Barclays and HSBC have both connected with small business lender iwoca, making full use of the opportunities presented by open banking.
Following this, iwoca now has three partnerships with UK banks, having previously formed a deal with Lloyds Bank. Over 60 per cent of its customer-base will now be able to make full use of the open banking opportunities.
iwoca customers which also bank with Barclays, HSBC or Lloyds are able to provide five years of transaction history within seconds when they apply for a revolving credit facility or long-term loan from iwoca.
The lending company is still working on establishing partnerships with the remaining six high street banks. Deals with Santander and NatWest are close to completion, the company said.
London-based iwoca helps small businesses gain access to credit via its online platform. Businesses can gain access to loans from £1,000 to £200,000 for cash flow, stock or investments on terms of up to 12 months.
Credit limits are set by business performance, with the company typically lending up to one month’s revenue or £10,000 for a startup.
iwoca CEO and co-founder Christoph Rieche said, “Our Open Banking team has been hard at work to add Barclays and HSBC to our first connection with Lloyds and I’m delighted that we can now offer almost two-thirds of our customers an easier way to get approved with us.
“Clearly there’s a need to raise awareness of Open Banking and help small business owners benefit from it, and we’d love to work with the banks and the Open Banking body to achieve that.”
Earlier in the year, iwoca secured £50m in a debt facility designed to help it support the deployment of more SME loans. NIBC Bank led the debt round, with participation also coming from Shawbrook Bank and Pollen Street Capital.
