Funding Xchange strikes small business lending deal with ezbob

The fintechs said the agreement gives small firms wider access to a greater range of lenders.

Funding Xchange has struck a deal with ezbob to give small firms wider access to “the best loan terms available to them”.

The Open Banking deal allows small business platform Funding Xchange to integrate its service with ezbob’s cutting-edge technology and existing lenders such as Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale.

The London-based platform, formed in 2014, said the agreement will expand the lenders on its service competing to sell loans to small firms.

It added small businesses who come to its platform through its partners, comparison site Money Supermarket and accounting software group Sage, can also use the new service.

London-based lending-as-a-service firm ezbob said small firms will be able to compare loan terms with a variety of lenders, only sharing full data with the provider it eventually chooses.

Funding Xchange chief executive Katrin Herrling said: “We are joining forces with ezbob to help further transform small and medium-sized enterprise lending in the same way that consumer lending was transformed 15 years ago – giving small business owners certainty about available terms and instant access to funding.”

Ezbob chief executive Tomer Guriel added: “Our integrated marketplace solution creates funding opportunities for businesses previously let down by traditional products.”

The Funding Xchange and deal ezbob uses Open Banking technology, which operates through the Payment Services Directive and application programming interface rules.

A change in European Union law at the start of the year has ushered in Open Banking, which means consumers can allow businesses, other than their bank, to access their financial data.

Advocates say this potentially allows customers and small businesses to get better deals, such as cheaper overdrafts, and speed up switching between banks.