Fintech Coalition Builds Open Banking Tool to Verify Self-Employed Income Loss
A group of UK fintech companies quickly develops a cloud-based tool called Covid Credit to help self-employed workers prove income loss using open banking data. The application aims to support relief claims but still awaits official government approval.
A coalition of UK fintech companies creates a cloud-based tool called Covid Credit to help self-employed individuals prove their income loss during the coronavirus pandemic. By leveraging open banking technology, the service securely accesses a user's bank transactions to verify their historical earnings over the past 12 months.
The development team, which includes professionals from Credit Kudos, 11:FS, Coconut, Capital on Tap, and TrueLayer, builds the working proof of concept in just 48 hours. This rapid development allows sole traders to self-certify their lost income by directly connecting their bank accounts to the system.
The tool currently lacks official government approval, but it aims to support claims submitted to HM Revenue and Customs. This initiative emerges as millions of self-employed UK workers face significant uncertainty regarding their eligibility for the government's wage subsidy programs amid the ongoing health crisis.