Modulr arrives: all aboard the embedded payments train

Modulr has been making waves in the payments space since its inception in 2016 and now the 2021 Deloitte Fast50 fintech is continuing its charge into the Eurozone, having navigated the Dutch licencing process at unprecedented speed. 

And, this payments-loving fintech, which counts Revolut, Sage, Salary Finance, and Ripple among its client and partner base, brings with it some impressive credentials. Beyond partnering with some of the biggest payment companies in the world, Modulr is a direct participant in the Bank of England’s Bacs and Faster Payments scheme, has been granted an EMI licence from both the Central Bank of Ireland and, most recently, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Modulr is also a principal issuing member of both Visa and Mastercard and broke innovative water by becoming the first non-bank or building society to implement the UK’s Confirmation of Payee initiative back in September 2020.

No wonder it was recently placed in the upper quartile of the FT’s 1000 fastest growing European companies, a 2021 Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 winner and named the second fastest-growing tech company in the UK, according to Dun&Bradstreet.

All of these are good news for European businesses looking to board the embedded payments train.

Here, we speak to Marca Wosoba, Managing Director, Modulr Europe, to find out more about what Modulr’s deep payments expertise means for businesses in Europe.

The Modulr approach to European payment woes

Modulr was designed to solve a very specific problem in business payments – one of inadequate access to financial services. 

In doing so, our founders set out to gain the deepest level of access to the underlying payments infrastructure and get direct access to payment schemes - like the UK’s Faster Payments and Bacs - where we settle directly with the Bank of England and where we've also become principal issuing members of Mastercard and Visa. All of which means Modulr has the same access to the UK payments infrastructure as century-old banks.

We take all of that deep payment expertise, as well as our technical integrations and the payments permissions that we've acquired through the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK and the Central Bank of Ireland and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) in the EEA - and bring them to companies who want to reduce manual processes, inefficiencies and costs but more importantly, want the payment services they need to grow their business.

This makes Modulr one of few seasoned fintechs to exclusively cater to the business payments market and our platform is agile, robust, and customisable to every business model (including those not even invented yet). 

What this means for businesses in Europe

The payments industry has undergone rapid changes in the last few years. This is partially being driven by changing expectations, as consumers and businesses increasingly expect payments – and the technology around them – to be an instant and convenient experience (we call this the ‘Instant Economy’).  Yet businesses across Europe are still forced to rely on an old, costly, and clunky banking infrastructure with its manual and inefficient processes. Hampered by these inefficiencies, many businesses are held back from offering their customers the instant and convenient experiences they demand. 

While the ongoing financial digitisation projects of the European Central Bank and SEPA prove there is a market appetite for fast, reliable, and digital payments, businesses are still in need of a partner to scale their payments potential and make the most of Europe’s growing Instant Economy. Modulr’s fast, reliable, and embeddable solutions enable European businesses to overcome the payment obstacles that have historically been in their way. 

With the Modulr platform, European businesses can collect and disburse money, and issue instant digital (EMI) accounts in whatever way suits their proposition, all embedded directly within their tech stack. Modulr is connected to the SEPA rails and we’ll soon be live with SEPA Instant and SEPA Direct Debits which will allow businesses to send and receive real-time payments 24/7, as well as the ability to schedule regular collections and recurring payments.

In short, this is fast-tracked fintech. We package up regulatory permissions with customisable payments infrastructure to enable businesses to quickly and easily embed payments directly into their technology and brand. 

A global vision with a local focus

We want to enable the global shift towards embedded payments, so we’ve made a considerable investment in our local European capabilities too, with a strong focus on end-customer experience and requirements; for example, the need for local IBANs.

The Netherlands was our first choice to establish a presence in continental Europe and gives us a solid foothold to begin eliminating payment inefficiencies for the EU’s many businesses - making payments technology work better for them. Amsterdam provides us with specialist talent, excellent local business services, and an energetic fintech scene to help us on our mission. 

When it comes to taking advantage of the Instant Economy and the many benefits that embedded payments bring, the real differentiator for European businesses will be how smoothly funds flow at either end of the rail. A proven real-time payments engine, like Modulr’s, can seriously scale potential, and we can’t wait to show you how.

About Marca Wosoba

Prior to joining Modulr, Marca held a number of senior international, commercial roles – including General Manager, Europe at Global Reach and Head of International Development at WorldFirst (now part of Ant Financial) with accountability for new market expansion and new market revenue. Marca led the fintech into markets as challenging as China and Japan amongst other Asian, North American and European countries. Before moving into fintech she held progressive leadership roles with Royal Bank of Scotland where most recently she was Head of Retail Transaction FX. Marca holds an MBA from Baye’s Business School, London.

About Modulr

Modulr is the Payments-as-a-Service API platform for digital businesses that need a faster, easier, and more reliable way to move money. Businesses can automate payment flows, embed payments into their platforms, and build entirely new payment products and services themselves. All managed in real-time, 24/7 from one API. Modulr powers the payments plumbing for the likes of Revolut, Sage and Hodge Bank.