OVERVIEW

Tableofcontents

CHAPTER1

Introduction

3

CHAPTER2

FrictionsSMEshaveencounteredwithbanking

4

CHAPTER3

KeypointsandtrendsfordigitalbankingfocusingonSMEs

5

CHAPTER4

DigitalBankingapplicationfeaturesandideasforSMEs

?Musthaves

?Delighters

?Differentiators

6

7

9

13

CHAPTER5

Conclusion

15

CONTACT

Getintouch

16

2

CHAPTER1

Introduction

Thedigitalbankingshiftforsmallandmediumsizedenterprises

SmallandMediumsizedEnterprises(SMEs)haveanextremelyimportantroleintheglobaleconomy:theyfosterinnovation,createjobs,andenhanceoveralleconomic

growthmorethancorporatesdo.SMEsaccountforabout90%ofbusinessesand

morethan50%ofemploymentworldwide,accordingtotheWorldBank.Inemergingeconomies,SMEscontributeupto40%ofnationalincome(GDP).However,thesevitalcontributorstotheglobaleconomyoftenfacesignificantchallengesinaccessing

financialservices,particularlyfromtraditionalbanks.

Thesechallenges,oftenarisingfromoldpracticesandalackofunderstandingofthe

uniqueneedsofSMEs,cangetinthewayoftheSMEgrowthandsuccess.AreportbytheInternationalFinanceCorporation(IFC)estimatesaglobalfinancinggapforSMEsof$5.2trillionannually(whichmeans$15kpercompanyonaverageeveryyear),indicatingtheextentofthechallengeinaccessingnecessaryfunds.Thisgapismostnoticeableinemergingmarketsanddevelopingeconomies,whereSMEsareoftenconsideredhigh-riskbytraditionalbankingstandards.

TheEuropeanCommissionhighlightsthataround70%ofSMEsinEuroperelyonbank

loansforfinancing,yetonly20%endupgettingtheirloanfinallyapproved,showingtherearestillsignificantbarriers.ThisunderscoresthedifficultiesfacedbySMEsinsecuring

thefinancialsupporttheyneedtogrowandthrive.

ThedatashowsthatSMEshaveacriticalroleintheglobaleconomyandstillface

significantbarriersinaccessingessentialfinancialservices.Thiscounterintuitivefact

suggeststhataddressingthesechallengesisnotonlycrucialforthesurvivalandgrowthofSMEsbutalsofortheoverallhealthandstabilityoftheglobaleconomy.

3

CHAPTER2

FrictionsSMEshave

encounteredwithbanking

Highbankingfees

Imagineyou’rerunningyourownbusiness,workingextrahourstomakeitasuccess.Buteverymonth,asignificantpartofyourhard-earnedprofitsisdrainedoffbyexcessivefeesforbasicbankingserviceslikeaccountmaintenance,wiretransfersandloan

processing.Thisisthedifficultrealityformanysmallandmedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs),whooftencomplainofbearingdisproportionatelyhighbankingfees.

Unlikelargercorporationsthatenjoyeconomiesofscale,SMEspayahighpercentageoftheirearningsduetosurgingcorporatebankingcosts.Thiscanbeparticularlydifficultanddamagingforstartupsandbusinessesoperatingwithtightprofitmargins.Asan

example,astudybytheWorldBank,revealedthatSMEsinemergingmarketspayanaverageof14%moreinbankingfeesthantheirlargercounterparts.

Accessibility

AccesstofinancingisanothermajorhurdleforSMEs.Banksoftenviewthemasrisky

borrowerscomparedtoestablishedcorporations,leadingtostringentlendingcriteria

andareluctancetoextendcredit.Thisperception,coupledwithalackofunderstandingoftheuniquechallengesandopportunitiesoftheSMEsector,resultsinasignificant

financinggap.AccordingtotheWorldBank,approximately70%ofSMEsinemergingmarketslackaccesstoadequatefinancing,hinderingtheirgrowthandexpansion.

Theone-size-fits-allapproachoftraditionalbanksfailstoaddressthespecificneeds

ofSMEs,leadingtofrustrationandinefficiency.SMEsoftenfaceprolongedwaittimes,

unresponsivecustomerservicerepresentatives,andagenerallackoftailoredbanking

services.Thiscanresultinmissedopportunities,delaysindecision-making,andasenseofbeingundervaluedbytheirbankingpartners.

