Modulr powers up Revolut’s new Direct Debit functionality
The new feature will allow for business customers to set up Direct Debits for regular bills and invoices and will be protected by the Direct Debit guarantee.
The new feature will allow for business customers to set up Direct Debits for regular bills and invoices and will be protected by the Direct Debit guarantee.
Challenger bank Revolut will now enable all customers within the European Economic Area (EEA) with UK account details to set up Direct Debits, allowing customers to automate the payment of regular bills and expenditures.
This latest feature offered by Revolut will be powered by Modulr, and will utilise the payment technology platform’s Direct Debits Mandate service.
Revolut’s customers will be able to make regular Direct Debit payments straight from their accounts, allowing business customers to pay supplier bills and regular invoices automatically, and will be protected by the Direct Debit guarantee.
This means that any business or retail customer using the service will be protected from fraudulent activity or error affecting a Direct Debit payment.
Speaking on the functionality and partnership with Modulr, Nik Storonsky, CEO and Founder at Revolut said: “Around-the-clock access to a real-time payments infrastructure is key to building any successful financial service. We are providing Revolut customers with an alternative digital payments infrastructure unshackled by a reliance on traditional and slow legacy banking.
“GBP Direct Debits are the latest integration, as we build towards becoming the bank of the future. With Modulr, we not only have a partner we know and trust, but one who we can work with to launch new payment products with ease.”
Originally a travel and foreign exchange product, Revolut has been working to diversify its service for its growing customer base. In the past year alone, the challenger bank has successfully launched multiple new services, and Direct Debits were high up its business customer’s wish lists.
Head of Business Product at Revolut, Vaidas Adomauskas, said: “Direct Debits are one of the most requested features from Revolut for Business customers. It’s always our goal to help businesses save time and money, and this feature will make a huge difference on that front.
“We’re proud to be offering this feature that will transform the way businesses transact on a regular basis, whether they are paying bills or paying into employee pensions.”
The technology company has employed Modulr’s API platform since 2017, and allows for real-time, 24-hour management of payments and reconciliations, all through Revolut’s existing products.
For businesses, this makes it easier to streamline existing services, launch new products and scale more efficiently.
Myles Stephenson, CEO and Founder at Modulr, said: “Revolut is a leading global challenger in financial services, and it continues to grow in its prominence as an alternative to legacy banking options.
“Utilising our APIs, businesses such as Revolut are able to offer customers a payments solution fit for the ‘Instant Economy’ world we live in – where payments need to be instant, reliable and easy, as customers will no longer accept anything less,” he said.
“With our technology, Revolut adds another string to its bow, improving the offering for existing customers and growing its appeal and attraction to new customers too.”
In August, Modulr were awarded a grant of £10m to facilitate their expansion and to offer improved SME lending and payment services.
As part of this grant, Modulr have committed to create a new product – the Accountant Payments Control Centre (APCC) – which the organisation states will “deliver greater control, automation and efficiency for Modulr’s accountant and SME clients.”
Through its platform, and services such as Revolut, Modulr want to enable accountants to provide new services for their clients.
Speaking on the work Modulr is doing for accountants, Stephenson said: “We see ourselves as the tech behind the tech, working behind the scenes to open up, drive efficiencies and enable new capability in the payments infrastructure. It’s great that we’re enabling Revolut to offer the ease and convenience that consumers have come to expect in the Instant Economy – they can now pay subscriptions and other regular payments such as utility bills with their Revolut account all managed through their Revolut App.
“The payments industry has come a long way in the last decade, especially the initiatives from the FCA and CMA to foster innovation and encourage competition. Revolut and Modulr are living proof of that. Earlier this year we were awarded £10m from the Capability & Innovation Fund, part of the RBS Alternative Remedies Package to bring payments innovation to an underserved and neglected segment of the financial services; SMEs and accountants.
“We’re working with partners such as Sage to reach those SMEs and accountants through a multiplier effect. We want to enable accountants to provide brand new, cutting edge services so they can retain, enhance and deliver value-added service to their portfolio of clients.”