Small business banking platform Rapid Finance has introduced updates to its fraud detection platform Lynx.
The platform now includes a cloud-based rules engine that enables the company’s enterprise customers to create customized risk management rules and outcomes to make informed lending decisions tailored to the specific criteria of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
“The cloud-based rules engine makes it easier for small business lenders to customize their lending criteria and risk management strategies,” said Will Tumulty, CEO of Rapid Finance. “Enhancing Lynx with rules-based customization reinforces our commitment to providing the most robust and flexible small business lending solution designed to meet the specific business needs of both lenders and small business owners.”
The announcement comes just under two months after Rapid Finance partnered with Galileo Financial Technologies to develop a lending solution for small and medium-sized businesses.
This collaboration resulted in the creation of the Rapid Access Mastercard program, a prepaid commercial card program that gives Rapid Finance’s SMB customers seamless and instant access to funds if they have a good line of credit (LOC).
The launch of these products comes as U.S. small businesses continue to struggle to access financing: According to a PYMNTS Intelligence survey, only 8.5% of small businesses say they have easy access to working capital loans from banks.
Additionally, 11% of these small businesses said they could get financing from online vendors, and more than half of those surveyed said they would consider looking for new sources of financing this year.
Among companies looking to raise new capital, more than a quarter are considering using online lenders, and about a third plan to partner with a major domestic bank, according to the data.
“It's not easy for small businesses to get loans, even for small amounts,” David Feuer, chief product officer at Galileo Financial Technologies, told PYMNTS in an interview published in October. “Banks are getting increasingly sophisticated in how they use data to make smart decisions about who to offer loans to.”
Among the key takeaways from the report, “Small Business Borrowing Trends: Trends, Tools and Decision Drivers,” compiled by PYMNTS Intelligence in collaboration with U.S. Bank, one that stood out was that smaller businesses are less likely to be interested in taking out loans, with 34% of small business executives surveyed citing borrowing costs as a concern.
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