UK fintech Tully helps distribute COVID-19 payment relief
Tully, the UK-based financial management app operated by open banking provider OpenWrks, has launched a new initiative to help Brits get access to payment relief as COVID-19 continues to disrupt daily lives.
“It is more important than ever to collaborate,” says Tully
The fintech estimates that 17 million people in the UK have been financially impacted by the coronavirus
It aims to reach two million of these people in the first eight weeks of launch.
Called the COVID-19 Relief and Wellbeing Network, it is a “free to consumer” digital outsourcing service to help companies register and validate customers who apply for financial relief.
It works by sharing this information exclusively between all the relevant partners in the network.
Tully says this model will avoid consumers being forced to “spend hours in call centre queues”, and in turn reduce the stress currently on call centres.
Read more: UK’s open banking tech hits one million customer milestone
“If you are a bank, credit card company, mortgage lender, energy supplier, water company, local council or government department – our rallying call is to join our network and help your customers get the relief they need now and throughout the crisis,” says OpenWrk’s chief product officer Olly Betts.
“It is more important than ever to collaborate and give people the support to mitigate the financial impact of coronavirus”.
Already a user of open banking through its parent company OpenWrks which connects half a million bank accounts daily, Tully says it has access to more than 50 of the UK’s banks and credit card providers, including the likes of HSBC and Nationwide.
It therefore calculates that at least 95% of the UK should, in theory, be able to access this service online.
As well as banks and credit providers, Tully also partners with energy companies. The fintech says employees at all these institutions “have started directing customers and employees to the Tully COVID-19 website”.
The fintech cites some of its partners onboard with the initiative, including credit score service ClearScore, as well as technology partners Microsoft, Mailchimp and Intercom.
