Custom Credit forms Open Banking payments partnership with Ordo

UK-based lender Custom Credit has rolled out Ordo’s ‘Request to Pay’ and ecommerce services across all areas of its business to enable Open Banking payments for loan disbursement, borrower repayments and “ad hoc” collections.

Ordo’s Open Banking payments platform uses the UK’s Faster Payments service as the payment rails for the underlying Open Banking payment, ensuring payments can be made directly from one bank account to another bank account.

Through the partnership, Custom Credit’s customers will be able to pay using Ordo from more than 98% of banks in the UK, without the need to register, sign up or download an app to be able to make instant payments.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Ordo to bring instant Open Banking payments to our offering, both for payout of loans to, and managed repayments from, our customers,” said Damien Burke, founder and chief executive officer of Custom Credit.

Custom Credit offers loans to individuals who typically find it difficult to access credit and then tailors the ongoing payment schedule.

By partnering with Ordo and using its fully managed services, Custom Credit will be able to lend immediately and when a borrower makes a repayment, these will be automatically correctly referenced and deposited into their account with the lender.

Ordo’s technology means Custom Credit’s customers will receive a tokenised link, QR code or ‘pay not’ button via text, in-app notification, email or post for loan disbursements or repayments, which takes them to their bank’s login page.

Once logged in, the specific loan repayment will already have been set up for them by Ordo so that all they need to do is authorise it.

“As the cost-of-living crisis continues, customers need affordable credit where repayments are constantly being tailored to their individual affordability, and that’s what this partnership brings,” Burke added.

“Working with Ordo means our customers can feel in control of their money and always have an up-to-date position of where they are at.”

Ordo chief executive officer Craig Tillotson said: “We are delighted Ordo’s fully hosted and managed Open Banking Payments-as-a-Service platform is enabling Custom Credit to offer an instant, flexible and secure payments service to its customers, allowing their customers to flex their repayments when life events occur, be it paying less in one instance and paying more when additional funds allow.

“We fully support the extension of the availability of financial services across a broad spectrum of people from all backgrounds, and we’re pleased that Ordo can be used for people taking control of, and learning more about, their finances.”

Ordo raised £10 million in a Series A funding round led by Equinox Systems at the back end of 2022, to fund the launch of its variable recurring payments offering.

Ordo was co-founded in 2018 by the former management team behind Faster Payments.