BANKING
“It ’ s incredibly difficult to assess the credit risk of small businesses ”
COLIN GOLDSTEIN COMMERCIAL GROWTH DIRECTOR , IWOCA
tech-inflected loan applications . In the US ,
Lendio created an online process backed up by a proprietary algorithm , which matches applicants with appropriate loan options via a network of high-profile finance leaders like AmEx , PayPal and Kabbage . The company claims that online applications can be completed in as little as 15 minutes , a substantially expedited process compared to banks ’, which can take days .
Elsewhere ,
Atom Bank and
Plaid have partnered to streamline the former ’ s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme ( CBILS ). “ When Open Banking first took shape , SMEs were largely ignored . Now three years in , we ’ re finally seeing innovative services emerge , like Atom ’ s , that solve their unique financial needs , and in an economic climate where they face bigger obstacles than ever before ,”
stated Keith Grose , Head of International at Plaid .
Open Finance , says Goldstein , is also an important focus for iwoca :
CG : Around half of our SME customers use [ Open Banking ] to link their bank accounts . This means we can provide continuous underwriting on data feeds they have . As we navigate through the crisis , we ’ re constantly updating our risk models and underwriting to understand the underlying risk in the SME segment .
Goldstein
COMMERCIAL GROWTH DIRECTOR ,
IWOCA
iwoca is one of Europe ’ s leading small business lenders , providing an alternative to traditional business finance . It was recently named as the top small business lender and highest-ranking fintech firm in
The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 200 .
Throughout the pandemic , iwoca has lent over £ 300m through the governmentbacked Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme ( CBILS ).
Goldstein is responsible for growing the company ’ s loan book through partnerships and overseeing its collaborations with the likes of Xero , Tide , Funding Options and Funding Xchange .
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