Small Business Advice

BankiFi and MX Partner to Enable Data Sharing and Account Connectivity for Financial Institutions Serving Small and Medium-Sized Business Customers

BankiFi | November 09, 2022 | Read time : 02:26 min

BankiFi and MX Partner to Enable Data Sharing and Account
BankiFi, a leading provider of embedded banking solutions, has partnered with MX Technologies, Inc., a leader in open finance, to enable secure data sharing and account connectivity for businesses using BankiFi’s platform. Through this collaboration, financial institutions will be able to leverage MX’s open finance APIs to bring account connectivity and data access to a robust suite of banking solutions tailored to the unique needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB). This partnership between BankiFi and MX enables SMB users to securely connect their bank accounts within the BankiFi Open Cash Management platform for a more complete picture of their financial data. Coupled with BankiFi’s secure connectivity to leading accounting platforms, this partnership provides SMBs with a holistic view of accounts receivable and payment activity, as well as a centralized platform to view operating accounts. This consolidated offering enables banks to provide more efficient SMB services, while building stronger relationships, identifying lending opportunities, and providing a valuable suite of financial workflows. The partnership with MX also provides BankiFi the opportunity to leverage MX’s Instant Account and ID Verifications for various use cases within the Open Cash Management platform.

“Partnering with MX strengthens our accessibility and allows us to deliver premier financial workflows and banking solutions to financial institutions and their SMB customers, By embracing MX’s open finance APIs for seamless connectivity and expanded financial data, banks using the BankiFi Open Cash Management platform can make it easy for their SMB customers to connect all of their financial accounts in one place, which is of tremendous value given a recent American Banker SMB survey indicates nearly 78% of all SMBs who have at least two financial institution relationships.”

Keith Riddle, CEO of Americas at BankiFi 

BankiFi’s industry leading Open Cash Management platform has been built to quickly and easily enable a suite of financial workflows to manage invoice issuance and payment collection, matching and reconciliation of invoice data and payments, supplier payments, and cash flow forecasting. Additionally, BankiFi’s Open Cash Management platform manages API connectivity with major accounting packages like QuickBooks and XERO to become the SMB’s consolidated platform for financial management functions. Our integration with BankiFi enables financial institutions to bring the power of open finance and data-driven insights to the SMB market,” said Brett Allred, Chief Innovation Officer, MX. “Together, BankiFi and MX help eliminate the barriers between banking, accounting and accounts payable/receivable platforms to make it easier for businesses to manage their cash.

About BankiFi
BankiFi is on a mission to help over two million SMBs globally by 2024 through partnering with financial institutions to provide technology designed to make business banking better. BankiFi’s platform enables financial institutions to provide a set of integrated services – financial account access, accounting, invoicing and payments, and cash flow forecasting – designed around the processes SMB and trade customers use to run their business. It equips financial institutions to become customer centric, rather than product centric, increasing their revenues (direct and through actionable insights) and reducing costs. BankiFi’s offices are in Ohio, Manchester, Sydney and Antwerp. 

About MX
MX Technologies, Inc., a leader in Open Finance, makes data accessible and actionable for everyone. MX is building the largest open finance ecosystem to help drive innovation and improve experiences through secure and reliable access to financial data. MX combines trusted open finance APIs with enhanced financial data to quickly and securely connect to and verify data for hundreds of use cases including account opening, money movement, and underwriting.

