Moneyhub has appointed leading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK as its statutory Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service auditor, ready to audit Moneyhub’s compliance
Under Department for Work and Pensions regulations, all operators of commercial pensions dashboards must appoint an independent expert auditor to ensure compliance with Pensions Dashboards Programme Standards
These audits must be carried out prior to connection to the Central Digital Architecture, and annually thereafter
Bristol, [16 Sep 2024] - Moneyhub, the market-leading fintech and Open Finance firm, has appointed leading audit, tax and consulting firm, RSM UK as its statutory auditor of compliance with the Pensions Dashboards Programme (PDP) Standards, ahead of launching its own commercial pensions dashboard.
The introduction of Pensions Dashboards marks a major step-change in the pensions industry, enabling consumers to view all their pension pots, including their state pension, securely online in one place. Dashboards will enable savers to reconnect with any lost pension pots and make understanding and planning for retirement easier.
To become a Qualifying Pensions Dashboard Service (QPDS) provider, the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) dashboards regulations prescribe that all applicant firms must undergo a statutory pre-connection audit (PCA) of compliance with the PDP Standards suite, undertaken by an expert party, independent of the applicant firm.
The PDP Standards define all the detailed mandatory data, design, technical, security, service, operational and reporting features with which all commercial pensions dashboards must comply.
These statutory compliance audits must be carried out both prior to connection of the firm’s QPDS to the PDP Central Digital Architecture, and annually thereafter, with the auditor’s official reports being sent to the Money and Pension Service (MaPS).
Moneyhub is prepared to support the first QPDS operators and has been conducting a review of the audit market, followed by a procurement exercise, since late 2023, leading to the appointment of RSM UK.
The PDP Standards are currently being finalised, with the first iteration of Design Standards expected to be published in Q4 2024, around the same time as the FCA publishes its final Conduct of Business Sourcebook (COBS) Rules for QPDS operators.
Moneyhub and RSM will work together throughout the remainder of 2024. This will enable RSM to conduct the pre-connection audit as early and quickly as possible, once all PDP Standards are finalised - the pre-connection audit itself being a prerequisite before firms can apply to the FCA to be granted permissions to become an FCA-regulated QDPS operator.
Dan Scholey, Moneyhub Chief Commercial Officer said: “Due to the technical breadth of the PDP Standards, Moneyhub wanted to appoint an expert auditor with experience across the full range of relevant fields, including pensions data, consumer-facing app operations, application programming interfaces (APIs), and so on. We found that in RSM, along with consistent professionalism, and enthusiasm for collaboration.
We are looking forward to working closely with RSM on this new venture, and continuing to lead the market in supporting the delivery of commercial pensions dashboards to consumers, helping people to engage with their retirement savings and driving better outcomes for savers and providers alike.”
Paul Jennings, partner, RSM UK, said: “We are very much looking forward to working closely with Moneyhub on a development which has such a fundamental impact on how people view, understand, and derive value from their pensions. The extent of knowledge, technical expertise and passion within the Moneyhub team is striking, and we are delighted that they have chosen to partner with RSM on such a revolutionary change to the pensions industry, aimed at delivering better outcomes for all participants.
Our multi-disciplinary team, highly experienced in a wide range of regulatory assurance work, is well-placed to provide the assurance required for industry to provide this service, in turn giving people the confidence to trust the opportunity this dashboard presents and harness its full potential.”
Moneyhub will explain both the DWP audit and the FCA authorisation requirements for QPDS operators at its Pensions Dashboards Ecosystem webinar, in conjunction with Legal & General, on Thursday 19 September 2024 May at 11:00-11:50. Register for the webinar here.
Find out more how Pensions Dashboards can help your business.
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Contacts
Ingrid Anusic Mel Matthews
Marketing Director, Moneyhub PR manager, RSM UK
ingrid.anusic@moneyhub.com melanie.matthews@rsmuk.com
M: +44 783 722 6553 M: +44 7436 268533
Eleanor Ross
Senior Account Director, Teamspirit
M: +44 7393 758 446
About Moneyhub
Moneyhub’s goal is simple; to work with clients to improve the financial wellness of people, their businesses, and their communities. Hundreds of companies use our award-winning Open Banking and Open Finance technology to better understand their customers through data so they can comply with Consumer Duty, deliver them more suitable products, and automate money management or payments to ultimately increase their capacity to spend, save or invest more. To find out how to give the gift of financial wellness, and reap the rewards, visit www.moneyhub.com.
About RSM
RSM is a leading audit, tax and consulting firm to the middle market with 4,715 partners and staff operating from 30 locations throughout the UK. For the year ending 31 March 2023, RSM generated revenues in excess of £486m. RSM UK is a member firm of RSM International - the sixth largest network of assurance, tax and consulting firms globally. The network spans more than 120 countries, over 800 offices and more than 64,000 people, with global revenues of $9.4 billion (US).