Digital Pound Proposals To Bridge Mainstream And FinTech Sectors

Welcome to a new week, with yet more news on the ever-changing Fintech sector. Although there’s a major announcement of investment in Fintech by Goldman Sachs, we think the most significant story of the day is the announcement on  central bank digital currency (CBDC) from the Chancellor.

Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak announced today the launch of new fintech taskforce to “coordinate exploratory work on a potential central bank digital currency,” led by the UK Treasury and Bank of England and established as part of the UK Government’s response to the Kalifa Review.

Responding to Sunak’s announcement, the Bank of England has set up a dedicated CBDC unit overseen by deputy governor Jon Cunliffe, to explore the creation of a digital pound, and set up two stakeholder forums on CBDC engagement and technology.

Speaking at Innovate Finance Global Summit, Sunak also highlights that the Bank of England has published a new account policy, allowing new and innovative financial market infrastructure propositions. Under the new model, an operator of a payment system can hold funds in the omnibus account to fund their participants’ balances with central bank money.

Fnality, the private-sector stablecoin initiative supported by 15 major banks, has already announced is intention to apply for an omnibus account.

John Whelan, MD – digital investment bank & innovation, at Fnality stakeholder Banco Santander, says: “It is exciting to see this development from the Bank of England supporting the opportunity to use tokenised cash assets on next generation payment systems, enabling on-chain wholesale exchange of value.”

Alongside this, the chancellor promises a new financial market infrastructure sandbox for firms “innovating with new technologies like distributed ledger technologies.

The UK Government also intend on consulting this summer on reforms to capital markets, such as removing double volume cap and share trading obligation, which will ensure that the UK “continues to have the highest possible regulatory standards, whilst improving our competitiveness, supporting economic growth, and making sure the rulebook is fair and proportionate.

Loan Offers Latest

  • The loan offer from Mar-Key Group has an A-rating and an annual rate of interest of 7 per cent.  The term of the loan is 24 months. The offer is currently 84 per cent filled.
  • The loan from We Buy Any Home has an A+ rating and an annual rate of interest of 7 per cent.  The term of the loan is 36 months. The offer is currently 16 per cent filled.

Historical Performance And IFISA Process Guide

  • Money&Co. lenders have achieved an average return of more than 8 per cent gross (before we deduct our one per cent fee). 

That figure is the result of over £20 million of loans facilitated on the site, as we bring individuals looking for a good return on capital together with carefully vetted small companies seeking funds for growth. Bear in mind that lenders’ capital is at risk. Read warnings on site before committing capital.

  • Money&Co. has been lending for over 5 years and has only had two bad debts so far, representing a bad debt rate of 0.03 per cent per annum.

All loans on site are eligible to be held in a Money&Co. Innovative Finance Individual Savings Account (IFISA), up to the annual ISA limit of £20,000. Such loans offer lenders tax-free income. Our offering is an Innovative Finance ISA (IFISA) that can hold the peer-to-peer (P2P) business loans that Money&Co. facilitates. For the purposes of this article, the terms ISA and IFISA are interchangeable.

So here’s our guide to the process:

  • Step 1: Register as a lender. Go to the login page, and go through the process that the law requires us to effect. This means we have to do basic checks on you to comply with money-laundering and other security requirements.
  • Step 2: Put money into your account. This is best done by electronic transfer. We can also process paper cheques drawn in favour of Denmark Square Limited, the parent company of Money&Co.
  • Step 3: Buy loans in the loan market. Once you’ve put cash in your account it will sit there – and it won’t earn interest until you’ve bought a piece of a loan. It’s this final step that requires lenders and IFISA investors to be pro-active. Just choose some loans – all loans on the Money&Co. site can be held in an IFISA – and your money will start earning tax-free interest.

The ISA allowance for 2020/21 is unchanged from last tax year at £20,000, allowing a married couple to put £40,000 into a tax-free environment. Over three years, an investment of this scale in two Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISAs would generate £8,400 of income completely free of tax. We’re assuming a 7 per cent return, net of charges and free of tax here.

Once you have made your initial commitment, you might then consider diversifying – buying a spread of loans. To do this, you can go into the “loans for sale” market. All loans bought in this market also qualify for IFISA tax benefits.

Risk: Security, Access, Yield

Do consider not just the return, but the security and the ease of access to your investment. We write regularly about these three key factors. Here’s one of several earlier articles on security, access and yield.



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Disclaimer: Money&Co.™ is the trading name of Denmark Square Limited, Company Number 08561817, registered in England & Wales, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The company is identified on the Financial Services Register under Reference Number 727325. The registered office is 58 Glentham Road, Barnes, London, SW13 9JJ where the register of Directors may be inspected. Denmark Square Limited (ISA manager reference number Z1932) manages the Money&Co. Innovative Finance ISA.