which bypasses Internet banking.
Operating within cloud accounting software, this Virtual Account system can be linked to any online bank account, allowing accountants and SMEs to make payments directly from their accounting platform.
Initially launching with Xero compatibility, chief executive officer of CreDec, Alex Meynell, anticipates cross-platform integration will take effect in the coming months.
“CreDec’s Virtual Account effectively turns Xero into a bank front end,” Meynell said. “We’ve closed the gap between banking and accounting payments, and starting with Xero, we’re making accounting platforms the principal interface for all payments activity.”
This new system also allows real-time statement lines to be written back into Xero. Additionally, it supports the automatic scheduling of pending payment transactions, which Meynell believes will help give users more time.
“All businesses are either cash-poor or time-poor, even businesses that are feeling comfortable in their financial position struggle with time,” Meynell said. “What CreDec does is to provide a very significant efficiency in how they manage basic routine tasks around accounting and payment activity.
“The way in which we do that is to allow these businesses to automate very clunky, broken manual processes to achieve these significant efficiencies, and crucially, we do it in a way that doesn’t require them to change anything.”
A new type of platform
With the Virtual Account, SMEs do not have to change their underlying bank relationship, nor manage a second credit payment account, as everything is tied to the platform.
Unless a user or accountant provides personal security credentials to make an authorised payment through the application, no money leaves the underlying business account, offering users added security.
This development is the first of its kind, signalling a potential change for the industry. By providing automation for both single and batch payments, more power and security is in the user’s hands, while the process also helps eliminate time-consuming human errors.
“The accountants and bookkeepers in the supply chain for SME business and accounting will be able to work with CreDec and have a single partner and a single solution,” Meynell said.
“Even though our CreDec Virtual Account is fully integrated into Xero in terms of the creation of the Virtual Account itself and real-time bank feeds, we can manage any payments through a manual upload feature.”