Pepper Advantage announces strategic investment in Thirdfort

• Pepper Advantage participates in fund-raising for risk management platform Thirdfort
  
  
• Pepper Advantage will incorporate Thirdfort’s digital identification, anti-money laundering (AML) and Source-of-Funds (SoF) verification into its proprietary global credit management platform
  
  
• The investment is part of a strategic partnership to tackle the growing challenge of fraud prevention, with money laundering now costing the UK economy more than £100bn annually, and the cost of payment scams and impersonation fraud rising by 30% and 120% respectively year-on-year^[1]

London, 6 September 2022 – Pepper Advantage, a global credit intelligence company, today announced a strategic investment in Thirdfort, a risk management platform combining Know Your Client (KYC), AML, and SoF verification. Pepper Advantage will initially offer Thirdfort’s one-stop solution for comprehensive AML to its UK mortgage origination clients, before integrating it into its global credit management platform.

Thirdfort’s platform combines digital ID, AML and SoF verification, alongside Open Banking and transaction specific data. It informs regulated professionals of risks with onboarding both individuals and corporates, enabling them to begin transacting with new clients more quickly. Thirdfort is currently used by more than 850 regulated professional services firms including estate agents, law firms and conveyancers among others.

Pepper Advantage and Thirdfort are scoping a UK-specific pilot ahead of the planned integration in Pepper Advantage’s credit management platform. Pepper Advantage’s investment in Thirdfort reflects the growing importance of AML, KYC, and other fraud prevention management to its client base and will accelerate and enhance the company’s product offering. Credit management platforms will take on an increasingly leading role in fraud prevention efforts in the UK and globally, and Pepper Advantage is evaluating opportunities to expand Thirdfort’s technology into different uses and markets as part of its broader program of digital transformation.

Fraser Gemmell, Chief Executive Officer, Pepper Advantage said, “We are excited to join forces with Thirdfort at the forefront of the changing face of credit management. The use of open banking will bring technological advancements to a sector in which they have been sorely lacking, while the surge of fraud necessitates AML innovation. We will look to integrate this technology directly into our new proprietary, cloud-based, modular credit management platform. This partnership will accelerate our transition into a technologically-driven credit intelligence company.”

Olly Thornton-Berry, Co-founder and Managing Director, Thirdfort said, “As the risk of fraud and money laundering is ever-increasing in mortgage lending, credit management professionals face new challenges. They must navigate rapidly escalating KYC and AML regulations while continuing to provide a seamless customer service. This requires a comprehensive solution. Pepper Advantage is a leading global credit intelligence provider, so its investment and partnership is a significant endorsement in Thirdfort and the benefit our platform offers regulated professionals. We’re looking forward to working with Pepper Advantage and helping bring the latest KYC, AML and SoF technology into the sector to reduce the regulatory burden for credit professionals.”

¹Transparency International, https://www.transparency.org.uk/publications/at-your-service/; UK Finance, https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/press/press-releases/government-coordinated-action-needed-fraud-losses-rise-30-cent; UK Finance, https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/press/press-releases/public-warned-surge-impersonation-scams-cases-more-double. 

About Thirdfort 

• Thirdfort protects life’s big transactions so that businesses and their clients can move fearlessly.
  
  
• With payment fraud and money laundering skyrocketing, regulated professionals are struggling to keep pace with their compliance obligations. Thirdfort turns compliance into a competitive advantage, offering beautifully secure onboarding for professional services businesses operating across legal, property and finance. 
   
• Thirdfort was founded by university friends Olly Thornton-Berry and Jack Bidgood after a friend was defrauded out of £25,000 whilst buying a flat in London, despite having gone through countless anti-fraud checks with multiple professionals. Olly and Jack saw first-hand the devastating effects of fraud, and the cruel irony of their friend being subjected to endless paper based anti-fraud checks which were hugely frustrating. Thirdfort’s platform was developed in response to hearing from lawyers, estate agents, mortgage brokers and other professionals about how challenging it had become to onboard and transact securely with clients in a world of ever rising regulation and fraud.

For all media queries please contact
Eterna Partners
PepperAdvantage@eternapartners.com
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