![\"cover-79×81\"](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/cover-79x81.png\")
<\/div>\n\t\t\tInterest in digital business banking<\/h2>\n
Worldwide, 56% of SMEs already trust their finances to challenger banks<\/b> according to the EY Global FinTech Adoption Index<\/a>. In some emerging markets such as China, where traditional financial services are particularly lagging, adoption has soared to 92%<\/b>.<\/p>\n In Europe, SME banking startups have also risen in popularity. Key players have managed to accumulate five- to six-figure customer bases in less than five years: The Intellias team decided to investigate this matter and determine what makes digital business banking accounts so attractive to SMEs and what features are a must-have for a successful launch.<\/p>\n Early market entrants disrupted the market with a \u201cbusiness banking, but better\u201d experience powered by new-gen technologies (big data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence, etc.).<\/p>\n Effective KYC and onboarding, round-the-clock availability, and an expanding array of features strike a chord with business customers: We analyzed voice of customer data from current business banking users and concluded that the following product features are in the highest demand.<\/p>\n Digital banks have set the bar for no-fee personal accounts. Business customers now expect the same perk.<\/p>\n Key market players (Monzo, Starling, Revolut, N26, Tide<\/b>) oblige and do not charge any fees for:<\/p>\n The second most requested business bank account feature is multi-user access<\/b>, as it\u2019s no longer just freelancers and sole traders who favor digital banking solutions.<\/p>\n The best strategy for meeting the needs of all these customer segments will be enabling secure, permissioned multi-user access. You can allow the account owner to invite additional users with read-only permissions (for instance, an accountant and payroll manager).<\/p>\n Revolut<\/a> has gone a mile further, letting account owners add as many people as needed with defined roles and exercise control over their ability to:<\/p>\n Getting paid or receiving funds should be a fast, secure, and efficient experience. SMEs are ready to switch from their traditional banks to a new digital offering if they\u2019re provided with the following money transfer options:<\/p>\n Small or not, businesses often need access to multiple cards for managing different types of expenses and day-to-day payments. The basic requirements of business users are:<\/p>\n How to prevent contactless payment fraud.<\/p>\n For digital banks, it may be tough to balance the no-fee offering with unlimited (or 10+) physical cards. Hence, to stay on the profitable side, you may want to consider either of the following options:<\/p>\n Last year, nearly half<\/a> of all payments in the UK were contactless. This major increase is attributed to a 114% rise in the use of Apple Pay and Google Pay among both consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n Beyond meeting consumer demand for this payment option, Google Pay and Apple Pay integration can also serve as a great middleware solution to supporting multiple business cards. In this case, the physical card can remain with the account owner while another user can pay via their mobile wallet.<\/p>\n Integrating Google Pay and Apple Pay services: a case study from Intellias<\/p>\n Did you know that British SMEs collectively lose over \u00a38.72 billion<\/a> per year as a result of the time taken by weekly company expense management?<\/p>\n Helping SMEs reclaim these hours will win your digital bank a lot of points. Basic expense management functionality should include:<\/p>\n Finally, don\u2019t forget to enable shared view access to the expenses tab \u2014 if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll risk alienating some users: Accounting is yet another \u201cdelightful\u201d chore that SMEs want to streamline. Your best bet is to launch your business product with:<\/p>\n The most highly requested integrations are with Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Sage, Wave, Kashflow,<\/b> and ClearBooks<\/b>.<\/p>\n Real-time transaction data and instant notifications about incoming\/outgoing payments are a must. Beyond that, you should offer general account analytics showing spending data, upcoming and recurring payments, and granular transaction data.<\/p>\n If you plan to offer a web interface for your product (which most business users request), you should also include additional transaction management features such as advanced search and filters (type, date, user, etc.), as well as standard and custom categories.<\/p>\n Additional top-of-mind account analytics features include:<\/p>\n Injecting new business capital should take a few clicks or swipes. Most digital banks allow instant top-ups via debit\/credit cards or bank transfer.<\/p>\n Some players (Starling, Monzo, and Novo) also support affordable cash\/check deposits either via a partnering institution (e.g. PayPoint, the US Postal Service) or by snapping a quick picture of a check and submitting it via the mobile app (Novo).<\/p>\n Whether digital banks for businesses should offer in-app invoicing functionality is debatable. Most users vote in favor, but some argue that banking and invoicing should remain two separate products for convenience\u2019s sake. Those who oppose the integration largely fear that invoicing will make an existing product more clunky and confusing.<\/p>\n Your best bet is to start small and test the waters with basic in-app invoice functionality, perhaps limited to only the web interface. Alternatively, you can offer a curated list of invoicing integrations via a marketplace, giving users the ability to select their favorite solution and link it with their business account.<\/p>\n If you do decide to move forward with in-app invoicing, consider adding the following features:<\/p>\n The average small business spends 12 working days<\/a> per year on taxes and compliance. And those who are lax often miss important deadlines or don\u2019t save in advance for upcoming bills.<\/p>\n There are several things you can do to delight business users when it comes to taxes:<\/p>\n
\n![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Features-for-Business-Banking_info-1-copy-71-1024x599.jpg\")
\nSource: Sifted<\/a> \u2013 Comparison of online business banking startups<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nEssential features for digital business banking<\/h2>\n
\n![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Features-for-Business-Banking_info-1-copy-81-1024x599.jpg\")
\nSource: EY<\/a> \u2013 EY Global FinTech Adoption Index<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1. No-fee business current\/checking accounts with multi-user access<\/h3>\n
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2. Low-cost and fast transfers<\/h3>\n
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3. Corporate cards: debit, credit, and virtual<\/h3>\n
![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Sandra_mint1-1024x339.png\")
\nSource: Monzo Community<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n
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4. Apple Pay and Google Pay integration<\/h3>\n
5. Business and employee expense management<\/h3>\n
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\n![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Wyatt_white1-1024x340.png\")
\nSource: Trustpilot<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n6. Accounting software integrations<\/h3>\n
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7. Exportable statements, reporting, and analytics<\/h3>\n
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8. Simple deposits<\/h3>\n
9. Invoicing<\/h3>\n
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10. Tax preparation<\/h3>\n
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![\"Digital](\"https:\/\/intellias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/JojoW_mint1-1024x499.png\")
\nSource: Monzo Community<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n