NEWS
Alternative – Infinity Finance Group managing director Tony Insall says businesses should consider fintech banking .
The future is fintech
Infinity Finance Group ’ s Tony Insall looks at his Yarm-based firm ’ s latest service
WORDS : PAUL FRASER
The financial industry is changing rapidly , with financial tech companies forcing the more traditional banks to rethink their own methods .
According to Infinity Finance Group ’ s managing director Tony Insall , it is not difficult to understand why . “ Fintech banking is the future ,” he says .
Now , as part of its extensive offering , Infinity provides an alternative banking solution that is different to the high street bank .
Having partnered with Modulr Finance , Tony ’ s Yarm-based firm now offers client accounts for businesses and individuals .
Infinity Payments , the latest exciting strand of the business , speeds up the process of opening a new account , is webbased and available on your mobile phone or on a desktop .
Tony said : “ The reason we did this was that it is not always straightforward to get a business account .
“ A fintech account tends to mean that customers can apply through an app . All your ID checks and documentation to check for anti-money laundering are done on there and it speeds the process up .”
The speed of the process is what is attracting people to companies such as Modulr . Infinity is a partner agent for that service and has its own dedicated platform , Infinity Payments .
Tony added : “ A great example I can give you is that I recently contacted a high street , well-known bank to open
a business account , where I was not a customer already . It took me four weeks to get an in-branch appointment .
“ A lot of people are finding that at the moment and the fintech option through Infinity Payments speeds the process . You tend to be able to open an account within 48 hours .”
The back story to that is how Infinity Finance Group worked with a lot of employment agencies and realised the service wasn ’ t there ordinarily to open up an account swiftly .
“ Where we have seen this highlighted to us is with recruitment companies and employment agencies , who recruit selfemployed owner-drivers , for example , who suddenly own their own business and they need a business bank account quickly ,” said Tony .
“ What we do is provide those banking opportunities for the drivers . They might want those working by the end of the week and speed is the essence .
“ The driver , for example , will be employed through a logistics company on a day rate and they need a business account to pay it in . We will give them that account .
“ Can you imagine the person off the street setting up a business account when all he wants to do is drive a van ?”
Infinity Payments effectively started in July and the software and technology to make that service a viable one has been developed since then .
Together with Infinity Payments and following the acquisition of North Ormesby-based Alpha Independent Financial Planning in October last year , Infinity can now provide wide-ranging solutions and packages in line with Financial Conduct Authority regulations .
Tony said : “ The wider picture is that Infinity Payments provides Infinity Finance Group with another service to its clients . it grows the group further and can be used by employers or employees .
“ We have a growing number of financial services offered across the UK and essentially we can roll this out worldwide . This service provides a Visa debit card that can be used in the UK and around the world .
“ It just increases what we can do and means our clients don ’ t have to go anywhere else .
“ An example of what we do is how we work with employment agencies and provide Infinity Protect , which means providing employer benefits , and now they get an opportunity to get the bank account as well as free mortgage , pension and investment advice .
“ We offer such a service so that employees might want to stay with them longer rather than move for an extra 10p a day somewhere else !
“ We are offering six or seven different options now instead of one . We have developed processes for what we are providing for one business so we can now plug it into any other business system .”
Visit infinityfinancegroup . co . uk or alphaifp . co . uk for more details .
154 | Tees Business