Banks Can Ensure Small Business Customers Thrive with the Right Fintech Partnership

One might reasonably believe that business finances are more complex for large businesses than for small ones. And in some ways, that’s true. But given the limitations of resources small businesses have, managing their finances today can also be exceptionally complex.

The number of touch points for any small business owner is nothing less than frustrating. Yet, to serve the modern small business, the solution for banks that want to become their heroes can be as simple as having the right fintech partnership.

Small businesses may have a traditional bank account, a payment platform, an e-commerce platform, one or more credit card accounts, an accounting platform, and an expense tracking platform.

Logging in and out of platforms and trying to track money across multiple platforms is time consuming and exhausting.

In a previous blog post, I mentioned that the holy grail of small business banking is having everything in one place. That includes invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting, accounting, bookkeeping, and income taxes.

And, as I said before, I’ve never heard anyone say they enjoy having to log in to a multitude of apps and platforms to run their business.

Banks have an opportunity to serve their small business customers better. It’s in their power and in their best interest — and it doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive.

Successful small businesses grow and require additional capital, which banks can provide and profit from. But for that to happen, small business customers need nurturing. They need help in reducing the complexity and time commitment to managing their finances.

Differentiators in Banking

You can’t run a business from a bank statement. But most banks today offer little more than that — and often charge small businesses a monthly fee for it.

The role of banks is to serve (and profit from) the business community by providing needed capital for growth. But even before a small business reaches that point, there are opportunities for a bank to nurture these customers.

Small businesses need to be able to run their day-to-day functions without complexity and without hefty fees. By providing services that help their small business customers thrive, banks are nurturing their future revenue stream that will come when those businesses need capital to grow.

The Right Fintech Partnership

Banks have it in their power to provide everything a small business needs, in one place, and at a cost that is reasonable. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, because innovative fintechs like Tight have already created apps and APIs that provide small businesses with all the tools they need to manage their business finances in a simple and cost-effective way.

More and more, banks are partnering with fintechs so they don’t need to spend the time and money to become one. In years past, fintechs were considered competition — but today, they can be valuable partners for financial institutions that understand their business customers’ needs.

It’s in a bank’s interest to set their small business customers up to grow and succeed.

At Tight, we’ve spent years studying the special needs of small businesses. We know, for example, that they often have credit cards that are separate from their bank accounts. And Tight makes it possible for small business owners to see their bank statements and credit card statements all in one place.

What small biz owner wouldn’t love getting all their financial needs from one source — and have that source be their bank?

At Tight we love to find solutions to small business problems, and we welcome partnerships with financial institutions that want to serve and nurture these customers.

If you’re trying to find ways for your bank to better serve the small business community, explore the Tight API and give us a shout. One of our experts would be happy to answer all your questions and help you provide your customers with all the tools they need to succeed in one place.