From pioneering TeleCity to driving innovation at AccessPay, Anish Kapoor shares his journey, insights on fraud prevention, and the future of banking integration.
Anish, could you share some insights into your journey from founding TeleCity to leading AccessPay, and what inspired your move into financial technology?
My journey from founding TeleCity to leading AccessPay has been driven by my passion for digital infrastructure and the transformative power of technology. At TeleCity, aged 25, I became one of the youngest serving FTSE 250 directors and led the business to a successful IPO, global expansion, and confirmed its status as Europe’s largest listed data centre operator. Following my tenure at TeleCity, I revived my entrepreneurial pursuits by focusing on VC-backed ventures. During that time, I led many SaaS businesses through series A, B and C funding rounds and raised over $200m through various funding rounds.
These experiences gave me a firsthand insight into how digital services were revolutionising industries, and I recognised a similar shift happening in fintech. For example, just ten years ago, the idea of banks opening up their infrastructures seemed improbable as they were highly resistant to third parties. But today, banks actively seek out partnerships with fintech companies. It was a shift I anticipated which is why I was so keen to position AccessPay at the forefront of this evolution.
How has the rise of Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud influenced current strategies and priorities for Payment Service Providers?
The drive toward instant payments across various jurisdictions has been widespread, with payment schemes across the world striving to eliminate friction from transactions.
However, it’s a shift that delivered unintended consequences in the form of APP fraud. The ease and speed of these transactions made it easier for fraudsters to exploit the system. As a result, more Payment Service Providers (PSPs) are now rethinking their strategies and are focusing on how to reintroduce friction to enhance security and protect consumers.
What are the new reimbursement requirements from the Payments Systems Regulator, and how should firms prepare to implement these changes effectively?
The new reimbursement requirements mandate that if a customer is defrauded or suspects fraud, the sending PSP must refund them within seven days. The sending PSP can then claim up to 50% of the loss from the receiving PSP. While this policy boosts consumer confidence by removing the worry of being defrauded, it raises questions about fairness and the measures PSPs must take to avoid penalties.
To prepare, firms should focus on adding more friction at the beginning of the payment process—such as enhanced warnings and real-time checks. For example, users could be asked if they are sure about a transaction or post-payment checks could be conducted to detect anomalies. Implementing such strategies will help PSPs protect both themselves and their customers.
How have recent corporate governance reforms, such as UK SOx, affected operational resilience and control cultures within large companies?
Governance reforms like UK SOx have been a wake-up call for large organisations and auditors alike. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made it clear that it will hold directors and auditors accountable if they fail to ensure robust operational resilience, particularly in areas like fraud prevention.
It’s a warning that has not gone unheeded and has led to a significant increase in efforts to strengthen controls and processes, ensuring that companies are better prepared to manage risks.
Can you explain how generative AI is expected to transform finance, particularly in optimising payment workflows?
For now, at least, generative AI has a limited role in payment initiation, as it relies on predictive algorithms that aren’t suitable for the precision required in financial transactions. Ultimately, there’s no room for guesswork when it comes to payments.
However, generative AI can be valuable in other areas of finance, such as analysing data or creating initial drafts for human review. At AccessPay, we use AI for tasks like detecting customer behaviour patterns, but we don’t use generative AI for critical payment processes.
What are some real-world examples where generative AI has been tested or implemented in finance, and what results have emerged from these initiatives?
We’ve seen generative AI tested in practical finance applications, such as generating cash flow forecasts and suggesting payment runs based on available data. While it can handle such tasks, it still requires human oversight to ensure accuracy.
Another example is using AI to analyse financial accounts and identify patterns in metrics like EBITDA. While these implementations show potential, the technology is still evolving and hasn’t yet delivered what I would describe as transformative results.
With the transition to ISO 20022 well underway, why is it critical for global payment systems to update their infrastructure, and what challenges might organisations face during this transition?
One of the biggest challenges with ISO 20022 is that it’s a flexible framework rather than a single format, meaning each bank implements it differently. Organisations must therefore account for varying bank requirements when migrating, as each bank’s IT setup is unique with processes that demand specific data formats. Missteps in data placement can lead to transaction failures, so it’s crucial for organisations to understand the exact data needs of their banking partners to ensure smooth processing and compliance.
ISO 20022 also involves handling larger and more complex payment messages, making it a vital transition for global payment systems to get right. If payments systems are to meet the growing demand for instant payments, they need to process these messages quickly. For organisations, the challenge lies in incorporating the necessary data into these messages. Many don’t have access to essential structured data, such as purpose of payment codes. And, as banks are constantly updating their own systems, the solutions available today will likely need to be adjusted as the transition progresses.
How does AccessPay approach the challenge of corporate ISO 20022 readiness, and what steps are being taken to ensure a smooth transition?
At AccessPay, we’re addressing the challenge of corporate ISO 20022 readiness proactively by already helping organisations send ISO-compliant messaging to their banks. We’ve also upgraded our systems to store and process the necessary data if our clients’ systems can’t.
To ensure we always send the correct information on behalf of our clients we remain in constant communication with banks regarding their system changes. It’s a necessary undertaking if we’re to help insulate our customers from the transition’s complexities.
However, each organisation must understand which additional data to collect, store, and provide when making and structuring payments. The different timelines for the various data points and jurisdictions adds to this complexity. Although it can be tempting to stagger the implementations for each new data point, we recommend tacking all updates simultaneously to streamline the process.
In what ways does AccessPay’s customer-centric approach drive its innovations and solutions in the banking integration space?
Our customer-centric approach is at the core of everything we do at AccessPay. We pride ourselves on being one of the few vendors that constantly engage with organisations to understand the challenges they face in connecting their systems to banks.
Maintaining ongoing dialogue with both our customers and the banks means we can tailor our innovations and solutions to directly address the real-world issues our clients encounter.
What are the key growth areas and strategic goals for AccessPay, and how do you plan to continue driving the company’s success?
At AccessPay, we believe we’ve only just scratched the surface of our potential. Despite being one of the largest providers of banking integration globally, we currently serve less than 1% of the market. In short, there are compelling growth opportunities ahead and we hope to capitalise on them by expanding our presence, particularly in North America.
In the end, it comes down to our people, though. While we’re a tech company, our people remain our greatest resource, and we’re committed to creating a great culture with talented individuals who are empowered to thrive.
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