Latest news with #businessbanking
Finextra
a day ago
- Business
- Finextra
Allica chooses Lendscape for asset finance operations
Challenger bank Allica has selected Lendscape, the leading provider of commercial lending technology, as the core platform for its asset finance operations. 0 Following a year of exceptional growth, Allica - the only bank built for established SMEs and Europe's fastest-growing fintech - has positioned itself as a major force in business banking and continues to scale at pace. Allica selected Lendscape's asset finance platform to support that momentum following a successful trial in a sandbox environment. 'Our growth shows just how strong the demand is for a better kind of business banking,' said Niv Subramanian, Deputy CEO at Allica. 'We've invested heavily in our digital infrastructure so we can scale quickly and keep delivering the support SMEs need to thrive. That means using technology that's flexible, intuitive, and fits seamlessly into our ecosystem, and Lendscape proved from day one that they could deliver all three.' Lendscape's API-first platform will enable Allica to scale, integrate easily with other systems, and innovate, enabling rapid change to market demands. 'We share Allica's commitment to improving SME finance and making it easier for businesses to access the funding they need to grow," said Steve Taplin, Chief Product Officer at Lendscape. 'As a company, we've made a long-term investment in asset finance technology and innovation - and we back it up with transparency, trust, and a deep understanding of the market. Giving Allica early sandbox access was part of that approach: letting them see first-hand how easily our platform integrates, performs, and adapts.' 'One of the things that stood out about Lendscape was their openness and clarity,' said Conrad Ford, Chief Product & Strategy Officer at Allica. 'In our earliest conversations, they were upfront about where they were on the then, we've seen the strength of their technological foundations, the quality of the team, and the alignment in our ambitions. Their API-first platform gives us the flexibility and speed we need to keep evolving our ecosystem and stay ahead of customers' expectations.' 'Working with Allica has been a perfect fit; they're bold, fast-moving, and customer-centric,' said Sunny Bhachu, Regional Commercial Director at Lendscape. 'We're proud to be part of their journey and excited to help them scale with confidence.'
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
SME lender Tide eyes $1bn valuation in Apis funding talks
Tide, the business banking services platform, is in advanced talks to raise new funding in a deal expected to make it Britain's latest technology unicorn. Sky News has learnt that Tide has been negotiating the terms of an investment from Apis Partners, a prolific investor in the fintech sector, for some time. City sources cautioned that a deal between the two was not yet certain to take place, and that other investors were also in discussions. Apis Partners has backed early-stage companies such as Moneybox, the UK-based digital wealth manager, and Thunes, a digital payments infrastructure provider. Significantly, the firm has made a string of investments in India, which is overtaking the UK as Tide's single-biggest geography. Tide now has roughly 650,000 SME customers in both Britain and India, with the latter market expanding at a faster rate. The precise terms of a deal between Apis and Tide were unclear on Monday. Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street bank, has been advising Tide on the fundraising, which is expected to comprise a combination of primary and secondary shares. Tide was founded in 2015 by George Bevis and Errol Damelin, before launching two years later. It describes itself as the leading business financial platform in the UK, offering business accounts and related banking services. The company also provides its SME 'members' in the UK a set of connected administrative solutions from invoicing to accounting. It now boasts a roughly 11% SME banking market share in Britain. Tide, which employs about 2,000 people, also launched in Germany last May. The company's investors include Apax Partners, Augmentum Fintech and LocalGlobe.
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
HSBC Exits Business Serving Smaller US Firms in Latest Revamp
HSBC Holdings Plc is exiting a business that serves small and midsize US companies, as it continues an overhaul aimed at making the lender more competitive. 'Following a strategic review of our business, we have decided to exit our business-banking portfolio in the United States,' a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The division has about 4,400 clients and serves firms with revenue of as much as $50 million.
TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Karat Financial is bringing business banking to creators
Karat Financial, the company known for its credit cards for creators, is launching a creator-focused business banking product. Powered by digital bank Grasshopper, Karat's banking product is a natural extension of its credit card offering with Visa. 'Six years in, the problem we're solving is still the same,' co-founder and co-CEO Eric Wei told TechCrunch. 'Creators are real businesses, and banks don't understand them.' Despite their prominent position in culture, creators still encounter hiccups when doing simple things like applying for a business credit card or opening up a bank account, even when their businesses are booming. In some cases, Wei has seen creators who make millions of dollars a year get declined when making $100 purchases at department stores. In more ambitious cases, Wei saw William Osman, a creator with over 3 million YouTube subscribers, fail to get the six figures in credit he needed to put on the Open Sauce convention. Karat stepped in, gave Osman the credit, and soon got paid back. 'This was a no-brainer, but a normal institution just does not understand the nature of their business,' Wei said. To date, Karat has extended $1.5 billion in credit, with the average credit limit per creator at $25,000. But creators needed more financial services beyond the Karat Visa. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW 'As this business-oriented side of the entire creator industry grows, we're no longer just working with YouTubers who are like, 'Oh my God, what are taxes?'' Wei said. 'We're also working with entrepreneurs who are like, 'Why is this so hard for me to get proper treatment from a bank?'' Image Credits:Karat Financial For business banking, Karat offers two tiers — one is a free, FDIC-insured business checking account with automated tax planning (most creators are independent contractors, so they have to prepare more intentionally for their tax payments than if they had a more traditional full-time job). The premium offering costs $20 per month or requires a $35,000 minimum balance, but provides 2-3% APY on checking accounts, free wires, and enhanced customer support, with AI bookkeeping coming soon. 'We know creators actually keep a lot of money in their checking account because the industry is so unstable, so we pay meaningful APY on checking, which most banks actually don't do,' Wei said. 'We have to balance that with knowledge on the banking side of working with a banking partner and helping them understand, 'Oh, these are really valuable creators and customers to bring on.'' In the future, Karat hopes to continue this trajectory of offering more and more business services for creators that traditional institutions are reluctant to provide. A possible avenue could be offering various types of insurance to creators, including healthcare for their companies. 'We're basically trying to reconstruct the financial safety net for people who make money themselves,' said Wei.
Finextra
22-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Slash raises $41m for 'vertical banking'
Slash has raised $41 million at a $370 million valuation for its business banking platform that promises to end the one-size-fits-all model and instead provide bespoke offerings for different industries. 0 Goodwater Partners, NEA and Menlo Ventures joined the round for Slash, which comes after a 2023 $19 million Series A. Slash started out serving sneaker resellers but, little over a year ago, it was hit by the fallout from Kanye West's anti-Semitic outbursts, which led to the rapper losing his Adidas partnership, which in turn saw the startup's revenue fall to the tune of 80%, co-founder Victor Cardenas tells Fortune. Slash pivoted to serving larger businesses, targeting their "deepest, vertical specific financial needs," says Cardenas in a blog. This vertical approach separates it from other business banking fintechs such as Ramp and Mercury, which have a horizontal method. Slash first went after marketing specialists that run ads for e-commerce firms and has since added crypto businesses, helping them to toggle between fiat and crypto. Says Cardenas: "In essence, we believe most banking products in the market today are too 'cookie cutter' and don't do enough to solve their customers' problems. Legacy banks compete exclusively on the basis of high yields, rewards, and relationships. "Other fintechs go further, and couple their banking + card products with bill pay, invoicing and expense management solutions. Their products, however, are industry agnostic: they're the same for restaurants, construction companies, property managers, e-commerce brands, and crypto companies - even though the underlying needs of each vary wildly." With the new funding in place, Slash plans to become the "largest commercial card in America" by building apps for dozens of categories, such as online travel and property management.
