Answer Pay
How Leeds FinTech start-up Answer Pay is making payments work smarter
A vision for the future of payments
With the cost of living crisis, paying bills has become big news. Many families face that fateful moment at the end of the month where Direct Debits are automatically triggered draining the bank balance or defaulting when no funds can be taken, leaving both customers and businesses unhappy.
One Leeds-based startup is working hard to make life easier. Answer Pay, founded by payment technology experts, is introducing / pioneering / launching Request to Pay a new way to pay and get paid that offers greater consumer control with less costs to businesses.
Answer Pay was listed as one of Leeds City Region Tech Climbers 2022, for being one of the top performing, IP rich, product led technology businesses. The award recognised Answer Pay’s contribution towards solving world problems, generating economic growth and creating positive environmental and social outcomes using cutting edge technology.
Bringing simpler digital payments to the financially vulnerable
For some, paying bills is proving ever more difficult, as financially vulnerable individuals find themselves having to make choices of which bills to pay—and how much of their income to commit. And that community is growing exponentially. According to the FCA, more than half of UK adults can now be classified as financially vulnerable.
Request to Pay solutions implemented by Answer Pay equip banks and payment service providers to do a better job of supporting the financially vulnerable and underbanked.
To bring these services to market, Answer Pay is working with industry partners, like IBM, OneBanks, and The Money Carer Foundation.
Advantages to both bill payers and billing companies
An alternative to cash, cheques and direct debit methods, the Request to Pay solution implemented by Answer Pay brings bill payments into the digital age—for consumers and small businesses it’s fast, convenient, and offers payers a two-way dialogue with billing providers. It equips banking service providers with the ability to enhance their mobile apps, provide the means to bring together bills on a single page for payers, to allow them to perform secure payments direct from their apps. For underbanked communities that lack access to the digital banking services others take for granted, Request to Pay is life changing.
Growing up in Leeds
Peter Cornforth is the Commercial Director of Answer Pay. He thinks launching in Leeds has been beneficial. He says:
“We work with other tech companies in Leeds, so we know how rich the City is for talent, and how thriving the FinTech scene has become. What we weren’t expecting was the positive influence of the vibrant local business network. Having local business leaders, prospect companies, local press, supportive advisory organizations—and more—has really helped. Were we to revisit the decision on where to startup, we’d have no hesitation in making the same choice.”