Fiinu’s Plugin Overdraft® One Step Closer to Public Launch Through Exclusive Strategic Partnership with Conister Bank

Fiinu Plc has reached a significant milestone in bringing its revolutionary Plugin Overdraft® solution to UK consumers through an exclusive strategic partnership with Conister Bank Limited, a subsidiary of Manx Financial Group Plc.

This groundbreaking fintech innovation, powered by AI and Open Banking technology, allows individuals to access an overdraft facility alongside their existing current account at any UK bank without needing to switch providers.

The Plugin Overdraft® represents a fundamental shift in how overdraft services are delivered, unbundling them from traditional current accounts for the first time.

Fiinu’s bank-agnostic overdraft platform, powered by AI, was originally developed and audited for Fiinu Bank in the UK. It enables customers of any UK bank to ‘plugin’ a Conister Bank overdraft to their primary current account, without anyone needing to switch banks.

The solution can technically access over 100 million personal current accounts in the UK and 95% of EU bank accounts.

The Plugin Overdraft® will be launched initially to Manx Financial Group subsidiary, Payment Assist Limited’s (PAL’s) one million existing retail customers, before being expanded more widely to Conister’s retail and SME customer base across the UK and Isle of Man.

The launch remains scheduled for Q4 2025, subject to regulatory approval.

Key commercial arrangements

The companies have entered into a Master Services Agreement, with certain key elements:

•     Exclusivity: Conister will hold exclusive rights to use the Plugin Overdraft® in the UK and Isle of Man for a minimum of three years.
•     White-labelled rollout: The product will be branded “Conister Bank Plugin Overdraft®, powered by Fiinu”, and fully integrated into Conister’s infrastructure and PAL’s customer channels.
•     Profit-sharing arrangement: Parties have agreed an audited share of annual product profits, reconciled annually in arrears.
•     Technology platform: Fiinu will operate the turnkey platform.
•     Implementation and governance: The programme will be jointly managed with structured governance and strategic reviews.

Dr Marko Sjoblom, Fiinu’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“This partnership with Conister Bank is a true milestone for both companies. Conister Bank, with its 90-year history and forward-looking approach, is the ideal partner to help us deliver the Plugin Overdraft® at scale. Their regulatory expertise and distribution strength perfectly complement Fiinu’s proprietary, bank-agnostic platform, which was originally designed during my PhD research in AI focused on overdrafts and affordability.” 

“This foundation has evolved into a proprietary AI-driven underwriting engine that makes overdrafts responsibly available across the UK’s 100 million+ personal current accounts and can scale seamlessly across thousands of banks in the EU. Together with Conister, we believe we are setting a new standard for collaboration between banks and fintechs. We remain firmly on track for our Q4 2025 launch.”

Douglas Grant, Conister’s Managing Director and the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“This investment and partnership underline our commitment to delivering customer-driven products in this challenging economic environment by leveraging our UK banking permissions. Fiinu’s technology complements our strategic vision and will enable us to serve customers who are being overlooked by mainstream banking, thereby reinforcing our premier position as the specialist deposit taker and lender in the Isle of Man and UK.”