Bridging the divide

SMEs are a vital group to the health of the global economy, but they are largely still underserved when it comes to flexible payments services. Access to faster payment services and real-time transaction processing through existing corporate and retail banking offerings is limited and many businesses are still waiting until the next day for the previous days’ card takings. In a world where time waits for no-one, it is critical that SMEs are able to access and move money on demand so they can better manage cash flow, pay staff and suppliers promptly and reinvest into the business for growth.

Form3 is on a mission to make payments faster, easier and more cost effective for the global financial community. They provide banks and regulated fin-techs globally simple access to multiple payment schemes including UK (FPS), European (SEPA) and International payment schemes via a single API.

Driven by the desire to help widen financial inclusion and ensure accessibility for all, Form3 is lowering barriers and opening up scheme access so that all financial institutions are able to provide better services to their customers.

There were 5.7 million SMEs in the UK in 2018 contributing 47 per cent of revenue to the UK economy.

Disrupting for good

Several new challenger banks have been quick to ‘undo’ the incumbent nature of payments from traditional retail banks and lead the charge on delivering instant payments to their customers while improving the overall digital experience.

Merchant service providers are working hard to help SME’s tackle financial barriers to growth and development enabling commerce to be easier and more cost effective. Providers such as Square work with Form3 to deliver access to real-time payments in the UK, expanding their global support for local merchants wanting instant access to funds.

N26 is another example where making financial life easier is core to their digital banking approach. N26 is working with Form3 to enable their users to make and receive Faster Payments in milliseconds allowing them to compete with Tier 1 banks.