Zempler Bank joins CASS

The Current Account Switch Service (CASS), which is owned and operated by the UK’s leading payments authority Pay.UK, has welcomed Zempler Bank, the microbusinesses focused digital bank, to the Service. 

Zempler Bank becomes the 54th participating financial institution to join the Service, which offers UK consumers a simple, reliable, and stress-free means of switching banking provider. 

Zempler Bank offers current accounts and credit products for small businesses, start-ups, sole traders and consumers with a focus on easy-to-access, simple-to-use digital products and high-quality service delivered by an in-house, UK based team. The company also works with Money Carer, the leading social enterprise providing money management services for vulnerable adults, as the banking partner for Money Carer’s proprietary banking and payments platform, Monika.

Monika provides bank accounts for deputies, appointees and attorneys that reduce administrative costs and include features like a prepaid Mastercard for personal budgeting or carer shopping; the ability to send emergency payment vouchers; and missed welfare benefit payment alerts. Money Carer will also soon be launching a biometric fingerprint-activated payment card which will remove the need for a PIN number and help to promote financial inclusion for vulnerable people.

By joining the CASS service, Zempler will be able to offer fast, convenient switching to businesses looking for a new banking provider and enable easier switching to the Monika platform for vulnerable adults using Money Carer’s services.

The Current Account Switch Service has facilitated over 11 million current account switches to date, while 156.2 million payments have been successfully redirected. In Q3 2024, 99.8% of switches were completed within 7 working days and customer satisfaction averaged 92%. 

The service continues to play a key role in supporting CASS’ original purpose to increase competition in the current account market and making the process of switching current accounts easier.

John Dentry, Product Owner at Pay.UK, owner and operator of the Current Account Switch Service, said:

“This is an exciting partnership for CASS, demonstrating how the Service provides the catalyst for consumers, and their support system, to ensure their Current Account best suits their needs. 

“It’s great to see the Service continuing to onboard new providers who can now offer a quick, free, and guaranteed way of switching current accounts. Welcoming Zempler Bank to the service will enable greater competition and choice for small businesses, sole traders and start-ups and remove barriers to financial security for vulnerable adults through the partnership with Money Carer. 

Nick Biggam, Commercial Director at Zempler Bank said:

“We are delighted to offer UK microbusinesses, who remain poorly served by high street banks, a faster and easier way to switch to an established digital bank with products developed specifically to meet their needs. 

We have partnered with Money Carer for over 10 years and the added ease and convenience that CASS offers for the vulnerable adults they serve is another major benefit of joining the service.” 

Sean Tyrer, CEO of Money Carer, said:

“Having access to CASS will greatly assist us in our key goal of supporting vulnerable people with their everyday money management needs.”

Often, time is of the essence when putting in place financial safeguarding measures for clients, and CASS will now form an important and pragmatic tool to achieve protective outcomes much more quickly.”

MCF CASE STUDY 

Money Carer was initially appointed for the client in August 2024.  As he had a private bank account with a large balance in the account, he was eligible to make a contribution towards the cost of his care.

The client has the capacity to make decisions about his money but is severely physically disabled and unable to visit his high street bank to arrange payments; this had left him without access to funds for 18 months and unable to contribute towards his care costs with a debt accruing with the care provider every month. This was a cause of anxiety for the client.

Once Zempler’s integration with the Current Account Switch Service was launched, we liaised with the care home manager and the client to obtain their consent to use CASS to resolve the problem.

On the seventh working day after making the current account switch request, our client's entire balance was moved to his new bank account, which was opened with Zempler Bank via our banking platform, Monika.

We were then able to quickly settle our client's outstanding bill and set up regular payments to the care provider.

Our client now has peace of mind, and we have arranged for the care home to use our carer card solution so they can access a small amount of our client's funds to buy him various items when he requests them.

The Current Account Switch Service acted as a catalyst to provide the financial support that our client needed quickly and without any unnecessary administrative burdens.

-ENDS-

For further information, contact [email protected]

Zempler Bank was formerly known as Cashplus Bank and rebranded on 9th July 2024. Zempler is a leading microbusiness-focused challenger bank with a track record of digital innovation, dedicated customer service and strong financial performance. The company was granted a UK bank licence in February 2021. Zempler offers simple, smart digital banking services for the entrepreneurs, independent businesses and hard-working consumers that power the UK economy yet are too often overlooked by high street banks. Zempler has opened more than 2.2m accounts to help customers to pay, bank and borrow through a user-friendly digital platform, delivered a string of fintech firsts, and built a resilient, growing business providing more than 350 jobs in the UK with locations in London and Liverpool.

About the Current Account Switch Service

Key features of the Current Account Switch Service include:

• The service is free to use
• The switch will be completed in seven working days
• The end user can choose and agree the switch date with their new current account provider
• All payments going out (e.g. Direct Debits) and those coming in (e.g. salary) will be moved from the old account to the new account
• Payments accidentally made to or requested from the old account will be automatically redirected to the new account for as long as the facility is required
• The Current Account Switch Guarantee means that the end user will receive a refund of interest and charges on their old and new current accounts if anything goes wrong with the switch
• End users can switch if they are overdrawn but they will need to agree any overdraft facilities required with their new bank or building society

About Pay.UK

Pay.UK maintains and develops the UK retail payment systems and standards that are core to the UK economy being able to function on a day-to-day basis.  Our vision is to enable a vibrant economy, with Pay.UK delivering best-in-class payment infrastructure and standards for the benefit of consumers and businesses nationwide.

From Bacs Payments to Faster Payments and Cheque Payments – we act as the single operator for all UK retail payments.  We put the needs of consumers and businesses at the heart of everything we do, working in the public interest to ensure that the payments systems the country relies on for its banking transactions are safe, open, innovative and resilient.

Every day, individuals and businesses use the services we provide to get their salaries, pay their bills and make online and mobile banking payments.

Find out more on our website: wearepay.uk or get more detail on the systems we manage: bacs.co.uk, chequeandcredit.co.uk, fasterpayments.org.uk.

Media Contacts

Alex Moorhouse
Corporate Affairs Director, Zempler Bank
[email protected]  / +44(0)7834 780 299

Adam Taylor
H/Advisors Cicero
[email protected] / +44(0)7745390903