DigitalBanking

ThedigitaldivideisanothersignificantbarrierforSMEs.Thecomplexityofdigital

bankingtoolsandplatforms,coupledwithinsufficienttrainingandsupportfrombanks,posesasignificantchallenge.ThiscanhinderSMEs’abilitytostreamlineoperations,

makeinformedfinancialdecisions,andcompeteeffectivelyinatechnology-driven

marketplace.AstudybytheInternationalFinanceCorporationfoundthatonly30%ofSMEsindevelopingcountriesusedigitalbankingservices,indicatingavastuntappedpotentialfordigitalsolutions.

Lowinnovation

TheinnovationdeficitinSMEbankingservicesfurtherincreasesthenumberofchallengesfacedbySMEs.Banksoftenlagindevelopinginnovativeproductsand

servicesspecificallydesignedfortheneedsofSMEs.ThisgapininnovationleavesSMEsunderservedandunabletocapitaliseonthelatestadvancementsinfinancialtechnology.Forinstance,manySMEsstruggletoaccessmobilebankingsolutions,onlinelending

platforms,andotherinnovativetoolsthatcouldstreamlinetheirfinancialprocessesandenhancetheircompetitiveness.

Noteverythingislost,however.Weseethatthefintechs,somebanksandspecialised

companieshaverecognisedthisopportunityandwelistafewtrendsandkeypointsthatarebeingobservedinthisusuallyoverlookedmarket.

4

CHAPTER3

KeypointsandtrendsfordigitalbankingfocusingonSMEs

1.Digital&personalserviceblend

Inthedigitalage,whileautomationandAIcanhandlemanytasks,thehumantouchremainsirreplaceableforcertaincomplexqueriesorproblems.Forinstance,whileachatbotcanaddresssimplequerieslikecheckingaccountbalances,ahuman

relationshipmanagermightbebettersuitedforadvisingonbusinessloansorinvestmentstrategies.

2.Enhancedselling

Modernbankscanleveragedataanalyticstounderstandthetransactionpatterns,creditbehaviors,andpreferencesofSMEs.Forexample,ifanSMEfrequentlyhassurpluscashtowardstheendofthemonth,bankscansuggestshort-terminvestmentoptionsor

providetailoredloanofferstobusinessesshowingsteadyrevenuegrowth.

3.Collaborativeapproach

Collaborations,especiallywithfintechs,canleadtowin-winsituations.AbankmightpartnerwithafintechfirmspecialisingininvoicefinancingtoofferthisservicetoitsSMEclients.Thisnotonlyenhancesthebank’sserviceportfoliobutalsooffersSMEsacomprehensivesuiteoffinancialsolutionsunderoneroof.

4.Hiringtherighttalent

Asbankingbecomesmoretechnologicallydriven,it’scrucialforbankstohaveateam

thatunderstandsbothfinanceandtechnology.Forinstance,datascientistscanhelpincraftingpersonalisedbankingsolutionsforSMEsbasedontransactiondata,whiledigitalexpertscanensuretheonlinebankingplatformprovidesaseamlessuserexperience.

5.Seamlessprocesses

SMEsvalueefficiency.Digitalbankingplatformsshouldbeintuitiveandstraightforward.Forexample,theloanapplicationprocesscanbestreamlinedusingonlineformsthatpre-fillknowninformation,reducingmanualentry.Or,offeringasingledashboardwhereSMEscanviewalltheiraccounts,loans,andinvestments,ensuringtheydon’thaveto

jumpbetweenmultipleplatforms.

FromVisiontoAction:DigitalBankingfocusedonSMEs

Digitaltransformations,whileessential,arecomplexinitiativesthatrequireastrategic

approach.They’renotjustaboutadoptingthelatesttechnologiesbutaboutdeploying

themintothebankingoperationstoservespecificclientneeds.Forbanksaimingto

growintheSMEsector,thistransformationcanseemchallenginggiventhecomplexitiesandspecificneedsofthesegment.Butlikeanyjourney,it’simportanttobeginwithclear,tangiblesteps.

