<em><strong>Published by Atom Bank</strong></em>

<em><strong>5th April 2019</strong></em>
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You might remember us announcing a partnership with leading fintech <a href="https://www.atombank.co.uk/newsroom/digital-disruptor-atom-bank-partners-with-thought-machine/">Thought Machine.</a>

Since then we’ve been doing a lot of legwork behind the scenes building products, plugging Thought Machine into other systems - including the UK’s payments network - and testing the results. Having proven to ourselves that it works and that the anticipated customer benefits are real, we can now announce that we’ve signed a multi-year contract with them.

This means that we will be launching our next generation of personal and business banking products that make use of Thought Machine’s Vault platform.
<h3>Vault and what it means for Atom</h3>
All banks need some form of platform to record and manage customer transactions and payments. Vault is Thought Machine’s version of this platform.

We’re introducing Vault because…well because it’s a game changer. It’s quick, it’s agile and - unlike other banking systems - it can be configured and re-configured by our in-house team super quickly. In other words, it’s exactly what we need to keep innovating and pushing for change in the banking industry.
<h3>To get technical for a minute…</h3>
Banking is, or has been historically, reactive rather than innovative. Take the rise of mobile banking as an example - major banks created mobile apps only when customers were clamouring for them, and not a moment before. That might all be about to change as a result of platforms like Vault.

In most banks it takes months, and sometimes years, to implement changes, because of their legacy structure. Vault’s unique features will help our team harness customer insights to work more quickly and with more agility to innovate like never before.

Specifically, we’re very excited about Vault’s smart contract system for building products and workflows for bank processes and customer journeys through the app. Writing smart contracts that send instructions to the underlying platform is fast and highly configurable. Most importantly there’s no need to dig deep into the code to make things happen. It’s cutting out the middleman - compare it to calling the operator to make an international call back in the day versus calling direct using your mobile phone.

To demo the Vault platform, Thought Machine have a lab that puts their own designs and ideas into action. Check out <a href="https://nestlings.io/">https://nestlings.io</a> for a great example of how Vault has the ability to change the face of saving with avatars that reflect the state of your finances and save towards your holiday funds when it rains.
<h3>We’ve got some exciting stuff lined up</h3>
We’re building a couple of new products using Thought Machine’s system, and we’re currently moving towards testing these and launching them in Beta. These are really exciting times and it’s full steam ahead at Atom HQ as we use Thought Machine to bring you the world’s best customer experience on, in our opinion, the world’s best banking platform.

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Atom seals the deal with Thought Machine - here's what to expect

<em><strong>Published by Atom Bank</strong></em>

5th March 2019

What do you value when interacting with your bank?

This question is central to our thinking here at Atom. We obsess over it. It’s pretty much the reason we exist - because what’s the point in revolutionising how people bank if you’re only going to offer a clunky, frustrating alternative to the status quo?

We invited the consultancy Clear to Atom HQ to share their recent research into what people really value when engaging with financial services brands. The top ten experience must-haves were:
<ol>
 	<li>Be easy to deal with</li>
 	<li>Keep customers’ data secure</li>
 	<li>Have quick and simple processes</li>
 	<li>Solve problems quickly and efficiently when they arise</li>
 	<li>Be reliable</li>
 	<li>Make it easy to speak to a real person when help is needed</li>
 	<li>Be fair</li>
 	<li>Reward loyal customers</li>
 	<li>Allow customers to manage their money any time, anywhere</li>
 	<li>Share information in a straightforward and transparent way</li>
</ol>
Here’s what we’re doing to meet the first three of these must-haves. Do we succeed? That’s for you to decide - but you can check out our Trustpilot reviews <a href="https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/atombank.co.uk">here</a> or head to our homepage and view the unfiltered review feed from there.
<h3>1. A bank should be easy to deal with</h3>
As an app-based bank, we’re always easy to reach, quite literally - except perhaps in those ‘oh god I’ve put my phone down but I don’t know where and it’s on silent’ situations.

We want to go further than that. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone, which is why we offer 24/7 support via in-app chat, phone or email. So if you’ve got a burning question about your mortgage application at 4am (it happens), our UK-based customer support team is just a couple of taps away.

Whenever anyone gets in contact with difficulties they have using the app, we address these issues immediately…but we also use this as a learning point. We make constant improvements to the app based on customer feedback and user testing, so any recurrent issues get addressed.

