Transforming Investment Payment Operations at Legal & General

Overview

Talan and Legal & General (L&G) have been shortlisted for the DataIQ Award for New Ways of Working with Data following the successful delivery of a Payment Authorisation App that enhanced how investment payment data is managed, governed and shared across the organisation.

The initiative demonstrates how data-led process transformation, combined with low-code technology and strong governance, can deliver significant operational improvements without the need for large-scale platform replacement.

The Challenge

L&G's Private Markets business manages substantial capital payments across a complex investment portfolio involving multiple teams, approval stages and data sources.

As the business continued to evolve, L&G identified an opportunity to create a more streamlined and consistent approach to managing payment information across the approval lifecycle. The goal was to enhance collaboration, transparency and governance while maintaining robust controls around high-value capital payments.

L&G sought a solution that would improve the experience for Investment, Finance, Treasury and Cash Management teams while providing greater visibility and oversight throughout the process.

The Approach

Working closely with L&G stakeholders, Talan designed and delivered a Payment Authorisation App using Microsoft Power Platform and Dataverse.

Rather than replacing existing systems, the focus was on enhancing how payment data was captured, shared and governed throughout the approval lifecycle.

The solution established a trusted source of payment data and introduced a structured end-to-end workflow. Governance was embedded directly into the process through role-based access controls, approval sequencing, automated notifications and comprehensive audit trails.

The application also provided real-time visibility of payment requests and approval status, enabling stakeholders to collaborate more effectively using a shared and governed dataset. Centralised dashboards and reporting further enhanced oversight and decision-making.

The Outcomes

The programme established a more streamlined and transparent approach to managing investment payment data and approvals.

Key outcomes included: 

• 50% reduction in manual effort
• More than £20 million of capital payments managed through the platform each month 
• Improved collaboration across Investment, Finance, Treasury and Cash Management teams 
• Greater transparency, auditability and governance 
• Strengthened oversight through embedded controls and workflow management 
• Enhanced productivity and user experience

Client Perspective

"The Payment Authorisation App has been a step-change in how our team works with investment data. It has created a single trusted source of information that enables faster and more confident decision making and supports strong collaboration across investment, finance and treasury teams."

 

Head of Direct Investments Finance, Legal & General

Looking Ahead 

Beyond delivering immediate operational benefits, the solution established a scalable foundation for future automation and data initiatives. It demonstrated how low-code technology, supported by strong governance and business collaboration, can deliver enterprise-grade outcomes quickly and cost effectively.

The project serves as a strong example of how organisations can modernise critical business processes by enhancing the way data is managed and shared, unlocking measurable business value without the complexity and cost of a major transformation programme.