Going mobile – 5 unmissable features of digital business banking
The banking industry was always a likely candidate for disruption as the internet became an integral part of daily life. It has taken longer than some may have predicted around the time of the Dot Com Bubble. Still, so-called challenger banks now stand out as viable contenders for the attention not only of private consumers but also businesses.
For those accustomed to carrying out their business banking in branches or through cumbersome online portals, the advent of fully-featured mobile accounts marks a massive change in approach. However, the streamlined nature of an app-based service allows entrepreneurs and owners to spend less time on their finances and more time running their companies.
If you are considering going digital with your business banking but are unsure of the implications for your business, here are five reasons to go ahead and make the switch:
1. Straightforward applications
The days of pages of paperwork and the back and forth of identification documents are long behind us. In their place, mobile business banks are designed to handle the entire process within the confines of the app itself.
Creating a brand new bank account for your business need not be a long, exhaustive process, but security remains a priority throughout. Documentary evidence travels to the banking provider through uploads and photographs, and specialist teams sift through a combination of submitted and publicly available information to ensure that the applicant is who they claim to be.
Traditional banks often complicate the process. Challenger banks make account creation as seamless as possible. The best digital business banks see that new accounts are authorized and ready to use within 24 hours.
2. Simple international payments
International commerce is a defining consideration for even the smallest companies. The internet has not only made these challenger banks possible but has brought the global economy much closer together.
International payments were long a key revenue generator for traditional banks. Their systems and processes were not necessarily designed for frequent international payments. The costs, as well as extra fees, were passed onto the customer.
Digital business banks were designed when international transactions had established themselves as just as frequent an occurrence as the mail arriving. They were built around the concept of making it as cheap and easy as possible to send and receive money through global clients and suppliers.
Many of the leading digital business banking providers enable customers to maintain accounts in different currencies, send and receive money internationally at no additional cost. They often seek to provide the best possible exchange rates without the need for an extra app.
3. Built-in extra features
While it took a while for challenger banks to establish themselves as genuine industry disruptors, there is no shortage of accounts to choose from for someone seeking to open one today. Each brand is in direct competition in this crucial growth phase as each bank aims to build a large, loyal customer base. Many are based on the same principles, with low fees and international payments available as standard. That means that to stand out in an increasingly crowded market, they need to do things differently from the rest.
For those seeking a new account, that means that there are plenty of unique features from which to choose. Some digital accounts are better than others for supporting multiple employees with account and card access, while others provide comprehensive business banking without the standard fees.
Others go above and beyond by automatically refunding any ATM fees incurred while using their cards. At the same time, some will offer surprisingly high interest rates for a business account – ideal for companies that keep cash on hand.
4. Integration with accounting software
Most digital business banks are designed to provide a comprehensive suite of services to businesses of all sizes. Smaller enterprises stand to benefit massively from the uncomplicated process, and they can quickly go above and beyond banking alone.
Among the best opportunities to save both time and money is integration with popular accounting software. Some accounts work exclusively with a single software provider, while others will operate effectively with a range of competing products. Ultimately, that means that business accounts can take minutes rather than hours, with accurate, up-to-date information dropped into the software automatically.
5. Digital check deposits
Checks are a relative rarity in modern personal banking, but they remain commonplace in the business world. Challenger banks understand the need to support them but had to discover a method to process these checks differently from their traditional counterparts. Most businesses would prefer not to wait around on postal services for cashflow purposes, and dropping off checks at a branch is rendered impossible by the fact that most challenger banks do not have any!
Different providers have various ways of depositing checks into an account, but the majority once again seek to keep things within the app. As a baseline, anyone seeking to open a new digital business bank account should expect to be able to submit photographs of the front and back of the check through the app. Some accounts even go a step further with instant clearing and other perks.
It is far from uncommon to associate traditional business bank accounts with high fees, difficulty with international payments and currency conversion, and relatively slow processing times. Challenger banks are designed from the ground up to tackle all of these issues while harnessing the latest technology to achieve the goals of business owners and make their lives easier. Even if you are happy with your existing banking arrangements, it makes sense to stay on top of the latest opportunities, and, in most estimations, a new digital business banking account may well be the right way to go.