5

CHAPTER4

DigitalBankingapplicationfeaturesandideasforSMEDigitalBanks

Basedonourworkandexperience,inthispaperweproposemultipledigitalbankingapplicationfeaturesandideasthatcanbeconsideredwhendesigning

yourSMEfocusedDigitalBankingservices.MostoftheexamplescomefromRetailbanking-followinganaturalinnovationevolutionfromRetailtoBusiness.

Weclassifiedtheproposedapplicationfeaturesandideasintermsofimportancebasedonourongoing

globalresearch,consideringcustomerdesirability.Thethreecategoriesare“Musthaves”,“Delighters“and

“Differentiators”.“Musthaves”aredefinedasfeaturesorideasthatabankmusthavetobeabletocompeteinthedefinedmarket.“Delighters”arenicetohave

andhelpkeepyourcustomers,avoidingthemfrom

switchingtocompetition.“Differentiators”arefeaturesorideasthatareuniqueandattractclientstojoinyourbank.

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DIGITALBANKINGAPPLICATIONFEATURESANDIDEASFORSMEDIGITALBANKS

Musthaves

Self-ServiceChatPortal

BankofAmerica:

Theirchatbot,Erica,helpscustomers

withavarietyof

tasksandquestions.

DBSBank

(Singapore):

Knownforitsdigitaltransformationandusingchatbotsforcustomerservice.

AchatbotthathandleseasyquestionsandLiveChatthrough

theportalorWhatsapp,forcomplexinquiries.Includesself-

authenticationoptiontogivethebankermorecontextabouttheclient’srequest.

CustomerDetailsPre-fill

Duringonboarding,gatherdataanddocumentsfromthirdparty

sources(suchasregistrationnumbers,businessdata,financialsandlicenses)makingiteasiertore-useatlaterstages.

onboardingprocesswithfewersteps.

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HSBC:

Offersdigital

onboardingforitsSMEbusinessclients.

N26(Germany):

Adigitalbankthatstreamlinesthe

BusinessBankingCommunicationStrategy

Communicationwithclientsthatistriggeredbykeymilestonesof

theirjourneys,allowingforthebestexecutionofthecommunicationstrategybasedoncustomermaturity.

DigitalAccountOrigination

BBVA(Spain):

Knownforitsdigitalonboarding

processesanddigitalsignaturesolutions.

Whenaclientappliesforaproducttheyareauthenticateddigitallyandprovidedocumentsthroughasharedrepository.Itwould

includeastatustrackingfeaturetoalleviatewaitingtension.

Digitalsigning

BBVA(Spain):

Knownforitsdigitalonboarding

processesanddigitalsignaturesolutions.

Oneplatformfordigitalsigningofaccountcontractsevenwhen

originatedbyaBanker.Contractsarestoredandavailableon

asecuredsite,accessiblebythebankandtheclient.Other

processescancontinueinthebackgroundwithoutbeingheldupbythephysicalsigningofdocuments.Thissolutionreducesbranchvisitsandservicerequests.

FAQ

Chase(USA):

TheyprovideadetailedFAQsectionforvariousbankingprocesses.

Drivelessprofitableclientsintodigitalchannelsforself-service

withdigitalsupportthrougharepositorycontainingFAQ’swith

screenshotsandvideo’sthatexplainthemainprocesses.Sendafeedbacklooptocustomerswhentheyreachoutwithrepetitivequestions.Forselectedtopics,useinteractivesupportsuchas

videotutorials.IncasethereisnoresolutionthroughtheFAQs,theclientisprovidedwiththedirectphonenumberoftheirbusinessbanker.

SimplifiedTermsandconditions(T&Cs)

Simplifythetermsandconditionsbyrelaxingthelanguageand

improvingthereadabilitythroughicons,tableofcontentsandtooltips.ProvidetheclientwithacondensedversionoftheT&Cs,thattheyreadtounderstandthegeneralterms,whilstalsoprovidingtheoptiontoreadthefullT&Cs.Whenonthephonewithacustomer,sendadigitalversionoftheT&Cswiththeoptiontocheck‘Iagree’.

