UK-based Strategic Imperatives has expanded its partnership with bank payment company GoCardless to incorporate GoCardless' Outbound Payments feature into its Elevate IQ platform, a cloud-native billing and revenue management solution for telecoms and connectivity providers.
The capability is now available to all service providers using the platform.
The integration brings inbound and outbound payment functions into a single workflow, covering the full account-to-account payment lifecycle from mandate setup through to disbursement. It replaces processes such as separate banking portals and manual file uploads with automated payouts processed through the Faster Payments network, reducing refund timelines from the standard three to five business days to a matter of minutes.
Capabilities and market context
In addition to Outbound Payments, the integration incorporates GoCardless' Success+ feature, which uses payment data to retry failed collections automatically. The combination of inbound collection management and outbound disbursement within a single platform is intended to reduce manual handling of bank details and the administrative overhead associated with processing refunds.
GoCardless research cited in the announcement indicates that 82% of businesses place value on the ability to consolidate payment functions and remove the separate storage of bank details, a finding that both companies say informed the scope of this integration.
Dave McCourt, Head of Strategic Partnerships at Strategic Imperatives, said the integration reduces risk by removing manual handling of bank details and takes away the administrative burden of processing refunds and payouts, enabling customers to work faster and maintain control over financial workflows.
Tom Metcalfe, Director of Global Partnerships at GoCardless, noted that for telecoms and utility providers operating on tight margins, efficiency is a critical consideration, and that consolidating inbound and outbound payments into a single provider allows businesses to save time and reduce costs.
Sector relevance
The expanded integration is aimed specifically at telecoms and connectivity providers, a sector where billing complexity and margin pressure make payment automation a relevant operational consideration. The Elevate IQ platform's positioning as an end-to-end revenue management hub reflects a broader trend of vertical-specific fintech solutions targeting operational consolidation in regulated and infrastructure-heavy industries.
