Finastra, Microsoft Form BaaS Partnership

London-based FinTech Finastra has launched a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) collaboration with Microsoft, according to a Tuesday (April 12) press release.

The partnership is designed to offer new lending options to small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), “a sector severely underserved when it comes to accessing finance,” the release stated. SMBs that use Microsoft Dynamics 365 will be able to access financing offers without leaving their business management platform.

“This move will enable [SMB] owners to access relevant and valuable business financing in a seamless and frictionless manner,” according to the release. “Users will be able to unlock lending options within Dynamics 365. With consent from the [SMB], the solution will use information an [SMB] already stores within Microsoft Dynamics 365, making it easier for them to apply for lending.”

With the ability to offer banks additional information, such as accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AR) records, SMBs will see improved lending decisions and faster time to cash, the release stated. Finastra’s payment network of more than 5,000 financial institutions (FIs) in the U.S. will let SMBs access “the most relevant and valuable financing options for their specific business needs.”

Finastra said in the release its SMB embedded finance solution on Microsoft Dynamics 365 will be integrated with open application programming interfaces (APIs) through Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud platform and is expected to go live in the summer of 2022, with an initial focus on customers in North America.

In November, Finastra began working with the IT services firm Hexaware to provide managed services for Finastra’s cloud-based payment solutions.

Read more: Finastra, Hexaware Collaborate to Help Banks Modernize

“The move helps Hexaware customers in Germany, Belgium, the U.K. and Ireland take ownership of their payment infrastructure,” the two companies said at the time. “The partnership brings together the companies’ industry-leading payments and integration experience to provide mid-sized banks with an end-to-end Payments-as-a-Service (PaaS) offering, which helps them remain competitive while mitigating operational costs.”

——————————

NEW PYMNTS DATA: THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS PAYABLES INNOVATION STUDY– APRIL 2022

Plastiq - The Future Of Business Payables Innovation: How New B2B Payment Options Can Transform The SMB Back Office - April 2022 - Learn how all-in-one payment solutions can help businesses streamline B2B transactions and remove AP and AR management frictions

About: While over half of SMBs believe that an all-in-one payment platform can save them time and improve visibility into cash flows, 56% believe that the solution could be difficult to integrate with existing AP and AR systems. The Future Of Business Payables Innovation Report, a PYMNTS and Plastiq collaboration, surveyed 500 SMBs with revenues between $500,000 and $100 million to explore how all-in-one solutions can exceed SMBs’ expectations and help future-proof their businesses.