Open platform Raisin is partnering with UK’s leading savings and retirement firm Aviva. The fintech leveraged its Raisin Savings as a Service technology to launch Aviva Save, allowing the pension and investments specialist to enter the cash savings market for the first time in the UK.
The new Aviva Save platform offers 15 million customers in the UK a selection of fixed-term savings accounts with competitive rates. Aviva savers can pick and mix savings offers from a range of banks and manage them all fully digital under one roof on the Aviva Save platform – without paper forms or hassle, and with complete financial growth visibility.
The launch follows The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Report in February outlining that “households have accumulated an excess stock of savings of £125 billion” throughout the pandemic, equating to an average of £5,000 per household. The Bank of England expects this figure “to rise substantially over the first half of 2021”.
“Although we recognize that not everyone will have the luxury of extra cash at this time, those who do will want their money to work as hard as possible,” Roger Marsden, managing director, Retail Savings and Retirement at Aviva said. “Whilst many savers may be frustrated with the low returns they’ve received on their savings during lockdown, the effort involved in moving their money around is often a barrier to them and stops them doing anything at all. This can lead to a general apathy amongst savers to switch, despite there often being more competitive rates available. Aviva Save will address this by offering customers a range of accounts and rates over time, so they can manage their finances and switch between accounts easily.
“Our own research showed that more than half (57 per cent) of people took action in relation to their savings during the last lockdown and, during these uncertain times, they will want to make sure their finances and savings can meet their longer-term goals, as well as their more immediate needs. Lockdown has meant lifestyle and spending habits have changed, and they will continue to change throughout 2021. It is more important than ever that customers take a broader view of their finances and their savings, and shop around for the best option to meet their needs.”
Aviva is the latest investment giant to enter the UK cash savings market through the Raisin Savings as a Service offering, following the launch of Willis Owen and AJ Bell late in 2020.
“The launch of Aviva Save with Raisin’s Savings as a Service represents a significant step toward the future of fintech, bringing embedded finance for the deposits sector mainstream,” Katharina Lueth, VP of Europe for Raisin and chairwoman of Raisin UK said.
“In December, flows into other deposit accounts within the UK savings market rose to £20.9 billion, an increase from an already high £18.4 billion in November. As a result, the Bank of England estimates that there is almost £1.6 trillion in household cash deposits – with a worrying £225 billion sitting in non-interest bearing deposits.
To date, Raisin has brokered 30.5 billion Euros across Europe and has 325,000 customers across 31 European countries on eight platforms.
