SME-focussed FinTech appoints head of product to help build SME finance marketplace
The digital finance platform, BIZL, has recently unveiled its intentions to lead innovation in the SME lending journey by appointing Ravi Ambasana as head of product. Brought in from RVU Group (owners of Uswitch, Zoopla and Money.co.uk), the strategic hire shows that BIZL has its sights set on bringing much-needed innovation to SMEs who are looking for finance.
The London-based company is part of a revolution in financial technology, having ambitious plans to transform the way businesses borrow money. BIZL’s proprietary platform matches small businesses who need finance to grow with the right lenders via their marketplace. Pulling in data from credit reference agencies, Companies House and bank feeds, businesses are able to streamline their application to lenders, while lenders receive data-rich applications matched to their underwriting criteria.
With live data feeds from Companies House in place, and using blended business and personal credit search insights, Ambasana is already moving BIZL onto more ambitious projects:
“Last week we started piloting open banking, which will mean that when we match a user to a lender, the user can give us access to their live bank transaction feeds. This creates massive efficiencies for the user, us and the lender, and is very exciting. This week we go live with a direct feed to one of our lenders, meaning we can get instant approvals for requests up to £15,000. That’s pretty cool”, says Ambasana. “Next year is going to be big. It will all be about automation, building a 360’ financial picture of the user in real time, powerful insights for business owners and lenders, as well as getting our platform ready to scale into different markets.”
While ground-breaking technologies have transformed many areas within personal finance, business finance has, until recently, been left largely untouched. With the advent of open banking, and with fewer barriers to data-sharing, more FinTech companies are turning their attention to the SME market.
Josh Greenway, founder and CEO of BIZL, commented: “SMEs have been unloved for too long by the banks. Over many years investment into lending processes and underwriting has been lacking, and that’s because banks have become apathetic to their customers. BIZL is on a mission to revolutionise the way businesses borrow money, which is pretty ambitious. Ravi will play a pivotal role in helping us achieve our goals.”