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Monzo(UK):

Thisdigitalbankisknownforitsuser-friendlytermsandconditions,usingsimplelanguage.

DIGITALBANKINGAPPLICATIONFEATURESANDIDEASFORSMEDIGITALBANKS

Delighters

SinglePortal/Entry-point

Asinglepointofentryintoaportalwheretheclientlogsinonce

togetadashboardwiththeirproductoverview.Thisallows

authenticateduserstooriginateproductsonline,trackthestatusoftheirapplicationsandchatdirectlywiththeirrelationshipmanager.Iftheclientlosesconnection,theplatformstorestherequestinitscacheandupdateswhentheconnectionisrestored.

StarlingBank(UK):

Offersasingledashboardforbusinessclientstomanagevariousproducts.

BusinessAdvisor

Barclays(UK):

Providesbusinessinsightsandalsohasaservicetohelpbusinessesswitchbanks.

Providingdataandresearchstrategiestohelpbusinessowners

tomaketherightdecisionsinthefirststagesoftheirbusiness,

includingwheretoinvestmoneyfromaloan.Thiscouldbeexecutedthroughpre-recordedvideosandmaterialsuptoanactualcoach

whomanagesagroupofclients.

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BankSwitch/Transfer

Barclays(UK):

Providesbusinessinsightsandalsohasaservicetohelpbusinessesswitchtotheirbank.

Digitalsolutionthatallowsaclienttopopulatetheinformationaroundtheirsuppliers,debitordersetc.sothebankcandoa

verificationontheirsideandassistwiththeswitchingoverfromotherbanksinasmootherway.

AccountsAggregation

Businessclientshaveaccesstotheiraccountbalancesandaccounthistoryfromotherbanksdirectlyfromtheirmobileapplications.

DowntimeMinimisingEfforts-Errorhandlingandrerouting

Givestheclientcontextandconciseinformationonwhenthedowntimewillbesolved,whatyoucandoandwhatyoucan’tdo.Thisideawouldprovidealternativeactionstobankersandcustomerswhenthesystemisdown.

ProductrecommendationtoolwithAutomatedSuggestions

Authenticatedcustomerscanfinaliseapre-filledquestionnaire,sothebankcanproviderelevantproductsuggestions.Thetoolallowsthecustomertocompareproductssidebysideandprovidesthemwithupfrontinformationaboutwhatdocumentationisrequiredfortheapplicationprocess.

NeedsAnalyzer

Usingdataandadvancedanalyticsfromorigination,transaction,customerdatabase,etc-andcreatingautomatedsuggestionsforcross-sellingorupselling.

Santander(UK):

Their“TradeClub”offersbusinessinsightsandproductrecommendations.

Santander(UK):

Their“TradeClub”offersbusinessinsightsandproductrecommendations.

Verificationprocessautomationonself-serviceplatforms

Createasinglesourceoftruthforcustomerdatabyimprovingtheinternalsystemdataintegrationsandverifications.

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·$·

Lendinganytime,anywhere

Kabbage(USA):

OffersfullydigitallendingsolutionsforSMEs.

Fullydigitalomnichannellendingwithatransparentprocessthatcommunicatestheoutcomeandhintstoimproveapplicationforthenexttime.Includesaloancalculatorforsimulations.

BankingRelationshipmanagerschedulingassistant

Theclientshouldbegivendetailsoftheassignedbankerwhentheyhaveonboardedsothattheyknowwhowillgivethemsupportandenablethemtomakeappointmentsdirectly.

Diversecommunicationchannels

RBC(Canada):

Providessupportthroughvariouschannelsincludingsocialmedia.

Clientscanaccessthebankthroughchannelstheyarealready

using(WhatsApp,email,phone,message,Zoom,socialmedia).

Banksnowprovidetimelysupporttocustomersontheirpreferredchannel.Someformsofcontactcouldhavearecordingoptionforreference.

Communicationstrategyforlessprofitableclients

Formulateacommunicationstrategyforlessprofitableclients,

whichinvolvesamixofdifferentchannelsandsupport.For

example,astandardquestionnairetoasktheclientwhatlevelof

supporttheyneed.Proactivelyscheduleavideocallinthedesiredtimeframeandsendautomatedemailstotheclienttokeepthe

communicationlinesopen.Theseemailscouldincludeeducationalmaterial.Thisapproachensuresthatclientsfeelvaluedbythebank.

