MPA Financial Management Uses Mailock to Support & Safeguard Clients
Sabrina McClune
In an era where digital security breaches and cyber threats loom large, ensuring secure and efficient communication with clients has become a core concern for financial services firms.
This case study highlights how MPA Financial Management limited enhanced its client interactions using Mailock secure email.
Who Are They?
MPA Financial Management is a chartered financial advisory firm based in Henley-in-Arden. Operating since 1988, they have over 30 years of experience and currently manage over £750 million worth of investments on behalf of their clients.
With 40 staff under their umbrella, MPA is renowned for its specialist services and has been ranked in the Top 100 adviser firms in the UK by Citywire for the last 10 years.
“We sat down with the team at Beyond Encryption to have an introductory talk and it was brilliant, exactly what we needed to support and protect our business and our clients.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Discovering Mailock
After the impact of COVID-19, many firms found themselves in a position of needing to adapt their services.
MPA took the opportunity to completely overhaul their way of working to ensure business continuity, onboarding new software and processes that supported them and their clients when interacting online.
“We always want to be engaged with our clients and tell them what we're doing with regard to the business. So, we told them that we're changing the way that we work, and we're looking at how we can protect their data.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
MPA made the decision to focus on data security and how they could communicate safely with their clients.
They spent significant resources on educating them about online threats such as phishing and ransomware attacks, while also working to find a solution that would protect digital communications.
MPA was impressed with the Beyond Encryption team and the capabilities that Mailock offered, coming on board in early 2023.
Support From The Start
“As soon as we met the team, we could see that they have the same end goal in mind as us, which is making sure that data is protected for both us and for clients.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
MPA received a high level of personalised support throughout the entirety of the process, from demo to purchase and beyond.
“Every step of the way we've had support, even up until now. I think the support staff that our in-house team liaise with are absolutely brilliant and that really does make a difference, especially when you want an easy transition. I think everyone on the team was amazed that we could implement this overnight and be using it tomorrow, which is exactly what we did.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Once the decision had been made to deploy Mailock, MPA made use of the support and dedicated learning material provided by the Beyond Encryption team, introducing the solution seamlessly to their clients.
“What we said to our clients is: ‘Mailock forms part of the service we offer because of how important we feel it is. We value you as a client and we value your information, and we want to ensure that any communication is as safe and secure as it can possibly be.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
A Better Way Of Communicating:
Ease-of-Use
It was vital to MPA that they found a solution that wasn’t overly complex and could easily be utilised by their client demographic.
“Whenever you hear the term 'encryption', you start to think it's going to be complex to use with many different layers, but actually it’s really simple.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Mailock was a tick in the box when it came to ease-of-use, for both MPA staff and their customers.
“It's not convoluted, it's not really complicated, it's simple and effective and does what we need it to, which is protect clients.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Another key factor in choosing Mailock was the ease of integration with MPA's current processes and technologies. The solution seamlessly slotted in with their Microsoft environment.
“We didn’t want another piece of equipment to log into separately. It needed to be integrated as seamlessly as possible and that is exactly what's happened. The integration literally took seconds, and we were ready to go. It got rolled out within one day.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
A Better Way Of Communicating:
Increased Efficiency
Before coming on board with Mailock, MPA transmitted sensitive data using password-protected documentation. While this method provided some protection, they found that the process was inefficient.
“Whenever anything left our building, it was password-protected, and what we found was that it was really time-consuming. Sometimes we’d be sending 20 documents on an email, each one set with different passwords to ensure that if someone else got a hold of one password, they wouldn’t be able to open all of them. It’s just not efficient to do that.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Mailock has offered MPA staff a quicker and more seamless experience, allowing them to send an email containing personal information securely with just a few clicks.
“It’s just become a way of the process. It's not even a second thought now, and the benefits that we felt from day one have been instant.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Now, MPA has a company-wide process for using Mailock, making it a core component of their client offering and their stance on data protection.
“Across the board, anything that leaves our company that includes sensitive information is sent by Mailock."
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
A Better Way Of Communicating:
Heightened Data Security
With digital threats on the rise, MPA was aware of the need to protect the personal and financial data that they handle on a daily basis.
“We know that we hold a lot of information in one place that, in the wrong hands, could be very detrimental. We want to give clients the peace of mind that they are with a reputable company that they can trust.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
This move wasn't just a necessity to protect their business, but to safeguard their clients. Consumer awareness surrounding data security has also increased significantly, and MPA was determined to meet client expectations surrounding this.
“Nowadays, it’s clients saying ‘How do you look after me? And how do you look after my data?’, which I think they've probably never really asked before and just assumed it would be taken care of.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
After implementing Mailock within their organisation, MPA received a clear and positive response from their clients.
“Clients have actually thanked us for taking the time to take the risk off them and ensure that their data is safe when it's received, not only on our end but their end too.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Catering To Client Choice
While digital communication such as email has become a key channel for business interactions, MPA understands that not everyone will be comfortable online, with ‘some people still appreciating the touch of paper.’
“For us, it’s about offering clients choice. It's saying to them, 'If you want it via email, absolutely no problem, we're just adding another layer of security to it because we are aware of what can happen if your personal information gets into the wrong hands.’"
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
However, the team is also aware of the negative impact that post has on the environment, as well as the rising costs and delays that are being increasingly experienced with Royal Mail.
“We want people to realise that this is why we’re sending sensitive data via email. One, because of postal costs, two, there are huge delays, and three, you've got the fear in terms of data security.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
MPA has spent significant time with its clients to explore their level of comfort with the technology and to ensure Mailock suits them.
“If they want it on paper, then we're happy to do that. If it's education and clients feel like they don't want to have it via email because they don't know what to do or how that works, then we'll work with them and educate them.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
This personalised approach is what makes MPA stand apart, with Mailock allowing them to add much-needed security to the familiar channel of email.
Creating A Secure Community
MPA feel passionate about the need for technology like Mailock to ensure secure and efficient comms within their industry – especially when it comes to financial service providers.
“When communicating with providers, we need to protect data and make sure it gets there quickly and safely, especially when there’s market movement and you're working with investments.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
Having everyone on the same page when it comes to data security is imperative for MPA, not only for the seamless operation of their business but for ensuring clients are offered the level of protection they deserve.
“We need to make sure that information is safe when it's being received and that it's not getting into the wrong hands. In the same way that our emails can get hacked, so can a providers, and we've seen it happen before.”
— Annemarie Byrne, Head of Operations
MPA are vocal supporters of improving cybersecurity within the financial sector, choosing providers based on shared attitudes and provisions towards this.
When encountering organisations that have failed to take the appropriate steps, Head of Operations, Annemarie, asks them: "Other providers are using Mailock, so why aren't you?"
Previous post