Everything you need to know about business banking trends and how they’ll impact you in 2023.
Whether it’s innovation in tech, a new digital solution, or a banking service, SMEs are typically underserved. That’s changing. With the rise of fintechs revolutionising the consumer space, it’s only a matter of time before businesses benefit – and it couldn’t come sooner. Let’s be honest, how easy is it to apply for funding from your current bank and how efficient are they at providing cutting-edge payment solutions?
With disruption finally happening in the SME space, the future of business banking is taking shape. Here are 2023’s top three business banking trends that’ll help future-proof your business:
- Digitalisation
- Real-time data
- Turning to Fintechs for small businesses lending
Digitalisation
As an SME, you’re kept busy and unless you have a team of accountants on hand, you need tailored tools like cash flow management solutions and integrated bookkeeping services to make managing your finances easier. You could also do with a lot more transparency when it comes to your credit history. That’s where the digitalisation of business banking is changing the game by making these value-adds not just accessible but a table stake. And cash flow management isn’t the only thing banks and fintechs are revolutionising. Easy online account opening and self-service are streamlining business account management, swapping tedious queues with DIY efficiency to reduce the time you spend waiting and the weight on customer support. Here’s a recap:
- Bank accounts are moving towards a quick and easy online opening;
- 24-hour access to banking with self-service functionalities;
- Enhanced security with tools like two-factor authentication;
- Simplified payments for recurring bills and payroll, categorisation of expenses for ease of tracking.
Business banking is being enhanced by real-time data analytics and this is a trend that’ll continue to grow. With big data and artificial intelligence in the mix, banks and fintech will be able to perform intuitive analysis during transactions to get greater customer insights. Great for them, but what does it mean for you? Think about improved loan rates and faster credit scoring. In short, faster more affordable access to funds.
And they’re not stopping there. Further financial technology set to enter the mainstream includes financial aggregation platforms. Whether you have an established business or a start-up, these are beneficial because they combine account data from different sources into a single real-time view. Meaning, you can link your accounting software like SAGE or Xero to your existing business bank accounts and track and manage your entire cash flow in one place.
Turning to fintech for small business lending
Emerging fintech lenders are changing the landscape of business banking, helping SMEs who were once declined due to creditworthiness. As innovation optimises the borrowing experience and access to data results in better business decisions, fintechs are stepping in and offering tailored financial services. Yesterday, the world consisted of stringent credit history assessments. Today, it’s more about assessing your actual business performance. Added to that, funding applications are increasingly digital with a big emphasis on ease made possible with functionality like linking accounts as a way to share transaction history.
Essentially, the future of business lending is looking very bright. Finally. Considering the contribution of SMEs to our economy, it’s crucial that they – that’s you – get the support they need to succeed. And with technology switching things up and fintech closing the gaps, you can expect more streamlined services that’ll help simplify the way you manage your finances, so you can run your business better.
