HES FinTech expands UK payments deal with Acquired

HES FinTech and Acquired have expanded their partnership in the UK, adding more payment options to HES FinTech's lending and collections products.

Under the expanded arrangement, lenders using HES LoanBox and HES CollectionAgent can access card processing, open banking, Variable Recurring Payments, direct debit and instant payouts through a single integration.

The move builds on an existing relationship between the two companies and focuses on payment collection and disbursement for lenders and debt collection operations. The added payment rails will sit within the same workflows clients already use for lending and recovery processes.

UK focus

The partnership centres on one of HES FinTech's core markets. Founded in 2012, the company provides automated loan management software to banks and financial institutions, covering activities from credit scoring to servicing and recovery.

Its products include the HES LoanBox lending platform, the GiniMachine decisioning tool and the CollectionAgent debt collection software. By expanding the payment methods available in LoanBox and CollectionAgent, HES FinTech aims to give lenders more ways to collect repayments and send funds without changing their operating systems.

For Acquired, the deal broadens its reach in financial services and recurring commerce. Founded in 2016, the UK payments infrastructure provider has expanded from card payments to a wider offering that includes cards, open banking, Variable Recurring Payments, direct debit and payouts through a single application programming interface.

Payment rails

The card processing element covers Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay. Acquired said it includes network tokens and richer issuer data.

The direct debit service is BACs-authorised and uses an application programming interface for collection, mandate management and automated collection cycles. Open banking support allows payments to be collected directly from a customer's bank account, with approval given through the customer's banking app.

Variable Recurring Payments, built on open banking, are designed for recurring payments where amounts can vary within agreed limits. The payout element supports Faster Payments, Visa Direct and Mastercard Send, and includes Confirmation of Payee and settlement accounts.

The companies framed the expansion around borrower payment behaviour and collections outcomes. In practice, the broader set of payment rails gives lenders more ways to match repayment channels to customer preferences, while also adding faster payout methods.

Andre Kravchenko outlined the importance of payments to the group's UK business.

"The UK is one of our core markets, and payments are critical to the success of both lending and collections," said Andre Kravchenko, Senior Vice President, HES FinTech.

He added: "Extending our work with Acquired allows our clients to offer borrowers the payment methods that suit them, within the same workflows they already use."

Acquired linked the partnership to arrears management and the availability of suitable payment methods for borrowers. That reflects a wider issue for lenders and collectors, which often need to balance convenience, compliance and cost across different repayment channels.

"A borrower doesn't fall into arrears because they can't pay-mostly, it's because the way they'd naturally pay isn't on offer," said AJ Davison, Head of Partnerships, Acquired.

"Building multiple payment rails into LoanBox means HES FinTech's clients can put the right method in front of each borrower, rather than one method in front of everyone," Davison said.