SME


UK insurtech start-up Nimbla seeks SME market shake-up

Nimbla, a London-based insurtech start-up, has launched a platform offering UK SMEs credit control and single invoice insurance using cloud accounting, as well as underwriting rules agreed upon by Munich Re’s new business unit Digital Partners. The firm says it is looking to tap into the UK’s SME market that has a reported £5.8 billion […]

Funding Societies interns introduce chatbot Miyu

Funding Societies, a Singapore-based crowdfunding platform, has launched its chatbot Miyu. A first for such a chatbot created by a crowdfunding company in Southeast Asia. Developed by two interns at Funding Societies using bot platforms meya.ai and api.ai, combined with machine learning and natural language processing, Miyu works round the clock to answer queries about […]

Italy’s first fintech hub comes to Milan

The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance and the City of Milan have opened the “Milan Fintech District”, the country’s first hub dedicated to businesses in the financial industry. The hub is for start-ups, entrepreneurs, financial institutions, investors and universities to foster development and growth. Pier Carlo Padoan, Minister of Economy and Finance, says the […]

HSBC and friends team up for integrated SME accounting

HSBC is expanding its existing bank feed services with the launch of a new online tool that enables SMEs to establish a data feed from their bank account to their accounting software. Its customers can now connect their bank accounts to their choice of accounting package – namely Xero, Sage and Intuit. Nadya Hijazi, global […]

Cashplus Expands with £30 Million Debt Facilities Led by RBS

Cashplus, a London-based alternative financial services provider—and Top 5 Best Challenger Bank—has announced two new, three-year funding arrangements totaling £30 million (US$40.52 million). The company will use the credit to expand its lending products for SMEs.

Innovators’ Spotlight: SPENT Money

Rather than being top of wallet, SPENT Money wants to help consumers manage and earn rewards from what’s already there—at least for now.

Fintech funding round-up: 21 September 2017

Following swiftly on from the fintech funding round-up on 19 September, here’s more concise, cash-coated action. Features CivilisedBank, HighRadius, Swirlds and Luno. UK challenger CivilisedBank, which got its banking licence in May, has agreed terms for a further round of funding from current investor Warwick Capital Partners. No more details on that but the bank […]

Bento for Business Names Jeff Pomeroy VP of Product

Blackhawk Network veteran Jeff Pomeroy has joined the Pay Award-winning Bento for Business, a provider of employee expense management solutions for small businesses, as vice president of product.

Bank of Baroda teams with Amazon for SME lending

India’s second largest bank, Bank of Baroda, has got itself an “exclusive” micro lending partnership with Amazon. The bank says through this partnership it is running a process for underwriting Amazon sellers “who would traditionally not be able to procure a line at formal financial institutions”. The deal is part of the bank’s ambitions to […]

Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 14 September 2017

Arguments, exchanges and something getting launched. It’s our blockchain and Bitcoin round-up. Features JP Morgan Chase, the Financial Services Agency of Japan and Wish Finance. There will be blood. Sort of. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon got plenty of attention with his scepticism and criticism of Bitcoin – calling it a “fraud”. Using the […]

Swift’s gpi powers DBS cross-border payments tracking debut

Corporates and SMEs in Singapore and Hong Kong can now track their cross-border payments via DBS, using Swift’s global payments innovation (gpi). DBS says it is the first bank in the two countries to execute cross-border payments with end-to-end tracking, “helping corporates and SMEs become more efficient in their cash management”. In the past, DBS […]

UK banks simplify accounting for SMEs

We have a double delight as Sage and Lloyds, and Xero and Santander are making accounting simpler for UK SMEs. Sage, a cloud accounting, payroll and payments solutions software provider, says Lloyds Bank is the latest in a line of banks to go live with its Bank Feeds service. The service helps businesses by enabling […]

Square wants to be a bank, sort of

Mobile point-of-sale pioneer Square Inc. is applying for an Industrial Loan Company (ILC) charter to support the expansion of its lending business, the volume of which grew 68 percent year-over-year in Q2 to $318 million.

Lloyds Bank’s new bookkeeping service is a keeper

Lloyds Bank has launched a new service to help businesses manage their bookkeeping without manual intervention. Called Lloyds Bank Direct Bank Feed it allows clients to receive their statement information directly into their accounting software – “eliminating the need for businesses to manually input their bank statements and reduce the time spent reconciling accounts”. Steve […]

Perseus start-up seeks to shield German SMEs from cyber threats

Berlin-based cybersecurity start-up Perseus is seeking to become a legend for the country’s SME market with a “one-stop solution”. According to fintech incubator FinLeap, which is behind the venture, more than 70% of German companies were affected by cybercrime activities within the last two years, but only one out of ten SMEs holds an insurance […]

Challenger bank Redwood takes tech to the cloud

EXCLUSIVE: Redwood Bank, a new SME-focused bank in the UK, has opted for a cloud-based banking platform. The front-to-back office solution is supplied by a local fintech firm, DPR Consulting, Banking Technology understands. It is hosted in a private cloud.