Readytogoaccount

Square(USA):

Offersanalyticsforbusinessclientsandastreamlinedaccountsetup.

Convertstaff-assistedprocesses,likecardactivation,intoa

self-serviceprocess.Expressmailthecustomerscardtotheir

nominatedaddress.Allowthecustomertotrackthecarddeliverystatus.Providethecustomerwithavirtualcardthatcanbeused

immediatelythroughadigitalwallet,beforethephysicalcard

arrives.ThecardcanbeactivatedthroughaPOSterminal,app,ATMandpromptthemtosettheirowncardPIN.

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Layeredchannelsupport

CitiBank:

Usesamixofchatbotsandhuman

support,enablinghumansupporttomorevalue-addeddemands.Thismaximises

theoffersforpersonalisedbankingsolutions.

Haveafront-linesupportwithautomatedorAIenabledchatbot

thatcoversthemajorityofstandardquestions.Theonesthat

can’tbeansweredbytheautomatedfrontlineareforwardedto

increasinglyhumansupportedchannels,untilitreachesthebankingRelationshipManager,maximisingitsfocusonbuildingcustomer

relationships.

ReportingandAnalytics

Square(USA):

Offersanalyticsforbusinessclientsandastreamlinedaccountsetup.

OffersSMEscustomersin-depthanalyticsandvisualdashboardsoftheirbankingactivities,aswellastransactionhistoryexportinvariousformats.Thishelpstounderstandtheirbankingactivityforpurposeslikeaccounting,taxcalculations,andcompliance.

Integration

QuickBooks(Intuit):

Notabank,butmanybanksintegratewiththisaccountingsoftwareforSMEs.

Integrationwithinternalorexternalfunctionalitiesthatsupportactivitiesrelatedtoaccountingoreventools/softwaretomakereconciliationandfinancemanagementeasier.Someofthose

externaltoolscanlinktobeyondbankingfunctionalities,suchaslegal,marketing,etc.

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DIGITALBANKINGAPPLICATIONFEATURESANDIDEASFORSMEDIGITALBANKS

Differentiators

Thirdpartypartnerecosystem

Leveragethirdpartiestoprovideadditionalservicestoclients

(stockanalysisandadvisories),ortoprovideservicestothebankforinternalefficiency(fintechs,AMLthirdparties,creditrating

agencies),toallowthebanktofocusoncoreofferings.

StandardChartered(Global):

Partnerswithfintechstoprovideadditionalservices.

MultiplesourcesofDataforCreditScoring

Kreditech(Germany):

Usesalternativedataforcreditscoring.

Usemultiplealternativewaystosourcebusinessdatausedto

formulatethecreditscore,toensurethatitisonparwithcurrentbankingstandards.Possiblypartneringwithfintechstosource

businessdata.

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Shadowlimits

Shadowcreditlimits(pre-approvedcredit)availabletocustomers

thattheyarenotawareof,butcanbeavailedincasetheyneedextrafacilitiesduringcriticalmoments.

Personalisedproductoffering

Mappingthebank’ssuiteofproductstothecustomer’sjourney,andofferproductrecommendationsbasedonwhereclientsareinthat

journey.Pre-approvetheclientforcreditfacilitiesbasedonwhatisknownandidentifyfuturecross-sellopportunities.

Querytracker

WellsFargo(USA):

Hasadetailedsystemfortrackingandresolvingcustomerqueries.

Acentralisedquerymanagementsystemthattracksqueriesfromreceipttoclosure.Queriesshouldbecategorisedaccordingly

(i.e.product,channel,perfomance,service).IntroduceSLA’sfor

attendingtoqueriesandescalations.Enhancetheexistingqueriesandcomplaintssolutiononpublicwebandencouragecustomerstologrequeststhemselvestodecreasecallstothebackoffice.

SMEBusinessbankeracademy

HSBC:

ProvidestrainingsolutionsforitsSMEbusinessbankingrepresentatives.

Providetrainin