Legacy IT systems lose UK lenders GBP 157 mln every year - research

The report provides insights and trends into the future of the global point-of-sale lending market. Divido surveyed decision-makers in the banking/lending space across seven different regions, including the UK, US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Nordics.

Point-of-sale finance is thriving

Fuelled by consumer push-back on credit cards and the desire to have more flexibility when it comes to spending, UK lenders have estimated point-of-sale finance will be worth over GBP 157 million to their individual business over the next 12 months.

Alongside this, UK lenders are set to invest an average of GBP 19.6 million into their point-of-purchase IT infrastructure over the next year. That said, across the seven markets, investment into point-of-sale finance is top-of-mind for lenders, with two-thirds planning to invest up to GBP 394 million into this space over the next 12 months.

Legacy IT Infrastructure is still a barrier to innovation

Complex legacy infrastructure remains one of the biggest barriers to innovation with 54% of UK lenders ranking it as the biggest challenge when it comes to delivering payments technology. UK lenders are also feeling the impact of increased regulatory clampdown, with 55% listing compliance with regulation as another hurdle to overcome when delivering payments technology.

Concern around new fintech players

New entrants are a top concern for 75% of lenders, with Europe feeling the biggest impact in light of regulations such as PSD2. No lenders agreed that they are confident about their ability to compete with new market entrants, with 32% highlighting the ease at which new entrants can integrate with other businesses’ IT infrastructures as their biggest concern.

That said, global collaboration among lenders and fintechs is firmly on the rise, with two-thirds stating that they would consider partnering with a third party platform provider to deliver services to consumers. Overall, only 3% of lenders felt fintechs were their competitors, not their collaborators, paving the way for more partnerships to deliver better experiences to customers.

Divido’s lending platform works in multiple markets and with multiple lenders. It is currently available in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Nordics, and the US.

The Global Lending Report is an independent research project, conducted by Coleman Parkes in April and May 2019. It surveys 700 IT decision makers at financial service providers with over 1,000 employees in the UK, US, Nordics, Germany, France, Spain and Italy that offer loan and credit services. Represented in the survey are job titles such as CEO, CTO, COO, CIO and IT Director.