We also have an award-winning ‘voice of the customer’ programme, so that we can really get to grips with customer needs and make changes to the app to meet these. This places our customers at the centre of how and why we do business, and won us a silver at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (which we’re pretty proud of).
<h3>2. A bank should keep customer’s data secure</h3>
Whilst you have to have your device security turned on to access our app, adding a second layer of credentials to be able to login really ramps up the protection - you can read more about this <a href="https://www.atombank.co.uk/blog/2015/11/why-is-atom-using-biometrics">here.</a>

Naturally, you want your data, your account and your money to be safe from hackers, fraudsters and various other internet bad guys - so to keep our security ship shape, we constantly monitor all the latest mobile security threats, and update our processes accordingly.

Passwords are one way of protecting your account, but they come with a couple of disadvantages. Strong passwords that aren’t easy to guess can be hard to remember (which can be an issue if you’re logging back into our app after 5 years to withdraw your matured funds), and weak, easy-to-guess passwords are…well, weak and easy to guess.

That’s why we were the first UK bank to pioneer the use of biometric login methods. Our app does offer the option to login using a 6-digit Passcode, but you can also choose to login simply by blinking or saying a certain phrase out loud. As your face and voice are unique to you (even if you’re an identical twin), this increases your security further.
<h3>3. A bank should have quick and simple processes</h3>
This is a big ask for a bank because of all the regulation we need to comply with

Still, we love a challenge. We’re constantly smoothing out both our internal processes and our app experience so that everything is as intuitive as possible. We’ve processed a mortgage application through to offer in 14 seconds before, and we’d love to get to the point where this is the norm.

People tend to find that they can open one of our Fixed Saver accounts in less than 10 minutes, which is a big improvement on what’s currently out there. Still, the quicker the better, and there are plenty of other in-app processes we can improve in the meantime.

Most recently, we’ve launched a big update to improve how users add a new device to their account, manage their interest preferences and tell us what they want to do with their money when their account matures. Will this have made all these things a bit easier? We hope and think so - and we’ll be monitoring feedback in these areas to keep check.

What do you think? Join the discussion by mentioning @atombank on Twitter or visiting our Instagram story at <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/atom.bank/">https://www.instagram.com/stories/atom.bank/</a>.

Three things you need from your digital bank

<p>Voted KPMG’s Most Innovative Fintech in the UK, and 8th on the planet, as well as being one of Marketing Week’s 100 Disruptive Brands, we’re the UK’s first bank built exclusively for mobile. We’re redefining what a bank should be, making things straightforward, personal and great value. With no branches, we’re packing an entire bank into our app.</p>
<p><strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For our customers</span></strong></p>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’ve built a bank you’ll want to be a part of. It puts your needs first and keeps things super-simple and secure.</p>
<p><strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For the greater good</span></strong></p>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’re nothing without the community we call home, so we’re determined to give back through our partnerships with the Prince’s Trust and local organisations.</p>
<p><strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For a better way</span></strong></p>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’re using technology to create real value for customers and investors. A bank with automation and data at its heart.</p>


Atom Bank

Voted KPMG’s Most Innovative Fintech in the UK, and 8th on the planet, as well as being one of Marketing Week’s 100 Disruptive Brands, we’re the UK’s first bank built exclusively for mobile. We’re redefining what a bank should be, making things straightforward, personal and great value. With no branches, we’re packing an entire bank into our app.

<strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For our customers</span></strong>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’ve built a bank you’ll want to be a part of. It puts your needs first and keeps things super-simple and secure.</p>
<strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For the greater good</span></strong>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’re nothing without the community we call home, so we’re determined to give back through our partnerships with the Prince’s Trust and local organisations.</p>
<strong><span class="sc-cmjSyW kaOZoR">For a better way</span></strong>
<p class="sc-sdtwF dcOjJE">We’re using technology to create real value for customers and investors. A bank with automation and data at its heart.</p>

CFO, Atom Bank

<p>David is a Board and Executive Committee member, co-founding Atom in April 2014. Responsible for Finance, Treasury and Analytics, he has 25 years banking experience across senior roles in finance, treasury and risk management. David began his career at Deloitte where he specialised in financial services audit and qualified as a chartered accountant. He subsequently also qualified as a Corporate Treasurer. David has held senior roles in Bristol &amp; West, Bank of Ireland and Britannia Building Society. David has also held a number of NED and trustee roles.</p>


David McCarthy

CEO, Atom Bank

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mark is a career marketer and banker with more than 30 years of experience working in financial services, including spells in consumer finance, asset finance and leasing and retail banking.  He was the Head of Marketing for HSBC in the UK and thereafter Regional Head of Marketing for HSBC MENA.  He was also CMO at first direct, the UK’s leading direct bank, before taking over as CEO in 2011.  He resigned from first direct in 2014 to co-found Atom Bank plc.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mark was educated in Ireland, has a degree in history at Trinity College Dublin and an MBA from Warwick Business School and he’s a member of the Technology Strategy Group with Innovate Finance.</span></p>
