Blinkhorn financial services secure email

5 min

Updated 05 06 26

How Blinkhorn Financial Services Made Sensitive Client Emails Easier to Send With Mailock

For Roy Blinkhorn, secure communication needed to feel practical - not like another system clients had to learn.

Mailock gave him a simpler way to send sensitive information, track whether it had been opened, and reduce the friction of password-protected attachments.

Blinkhorn Financial Services is a directly authorised financial adviser firm based in Leeds.

As a member of the TFAS Compliance Services network, Roy was introduced to Mailock as a practical secure email option for member firms.

For a small advice business handling personal information every day, finding a workable secure email route was a priority.

Roy had been looking for a better way to send sensitive documents for some time, but had not found the right fit.

Who Are They?

Roy Blinkhorn has worked in financial advice for 38 years, and has run his own business for the last decade.

Based in Leeds, he works mainly with retail clients across Yorkshire and the North, with many of them either approaching retirement or already in retirement.

Like many smaller firms, Blinkhorn Financial Services needs communication tools that are straightforward, workable, and proportionate to the way the business runs day to day.

That means keeping things personal for clients, while still taking data handling seriously.

The Challenge

Sending Personal Data Safely, Without More Admin

Before Mailock, Roy was already cautious about email.

He was concerned about sending documents that contained personal details, and just as concerned about how easy it was for ordinary email threads to become risky when sensitive information started moving back and forth.

In practice, that often meant attaching password-protected PDFs and sending the password separately.

But that process was not especially smooth for clients, or for him.

Passwords did not always work first time, clients sometimes called for help, and the whole exchange could become more fiddly than it needed to be.

Password Protection Solved One Problem, But Created Another

Roy described a familiar issue for advisers - the security step existed, but it added friction.

He wanted to send confidential information in a way that felt more natural, without relying on workarounds that created extra admin.

He also did not want to force clients into yet another portal experience.

In his view, portals can be expensive, and they can split communication across too many different systems.

Email, on the other hand, is already where clients are.

The Solution

A Secure Email Process That Fits Everyday Advice Work

Roy first came across Mailock through TFAS.

What stood out was the added protection and the way it could fit into how he was already working.

He could send secure messages through Outlook where needed, or use the web app as a fallback.

That gave him a workable option even while he was adjusting parts of his workflow away from Google Workspace and into Outlook.

Instead of replying to a client with confidential information in a standard email thread, he could move that conversation into a secure one.

That meant he could respond more confidently when a client had already shared personal details, or when supporting documents needed to be sent on to another party.

Tracking Added Useful Visibility

One of the most practical benefits for Roy was message tracking - being able to see whether a message had been opened.

That was especially useful in cases involving several parties, such as solicitors, providers, or other professionals.

Rather than wondering whether an important document had arrived, he had a clearer record of what had been sent and whether it had been accessed.

For a business handling time-sensitive client matters, that extra visibility helped reduce uncertainty.

"You can send secure emails easily without them having to shift into a portal. Everyone uses email."

Roy Blinkhorn, Financial Adviser, Blinkhorn Financial Services

Mailock also helped Roy add a layer of reassurance for recipients.

He uploaded his photo so clients could see it was really him sending the message, and message access depended on the recipient using their mobile phone to receive a code.

Could This Work In Your Organisation?

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For a financial advice firm, a recognisable photo and a mobile code to open the message help clients trust that it really came from their adviser.

The Outcome

More Confidence, Better Follow-Through

After around six weeks of use, Roy described Mailock as a practical improvement on the old process.

It gave him more confidence to send information that he had previously been cautious about sending by email.

It also made it easier to keep secure communication within the flow of normal client work, instead of treating it as a separate, exceptional process every time.

Roy found he could use secure email to send trusted links as well as attachments, guiding clients towards other digital steps, helping them feel more confident that a request really had come from him.

For a single-adviser firm, that meant secure sends could stay part of everyday advice work instead of a separate step clients had to learn.

"TFAS member firms often need secure email that clients can open without a portal login. Mailock fits that adviser workflow because it stays inside email while adding protection and message tracking."

Carole Howard, Head of Networks, Beyond Encryption (Mailock)

For adviser firms introduced through compliance networks such as TFAS, Roy's experience is a useful reference for keeping secure email inside familiar client workflows.

FAQs

Why Did Blinkhorn Move Away from Password-Protected Attachments?

Password protection added admin and still left advisers managing passwords separately. Mailock gave the firm a secure email route with recipient checks and tracking.

How Did Mailock Fit Blinkhorn's Advice Workflow?

It let advisers send sensitive client information through email while adding authentication, secure access, and visibility over message activity.

What Changed for Advisers and Clients?

The case study points to more confidence when sending personal data, less manual follow-up, and clearer evidence of whether secure messages had been opened.