IE Hub Joins Forces with StepChange and C&R Software to Support Consumers in Financial Hardship

A transformational new partnership between industry leaders will deliver an innovative and low-friction approach to empowering consumers in problem debt 

Following the recent partnership announcement between industry leaders C&R Software and IE Hub, the organisations have further advanced their mission to support consumers in financial stress by joining forces with StepChange Debt Charity, the UK’s leading debt advice provider.

This partnership will see IE Hub’s innovative, unique sharing, income and expenditure solution integrated with both C&R Software’s industry-leading solution Debt Manager, and StepChange’s award-winning debt advice and support solutions service. This will be a significant technology enabler for creditors which will allow I&Es to be conducted in Debt Manager, seamless sharing of I&E data with third-party organisations, earlier identification of customers at risk of financial difficulty, and quicker intervention to free debt advice to support these customers. 

As part of a smoother and easier customer journey, following completion of an I&E, customers identified as needing debt advice and support will be seamlessly referred into StepChange along with their completed I&E; delivering better customer outcomes earlier, whilst streamlining creditors’ I&E process and significantly reducing their cost to serve. 

“We’re excited to be working with two industry leaders on a partnership that begins the initial development phases of a significant step forward for us, our clients, and our partners,” said StepChange Chief Executive, Phil Andrew. “Our vision for this partnership is to enable a low-friction customer journey with a seamless transfer of income and expenditure information that we hope will reduce the burden on our clients to repeat lengthy income and expenditure capture in future. This will also enable us to further streamline our online debt advice journey, ensuring debt help is as available and accessible as possible to customers and minimising barriers to engagement with debt advice.”

Personal debt has increased significantly across the UK, and projections indicate more families may struggle in 2022 and beyond. The IE Hub system makes consumer affordability assessment easier, and these new strategic partnerships remove many of the repetitive processes consumers experience today.

“This partnership brings the best out of a unique ecosystem that addresses so many challenges for consumers and creditors today. With the pressures of increased regulation, demands for operational efficiencies, and the cost-of-living challenge on consumers, this partnership is transformational in supporting all these areas,” said Dylan Jones, CEO of IE Hub.

“Our mission is to create humanity at scale”, adds John McMahon, VP of EMEA and APAC Operations at C&R Software. “We achieve this by supporting our clients as they help their customers set up sustainable payment plans that can be easily tailored to meet circumstances that continually change. Credit issuers need a system that utilises a combination of highly configurable technology and human empathy. The goal is to give everyone in this situation a clear path to good financial health.”