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TECHNOLOGY

Cloudinary Empowers SMBs with AI-Enhanced Digital Asset Management

Cloudinary | September 22, 2023

Cloudinary, a renowned image and video platform, has recently unveiled an addition to its asset management suite with the launch of Cloudinary Nexus. This digital asset management (DAM) solution is explicitly tailored to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Available immediately, Cloudinary Nexus offers both free and premium options. This AI-powered solution empowers SMBs and teams with enterprise-grade capabilities, making it effortless for them to connect, explore, and optimize their digital assets, all while streamlining their branding efforts with minimal time and complexity. Drawing upon the strengths of Cloudinary's acclaimed DAM solution designed for enterprise clientele, known as Cloudinary Assets, Nexus equips smaller brands with the ability to automate essential yet time-consuming tasks associated with asset management. Nexus incorporates advanced AI functionalities and automation to handle tasks like metadata tagging and file format and size optimization. This ensures that teams can dedicate more of their time to more rewarding and high-impact activities. Nexus places significant emphasis on user-friendliness and accessibility, making it a valuable asset for a wide range of teams and individuals. With features such as generative AI, Studio, collections, smart search, and auto-tagging, Nexus equips users with all the tools necessary to unlock the full potential of their images and videos. It enables users to: Instantly Prepare Images and Videos: Users can effortlessly adapt designs, resize, and fine-tune assets in bulk within seconds. The inclusion of subject-aware AI enables the generation of new assets, while readily available creative presets facilitate the creation of multiple variations from a single master asset. Transform User-Generated Content into Brand-Ready Assets: AI and automation simplify the task of moderating, managing, and approving user uploads, requiring minimal to no effort. Facilitate Seamless and Effective Collaboration: By controlling file visibility through custom user roles and permissions, Nexus enhances productivity. Users can collaborate seamlessly with other contributors, teams, and partners, simplifying asset handovers. Instantly Organize and Discover Assets: The automatic addition of tags and metadata, including colors, faces, and objects, improves asset discoverability. An AI-driven visual search feature provides highly accurate and personalized search results. Effortless Setup: Nexus offers easy visual content import and integration with existing storage platforms like Google Drive and Dropbox, ensuring a smooth transition. About Cloudinary Cloudinary is a leading image and video technology platform that empowers the world's most engaging brands to deliver transformative visual experiences on a global scale. Consisting of a user base of over 1.5 million and serving more than 10,000 esteemed customers, including Bleacher Report, Apartment Therapy, Bombas, NBC, Grubhub, Mediavine, Paul Smith, Minted, and Peloton, Cloudinary is the trusted choice for bringing campaigns, applications, and websites to life. With unrivaled image and video APIs, supported by cutting-edge AI and patented technology, Cloudinary provides brands with a singular source of truth to effectively manage, transform, optimize, and seamlessly deliver visual experiences at scale.

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SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS

NEXT Revolutionizes Small Business Coverage with Coverage Builder

NEXT Insurance | September 20, 2023

NEXT Insurance, a renowned digital small business insurer, recently unveiled an innovative new offering that will empower agents to tailor coverage quotes precisely to the unique needs of their small business clientele. NEXT's Coverage Builder represents a significant advancement in granting agents the capability to finely customize small business insurance quotes while still retaining NEXT's hallmark instant bind capabilities. Coverage Builder is designed to be swift, user-friendly, and exclusively tailored for agents before purchase, equipping them with the necessary tools to choose suitable limits and maintain complete control over the coverage they're quoting. With the introduction of Coverage Builder, agents can set their base policy limits, add or remove specific coverage, or adjust limits post-purchase. This functionality, combined with the convenience of instant underwriting and pricing updates, not only saves agents valuable time but also enables them to make adjustments instantly without the need to pick up the phone, eliminating the need for direct communication with an underwriter. This represents NEXT's ongoing commitment to supporting its agents, offering them a digitally driven quoting experience that is user-friendly, accessible, and 100% online. Additionally, Coverage Builder will be accessible to all NEXT customers post-purchase, enabling small business owners to tailor their policies with immediate pricing adjustments and seamless policy management. Cody L Slocum Lammers, Commercial Lines Agent & Broker at Affordable Insurance Solutions, commented, NEXT's Coverage Builder feature is 100% hassle-free. This new feature sets NEXT Insurance to a new level, above its competitors, as this allows agents the flexibility to customize policies to fit the needs of each individual small business. It's user-friendly and simple to understand- this is truly a game changer for NEXT Insurance agents! [Source – Cision PR Newswire] This announcement follows NEXT's recent commercial umbrella/excess liability coverage launch to aid small businesses in their entrepreneurial journey. The digital small business insurer has also made strides by announcing its integration with Ivans Download for General Liability and Workers' Compensation policies and appointing Jack Ramsey as Vice President of Agent Business. These developments underscore NEXT's dedication to its agents and mission to enhance small business clients' insurance purchasing process with a smoother and more intuitive experience. About NEXT Insurance NEXT Insurance, a leading digital small business insurer, is spearheading the transformation of small business insurance by offering streamlined, digital, cost-effective, and tailored coverage solutions. With the trust of over 480,000 business proprietors, the company offers policies that are both convenient to purchase and grant uninterrupted access to Live Certificates of Insurance, additional insured, and more. Pioneering an industry historically known for its complexity, NEXT leverages the power of AI and machine learning to simplify the buying process and make affordable coverage accessible. Established in 2016 and headquartered in Palo Alto, the company has garnered a total of $881 million in venture capital funding.

