Microsoft partners Finastra to offer SME lending through Dynamics 365

Finastra is to partner with tech titan Microsoft to provide embedded financing options to small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) through Microsoft’s business management platform Dynamics 365.

The business management platform will embed financing options for SMEs

The Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) collaboration will look to leverage the data Dynamics 365 already holds to make it easier for thousands of SMEs to apply for funding.

Finastra BaaS chief revenue officer Angus Ross says this additional finance capability will “ease the process of accessing capital, and power competitive financing offers in less time”.

“This lending proposition for Microsoft Dynamics 365 demonstrates the huge benefit that embedded and contextual finance will bring to the industry and the communities within it,” Ross adds.

The ability to provide banks with additional information, including accounts receivable and payable records, will improve lending decisions and time to cash for SMEs, Finastra says.

Additionally, its network of more than 5,000 US financial institutions will allow SMEs to tap the most relevant and valuable financing options for their specific business needs.

The embedded financing solution will be integrated with open APIs through Finastra’s FusionFabric.cloud platform and is expected to go live across North America in the summer.

Microsoft’s corporate vice president of worldwide financial services, Bill Borden, says the partnership will “drive new value for small and medium enterprises, the backbone of job creation in the world’s economy”.