I’m sure I speak for most when I say the past few months have been a bit of a blur - particularly for me since joining the incuto team back in August. I’m not alone in that fact either - as I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of new faces, most recently with our new Chief Commercial Officer, Dougal.
It’s testament to how quickly things are changing for us as a company, but also the wider ethical lending sector. In the short time I’ve been here, we’ve partnered with ClearBank to offer real-time Faster Payments, saving our partners time, money, and improving efficiency. Such developments are emblematic of our efforts to tackle the poverty premium, by empowering ethical lenders to flourish. New initiatives seem to be everywhere and the rate of change is apparently gathering pace, whilst still maintaining a focus on the needs of the Credit Unions we are partnering with.
A year ago, nobody would have imagined the changes to the work environment that everyone has had to embrace, and in a way, it’s taught us all we’re much more adaptable than we thought. The move to home working has been challenging, and admittedly isn’t what you would typically associate with starting a new role. Having said this, the incuto team has made every effort to welcome me, and I feel very much part of an organisation that’s making a difference to so many Credit Union members.
It’s also nice to reflect on changes in my own career, and in some ways I’ve come full circle by joining incuto. It’s fair to say I’ve been on both sides of the ethical lending coin, having previously spent time in the more dubious short-term lending industry. I’ve seen first-hand the pitfalls of high-cost, high-risk lending, with little to no emphasis on finding out why customers were unable to make repayments. From being threatened to witnessing repossessions (even of family pets!), I realised pretty soon that it wasn’t the industry for me. I now couldn’t be prouder to be helping Credit Unions and community banks to make a positive difference in so many communities, up and down the UK.
More recently, I was spending lots of time convincing organisations that the way they had historically always operated may not be the best way to go about things anymore. This time, it was in the recycled metals industry, dealing with heavy duty subsea pipes. The idea of improving efficiency and challenging the status quo is something I pride myself in, from short-term lenders, to recycled metals, to ethical finance.
That concept is still the same today, except now I am working to move Credit Unions from their old 'traditional' practices and introduce them to the idea that incuto can be 'the missing link' that can help to modernise, meet the needs and desires of their Members and automate much of the member journey, from application to loan. We can streamline “the button to the door” of the Credit Union’s lending, by improving on existing processes, and introducing new and innovative ways of working.
The French have a phrase that translates roughly to, "the more things change, the more they stay the same" - which I think sums it up. Vastly different industries, but the same need to embrace the idea that just because something is 'the way it has always been done' doesn't mean it is still the best thing to do.
The last two months have taught me so much, and I’m really looking forward to what the future holds. Uncertain times do lay ahead of us, but I’m convinced of the ability of the Credit Union movement to adapt and excel in the future.
Steven Radcliffe,
Business Development Lead