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MANAGEMENT

DigitalOcean Launches Managed Kafka Offering

Business Wire | September 27, 2023

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Technology

Thryv's Sweeps Industry Awards Dominating the SMB Software Landscape

Thryv | September 07, 2023

Thryv Holdings, Inc., a prominent provider of software platforms for small and medium-sized businesses, recently garnered significant industry recognition for its award-winning SaaS technology. These accolades include Best SaaS Product for SMBs and SMEs, Best SMB CRM Solution, and Best Business Management Software Platform, received from esteemed awards programs such as the World Future Awards, MarTech Breakthrough Awards, and the 2023 SaaS Awards, as well as its consistent ranking in the top 10 of Selling Power's 50 Best Companies to Sell for 2023. Here are some key highlights of the recognition: Best SMB CRM Solution: Thryv Marketing Center was honored with this prestigious award from the MarTech Breakthrough Awards program, a renowned market intelligence organization that acknowledges top companies, products, and technologies in the global marketing, sales, and advertising technology sectors. This recognition comes after being selected as one of the best among more than 3,500 nominations spanning 19 countries. Best Business Management Software Platform: Thryv Business Center was recognized with this accolade at the World Future Awards, highlighting it among the best products, software, and services poised to reshape the global economy and shape the future landscape. Best SaaS Product for Small Business and SMEs: The 2023 SaaS Awards recognized Thryv's SaaS product as one of the finest in the world of software and Software-as-Service. Top 8 Global Ranking: Thryv secured the 8th position in the highly competitive Selling Power's 50 Best Companies to Sell for 2023 list. This marks the company's sixth consecutive appearance on the list, with each year showing an improvement in its ranking. Ryan Cantor, Thryv’s Chief Product Officer, commented, “Our SaaS platform helps business owners across the globe to quickly and easily build, manage and strengthen customer relationships, and ultimately grow their footprints. This latest recognition is testament to our talented team, innovative SaaS technology and great customers, and it reinforces how Thryv helps small businesses succeed.” (Source - Business Wire) About Thryv Holdings, Inc. Thryv Holdings, Inc. is a leading small business management software solutions provider, serving a diverse clientele of over 55,000 small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Its acclaimed SaaS platform, Thryv, empowers these enterprises with the essential tools to modernize and grow their operations, enabling them to navigate and succeed in today's dynamic economic landscape. Additionally, the company oversees the digital and print presence of more than 400,000 SMBs, harnessing proprietary local online and print directories, along with integration into popular social media and search engines to foster connections with local consumers. This holistic approach aids businesses in acquiring new customers and bolstering their bottom line, cementing Thryv Holdings, Inc.'s commitment to providing comprehensive and innovative solutions that empower SMBs to thrive in a fiercely competitive market.

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