DirectID began working with LoCTA in April 2020 in a partnership arrangement. DirectID spoke to LoCTA MD, Anne Wilson on her search for an Open Banking provider, why LoCTA selected DirectID as a partner, and what benefits she thinks local authorities will see from working with DirectID.
Who are Locta?
Established in 2006, LoCTA was the first search hub to share and integrate Local Authority and national data sets, creating the broadest and most comprehensive data hub available to the public sector.
Why did you think that an Open Banking solution would be beneficial?
It became clear that an Open Banking solution would be the next logical step for LoCTA to assist local authorities. As a trusted partner to authorities, if Open Banking could be shown to be safe and secure, then it could be utilised by the local authorities.
What benefits will bank data bring to local authorities?
In the first instance, local authorities plan to use DirectID within their collections and recoveries. The benefits of using bank data are that agents can assess outgoings and income, and therefore disposable income without the need to analyse a physical bank statement. This speeds up the collections process and helps to gain buy-in from the customer, who may otherwise be reticent to speak to a collections agent.
Tell us about the relationship between DirectID and LoCTA?
Key for LoCTA was to work with a partner who were conscious of the challenges faced within local authorities, and who would be flexible to their needs. LoCTA chose DirectID over other proposals on the basis that they were able to show the flexibility they required.
The future
LoCTA are firmly of the belief that there are immediate savings to be made within local authorities in their collections and recoveries, and that this will then see them investigate further opportunities for savings. LoCTA and DirectID will be there to support them at every stage of their journey.
