Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Carbon emissions
• Responsible procurement
• Nurturing our talent
• Employee engagement, diversity and inclusion
• Protecting our customers
• Transparent practices
• Privacy and data security
• Governance
• Business ethics
• Risk management
• Disciplined business strategy

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced office size
• Incentivising employee use of green modes of transport
• Switching to renewable energy providers
• Targeting ‘paper-free’ offices by 2023

Social Achievements

• Established “Inclusive Network”,
• “Own The Outcome” Awards
• Employee engagement survey
• Project21 - Socio-economic initiative to give school children in Stratford work experience in FinTech

Governance Achievements

• Adoption of and compliance with the Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code
• Ongoing training to raise awareness and understanding of Employee Handbook and Code of Conduct

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic impacting B2B and B2C trading
• Demise of Wirecard affecting card issuance
• High staff cost inflation in London

Mitigation Strategies

• Implemented business continuity plan and remote working
• Accelerated restructuring and cost reduction
• Developed new multi-currency card platform
• Migrated entire B2C customer base to new platform
• Relocating roles to Chester

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Data protection checks
• In-depth assessment for core service providers
• Inclusion in Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Procedure
• Due diligence questionnaire for new suppliers including environmental impact and green accreditations

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Quoted Companies Alliance Corporate Governance Code

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Survey carried out and gold-standard carbon offsets acquired for employee emissions (Scope 1)
• Project kicked off to calculate Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions, to be offset in 2022
• Company cars are hybrid or battery-only
• Donated retired or unwanted hardware to be re-used

Social Achievements

• New Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) strategy formed
• Flexible working practices
• Share investment schemes (SIPs) for employees
• Menopause assistance programme launched
• Increased focus on women in leadership, with 45% of SLT now female (2019: 22%)
• Expanded mental health support
• Ongoing initiative to offer work experience to young people in underserved communities
• Support a large number of charities and community-led companies for free

Governance Achievements

• Follow FCA guidelines for awareness of customer vulnerability and treating customers fairly
• Two-factor authentication used for all systems containing customer data
• Additional Board member
• Regular Trading Updates (eight in 2021) and shareholder dialogue
• Risk committees for each operating subsidiary
• Dedicated compliance team and frequent training
• Membership of industry networks

Climate Goals & Targets

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Changed energy provider to 100% renewable sources in Chester office (cost saving)
• Paper-free initiative reducing paper usage
• Partnership with Wales Recycles for device donation to schools and community
• Employee carbon footprint offsetting

Social Achievements

• Ex-gratia bonus schemes to help employees with cost of living (two awards in 2022)
• All-employee Share Incentive Plans (grants in 2021 and 2022)
• Key-employee LTIP program
• Employee referral program
• Flexible working, visa sponsorship, mental health support, healthcare and life assurance schemes
• Improved recruitment practices with EDI statement in job advertisements
• Robust customer complaints process, Treating Customer Fairly policy and training
• Centralized customer identity management system

Governance Achievements

• Strengthened internal governance and conduct policy
• Improved feedback loops and internal knowledge sharing
• Progress towards ISO 27001 certification
• Targeted phishing campaigns for employee cybersecurity awareness
• Annual security awareness training for all employees

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Uncertain and volatile economic conditions
• Increased focus from regulators and banks on AML and compliance standards
• Competition from incumbent banks and fintech disruptors
• Potential for business disruption from key person absence or failure of key suppliers
• Macroeconomic environment risks
• Outdated technology leading to development delays
• Liquidity risks
• Regulatory compliance challenges
• Potential for data breaches

Mitigation Strategies

• Robust platform with international and domestic payments, card payments, and banking services
• Investment in compliance, onboarding, and user experience
• Investment in compliance headcount and technology (Featurespace)
• Investment in platform, connectivity, and payment rails
• Overlapping skills between executives, exploration of key-man cover for CEO
• Regular review of supplier performance and alternative sourcing
• Monitoring key performance indicators, cost controls
• Re-platforming tech stacks, migration to cloud (AWS)
• Weekly reporting of cash movements, regular cash flow forecasts
• Review and update of Group policies and procedures, annual regulatory audits, annual staff training
• Regular Board and Committee meetings
• Two-factor authentication for systems containing customer data
• Use of remote sessions for employees using personal devices for work

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Annual review of significant suppliers

Responsible Procurement

• Due diligence questionnaire for new suppliers
• ESG criteria incorporated into due diligence

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: QCA Code

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Changed energy provider in Chester office to 100% renewable sources in 2021, resulting in cost savings.
• Implemented paper-free initiative in 2020.
• Donated unused devices to local schools and underprivileged communities.
• Offset total employee carbon footprint (1,574 tonnes in 2023).

Social Achievements

• Implemented All-employee Share Incentive Plans (2021, 2022, 2023).
• Launched key-employee LTIP program.
• Introduced flexible working, visa sponsorship, mental health support, healthcare, and life assurance schemes.
• Improved customer complaint resolution (100% closed, over 99% within 35 business days in 2023).
• Achieved 'Excellent' Trustpilot ratings for FairFX and Equals Connect.

Governance Achievements

• Obtained ISO/IEC 27001 certification in 2023.
• Strengthened internal governance and compliance framework.
• Implemented a conduct policy and wider conduct framework in 2022.
• Improved feedback loops and internal knowledge sharing.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Uncertain and volatile economic conditions.
• Increased compliance burden.
• Competition in the global payments market.
• Potential for operational risks (daylight exposure).

Mitigation Strategies

• Robust platforms and skilled staff.
• Investment in finance, operations, compliance, and risk functions.
• Minimising risks through liquidity provider matching and deposit/mark-to-market policies.
• Group-wide compliance culture and investment in compliance technology (Featurespace).
• Product development with focus on internal operational efficiency and superior customer UX.
• Strong governance over engineering and IT processes (monthly Security Council).

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Annual review of significant suppliers

Responsible Procurement

• ESG criteria incorporated into due diligence procedure (2021).

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: QCA Code

Certifications: ISO/IEC 27001

Awards & Recognition

• Small Cap Awards 2023: Technology Company of the Year