UK challenger Redwood Bank launches

Redwood Bank, a new UK-based SME challenger, has launched four months after securing its banking licence. The bank is now offering secured SME mortgages for business owners, as well as for “experienced” commercial and residential property investors. It has also launched a business deposit account. As reported in April, Redwood entered its mobilisation phase and […]

Square Opens Manhattan Store

Mobile POS pioneer Square is venturing into new territory with its own brick-and-mortar store in Manhattan.

Is Prosper prospering?

Peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Prosper released its second quarter earnings recently, just days after the company shuttered its consumer-facing bill management system.

SME lender Kabbage collects $250m investment from Softbank

Online small business lender Kabbage has raised $250 million in funding from Japan’s SoftBank Group. The capital, which takes Kabbage’s total funding to more than $488 million, will be used to support new lending products for small businesses, as well as “exploring non-lending products and services” for its customers, the company says.

Bank Islam plans digital Islamic banking roll-out

Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad is working with consulting firm Cognizant to lay the foundation for its digital banking platform roll-out across its entire network. Encik Khairul Kamarudin, CEO of Bank Islam, says the move will bring “greater accessibility to our customers as well as simplifying and improving their banking experience with us”. According to the […]

xPressTap wants to eliminate payment card readers

With the launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot programme, xPressTap is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology’s sister publication. The California-based start-up says its patented technology turns any NFC-enabled smartphone or tablet […]

xPressTap Wants to Eliminate Payment Card Readers, Reduce Fees

With the Aug. 1 launch of its Tap2App merchant payment solution and pilot program, xPressTap Inc. is enabling micro-retailers and small business owners to use their smartphones to accept card payments without a dongle or a portable card reader.

Payably and CardConnect want to simplify mobile payments for small businesses

Payably, which offers a platform that integrates mobile payments with QuickBooks Online data in real time, is working with CardConnect to “simplify and speed up” mobile payments for merchants, including initial onboarding and processing and receiving payments, reports Paybefore, Banking Technology‘s sister publication. The strategic partnership also gives Payably the ability to offer “competitive” card […]

Ant Financial Forms JV with CIMB Subsidiary for Digital Financial Services

In another step to expand its global footprint and promote financial inclusion, Ant Financial Services Group on July 24 announced it’s entering into an equity joint venture with CIMB Group Holdings Berhad subsidiary Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd (TNG). The JV will introduce a “world-class mobile platform for payments and other financial services,” the companies said.

Fintech funding round-up: 25 July 2017

Whether you call it dinero or dough, the fintech funding does flow! This latest round-up features Revolut, Constellation Digital Partners, Paytm, Mobiquest Mobile Technologies and Wesleyan Bank. Following on from the $66 million raised in a Series B round, UK-based payments start-up Revolut is looking for an additional £4 million in exchange for shares in […]

Microblink’s Photopay expands to new European markets

Photopay, the payment receipt scanning solution from Microblink, is now available in more countries including France, Norway, Spain and Sweden, reports Finovate (Banking Technology’s sister company). The news is the latest step in Microblink’s European expansion – begun four years ago – and brings the company’s data extraction technology to an even wider range of SME customers. […]

New Indian SME digital bank Open readies for launch

India’s SME-focused digital challenger bank Open is getting ready for its mid-August launch with a round of seed funding. Open calls itself “Asia’s first SME neo-banking start-up” and is using the same business model as Tide in the UK and Finnish start-up Holvi (recently acquired by BBVA). With its launch date in sight, the bank […]

Data Pitch launches European accelerator

Data Pitch has unleashed its new accelerator in the search for start-ups and SMEs across Europe with fresh ideas for data products and services. The plan is to connect data providers “with nagging business problems” to firms with the right solutions. It’s not limited to fintech, but successful applicants will receive up to €100,000 equity […]

Fintech funding round-up: 20 July 2017

It’s a treble yell! Following quickly on from 18 July and 19 July, this latest fintech funding round-up features Receipt Bank, Billon Group and TickSmith. Receipt Bank, a bookkeeping automation platform (not an actual bank), has raised $50 million in Series B funding from Insight Venture Partners. The investment will be used to accelerate growth […]

Nesta names 20 fintechs fired up for £5m SME innovation fund

UK-based innovation foundation Nesta has revealed the 20 fintech firms who will participate in its Open Up Challenge as it looks for services, apps and tools for SMEs – with a £5 million prize fund on offer. As reported in March, Nesta launched its challenge – open to entries from anywhere in the world that […]

IBM blockchain powers Borsa Italiana’s digital securities scheme

Italy’s only stock exchange Borsa Italiana, part of London Stock Exchange Group, and IBM are building a blockchain solution to digitise the issuance of securities for unlisted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. The aim is to simplify the tracking and management of shareholding information, and create a distributed shared registry containing a record […]