BROOKFIELD, Wis.–Fiserv said it is now enabling financial institutions to build their small and midsize business (SMB) programs through the launch of a cloud-based, digital lending and credit platform.
The offering, which the company said leverages the Atlas Platform from fintech StreetShares, allows financial institutions to manage the full lending lifecycle from digital document capture, underwriting, offer management and closing – “delivering against the expectations of both staff and customers. The platform includes strong analytics capabilities, automated decisioning insights and a streamlined, integrated small business owner hub that makes it easy for financial institutions to make and edit digital loan offers.”
Noting community financial institutions played a leading role in helping small businesses (SMBs) through the pandemic. Fiserv said it and StreetShares equipped many financial institutions to deliver a seamless Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) experience from application through forgiveness, and many of these institutions acquired new SMB customers as a result.
The pandemic also “catalyzed the expansion of many third-party providers that are now competing with community financial institutions for SMB relationships,” Fiserv added.
‘Significant Opportunity’
According to Fiserv, SMB lending represents a significant opportunity for financial institutions.
“Many are currently managing high deposit volume and are looking to diversify revenue while providing more holistic offerings to SMBs and a growing base of gig economy customers,” the company stated.
Fiserv added that as regional institutions and third-party providers engage more fully in this market, a digital-first approach is critical – particularly since 47% of small businesses have indicated that technology has an outsized impact on their decision to work with an institution, according to Raddon, which is a Fiserv company.
“Financial institutions are crucial to funding the capital needs of small businesses, which play an outsized role in ensuring the vitality of communities around the country,” said Todd Horvath, head of account processing at Fiserv.
Turn-Key Offering
“The introduction of a turn-key, digital-first small business lending and credit platform in partnership with StreetShares underscores our focus on creating the connections our financial institutions need to stay competitive – all backed by our commitment to open banking.”
The Atlas Platform will be integrated with Fiserv core systems beginning in Q4 2021.