Financial Services

Modernising Payments for a Century-Old Building Society

How Westbourne Building Society partnered with Mossen to deliver a seamless, FCA-compliant payment experience to their 85,000 members

About Westbourne Building Society

Founded in 1923, Westbourne Building Society is a UK mutual society with over 85,000 members and assets under management exceeding £2.8 billion. With 12 branches across the South of England, they provide mortgages, savings accounts, and personal loans to individuals and families.

As a member-owned organisation, Westbourne prides itself on personalised service and community values. When they set out to modernise their digital offering, they needed a payment partner that could match their commitment to trust, security, and member satisfaction.

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Industry
Financial Services
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Headquarters
Bournemouth, UK
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Employees
650+
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Mossen Customer Since
March 2022

Outdated Infrastructure Holding Back Growth

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Fragmented Payment Systems

Westbourne operated three separate payment systems for direct debits, card payments, and faster payments. Manual reconciliation was error-prone and consumed 20+ hours weekly across the finance team.

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Declining Success Rates

Legacy routing logic led to an 83.2% first-time payment success rate for recurring mortgage payments. Failed payments resulted in member dissatisfaction and increased collections costs.

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Compliance Complexity

Managing PCI DSS compliance, SCA requirements, and FCA reporting across multiple vendors was becoming increasingly complex and expensive. Internal audits took weeks to complete.

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Poor Digital Experience

Members expected a modern, seamless payment experience but were faced with clunky interfaces, limited payment method options, and slow processing times for online transactions.

White-Label Payment Platform Built for Trust

Mossen deployed a fully white-labelled payment orchestration platform, seamlessly integrated with Westbourne's existing core banking system. The solution unified all payment types under a single, FCA-compliant infrastructure while preserving the building society's trusted brand identity.

  • Unified Payment Orchestration Layer Consolidated direct debit, card processing, Faster Payments, and SEPA transfers into a single platform with intelligent routing and automatic failover across multiple acquirers.
  • White-Label Member Portal Custom-branded payment dashboard fully integrated with Westbourne's online banking, featuring saved payment methods, payment history, and automated receipts.
  • Smart Retry & Recovery Engine AI-powered retry logic that automatically resubmits failed transactions at optimal times, using data-driven routing to select the acquirer most likely to succeed.
  • Compliance & Reporting Suite Built-in PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, SCA-ready authentication, FCA regulatory reporting, and real-time fraud monitoring — all under a single compliance umbrella.
  • Core Banking Integration Seamless two-way integration with Westbourne's existing core banking platform via secure APIs, ensuring real-time account updates and eliminating manual reconciliation.

Dramatic Improvements Across Every Metric

+15%
Payment Success Rate
83.2% → 98.1%
60%
Reduction in Payment
Processing Costs
95%
Less Time Spent on
Manual Reconciliation
+28%
Member Satisfaction
with Digital Services

A Smooth, Phased Rollout

Working closely with Westbourne's IT and operations teams, Mossen delivered a seamless migration with zero downtime and no disruption to member services.

1
Weeks 1–4

Discovery & Integration Design

Deep dive into Westbourne's core banking systems, payment flows, and compliance requirements. Designed the integration architecture and white-label interface specifications.

2
Weeks 5–10

Build & UAT

Built custom white-label portal and core banking integration. Conducted extensive user acceptance testing with Westbourne's operations team and member focus groups.

3
Week 11

Pilot Launch

Soft launch to 5,000 volunteer members across three branches. Monitored performance closely and gathered feedback for final refinements before full rollout.

4
Week 12

Full Rollout & Training

Complete migration of all 85,000 members to the new platform. Comprehensive training for branch staff and contact centre teams. Dedicated Mossen account team on-site during launch week.

5
Ongoing

Optimisation & Growth

Continuous performance optimisation, regular compliance updates, and quarterly business reviews. New features deployed regularly based on member and staff feedback.

"
Mossen understood that we're not just another fintech — we're a mutual building society with 100 years of trust to uphold. Their white-label solution let us modernise our payments while keeping our members' experience distinctly Westbourne. The results have exceeded every expectation.
MH
Margaret Hale
Chief Operating Officer, Westbourne Building Society

Powering Success with Mossen

Westbourne Building Society leverages these Mossen features to deliver exceptional payment experiences to their members.

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White-Label Platform

Fully branded payment portal and member dashboard, maintaining Westbourne's trusted identity throughout the payment journey.

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Payment Orchestration

Intelligent routing across multiple acquirers and payment rails, ensuring the highest possible success rates for every transaction.

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Recurring Billing

Automated direct debit and standing order management with smart retry logic and dunning management for mortgage payments.

Faster Payments

24/7 real-time payment processing via direct FPS participation, enabling instant loan disbursements and same-day account funding.

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SCA & PSD2 Ready

Built-in Strong Customer Authentication with exemption optimisation, ensuring compliance while minimising friction for members.

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Reconciliation Engine

Automated three-way matching between payments, core banking records, and settlement — eliminating hours of manual work.

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