AdvicePay announced the launch of a compliant payment process platform for financial advisors to collect financial planning fees directly from a client’s credit card or bank account.
Bozeman, Mt.-based AdvicePay established a portal for clients to enter their payment information, review billing statements, payments, and confirm charges, all to ensure compliance with RIA custodian regulations, the company said in a press release.
Co-founder Alan Moore emphasized that the goal of the platform is to make financial planning available to consumers who don't have high investment balances.
“Fee-for-service financial planners across the country face unique regulatory challenges due to rules that can vary from state to state; we developed this solution with their specific needs fully in mind,” said Moore. “AdvicePay is meant to be simple and easy to use, and the back-end handles the regulatory complexities to ensure compliance.”
Moore confirmed that AdvicePay has now over 300 advisors using the platform, and that advisors have the flexibility to alter fees and set up automatic payments for clients.
In 2017, co-founders Michael Kitces and Moore originally created AdvicePay in beta for XY Planning Network, an organization of more than 560 fee-only financial advisors specifically serving Gen X and Gen Y clients on a monthly retainer fee, Moore said.
According to an analysis from Kitces.com, “a fee-for-service model with AdvicePay at its center could dramatically increase the segment of consumers with access to financial advisors, from under 20 percent to over 50 percent of the total marketplace, by eliminating the need for consumers to have liquid assets to manage in order to work with an advisor.”