New bank service will finally provide price transparency and convenience for sending money abroad

14 November 2006: Banks will soon be able to offer customers a secure, convenient, lower cost way of sending money abroad through a new banking platform developed by Voca, the company which processes more than 90 per cent of UK salaries and 70 per cent of household bills. Banks which adopt the system will be able to help their customers send money securely directly from their bank accounts to more than 40 countries. For the first time customers will be notified of the competitive exchange rate at the time of the transaction leading to greater transparency at the time of transaction. This will particularly benefit migrant workers in the UK, who send an estimated £4 billion home each year .

Voca’s international remittance service will provide customers with the convenience of making transfers from the comfort of their own home through their existing internet and phone banking channels, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In addition, banks will also be able to offer an in-branch service and the ability to make regular payments via standing order.

Voca’s highly secure service will provide customers with peace of mind as transactions can only be completed from within a secure banking environment and will adhere to FSA regulations. Those who make repeat money transfers will not have to continually re-enter recipient details which will be kept on record from previous transactions.

Industry research suggests 45 per cent of ethnic minority recipients of remittances encounter problems relating to inconvenience of location or timing . Voca’s service will revolutionise their experience providing payment options tailored to their needs: direct to bank account, via cheque, cash or stored value card , removing the necessity to complete the cumbersome process of collecting money from a single office.

Phil McCarthy-Clarke, head of innovations at Voca, said: “There is certainly scope for improvement in this multi-billion pound market. Customers are demanding a low cost, more convenient and transparent service to send payments abroad. Our new international remittance service covers all these issues and we believe it is a winning solution for banks and their customers.”

McCarthy-Clarke added: “The introduction of our international remittance service continues Voca’s focus on innovation and technological enhancement for banks. In response to demand for an improved remittance service from both customers and banks, Voca has delivered a solution that will enable banks to improve margins, attract new customers, and target this massively growing market.”