Danske Bank launches simplified customer payments process for businesses in UK
“It looks like a modest change, but it has had a big impact.”
Danske Bank UK has created a digital solution that lets business customers view all of their accounts and payments across multiple banks in one place.
The new solution was developed in partnership with Denmark-based open banking specialists Aiia and is based on open banking, which connects banks, third parties and technical providers for secure data exchange.
The launch made Danke Bank the first bank in the UK to offer clients an online business banking platform. Going by the name of “District”, the platform allows businesses to get a full overview of their finances and gain a single point of entry to their accounts and transactions, including those with other banks, without needing to switch between different banking platforms.
Simplified customer payments process
Prior to the launch, Danske Bank worked out a pilot phase with more than 60 local businesses in Northern Ireland, which are now using the new account aggregation functionality.
One of those customers is Co Antrim-based Wilsons Auctions, a family-owned business that is now the largest independent auction company in the UK and Ireland, with 19 sites across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and an annual hammer total in excess of £400m.
Paul Clarkin, Finance Director of Wilsons Auctions, said: “At Wilsons Auctions we operate bank accounts with a number of UK banks but Danske Bank are our lead bank. Using this feature within Danske’s online banking platform has simplified the Group’s ability to process customer payments. We can now see all incoming payments in one handy location which improves our workflow and frees up time for other tasks.
“It also means we have one quick snapshot of all our bank balances on a live basis throughout the day without dealing with passwords, fobs and multi factor authentication for all our other banks. It looks like a modest change, but it has had a big impact.”
David Thompson, Head of Digital Channels at Danske Bank UK, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to bank with us and make how they manage their day-to-day business easier. That means continually investing in innovative new digital features to improve the customer experience. We’re delighted with the feedback so far. Customers have told us they are saving time because they have all the information they need on one screen, which helps them make business decisions based on a full overview of their finances”.
