Credibly's Partnership With Wirecard Continues The Digitization Of Lending

The fintech revolution of the past decade has been driven by a host of practical factors, but the core of fintech’s appeal lies in its ability to deliver financial services at a speed and level of reliability that was previously inaccessible from national or community banks and credit unions.

Nowhere else in the economy are these themes of speed and reliability more highly prized than among small- and medium-sized business owners. In the 2019 edition of its annual Small Business Credit Survey, the Federal Reserve found that a lender’s speed of decision-making and business owners’ perception that their funding requests would be met were far-and-away the top reasons driving applications for financing to online lenders.

Fintech companies that cater to small businesses have taken note of these priorities. Just this week, small business lender Credibly announced a partnership with Wirecard WCAGY, a leading issuer of payout cards, aimed at further improving the speed at which applicants can be approved for and receive financing.

According to data from Credibly, average time to fulfillment through a bank wire service or automated clearing house (ACH) was already extremely quick, with funds arriving the next business morning after approval The newly announced partnership with a Wirecard promises to further decrease the time to funding for the 10,000 applications Credibly processes in an average month so those funds can be accessed almost instantaneously.

In a press release announcing the new relationship, Credibly founder and co-CEO Ryan Rosett said, “We are wholeheartedly focused on the customer experience. Providing customers with the option to obtain and utilize their funds almost instantly is a major benefit of partnering with Wirecard.”

Critical in this equation are the reasons underlying these applications, most of which are for amounts less than $100,000. In a survey conducted among the company’s clients, 50 percent cited the need for working capital as the primary reason they sought funding.

Making this speed increase possible is Wirecard’s digital payment platform, which has an extensive pedigree of global partnerships across the fintech landscape, working with the likes of Tencent Holding TCEHY to add digital payments to the company’s WeChat app and the UK-based peer-2-peer lending service Funding Circle.

The digitization of Credibly’s financing products via Wirecard's digital platform now allows small business owners to manage their funds while also coordinating payments to suppliers, contractors or employees.

The option for receiving funds through payout cards also serves to benefit the technology underlying Credibly’s underwriting processes. Jeffrey Bumbales, director of marketing & strategic partnerships at Credibly explained, “The enhanced data and reporting functionality will also bolster our models and risk analytics, in turn improving our ability to meet the financing needs of SMEs.”

Credibly is a content partner of Benzinga.