Scotiabank partners Kabbage on SME lending

Source: Scotiabank

Scotiabank customers in Canada and Mexico will be able to apply for and access a small business loan, up to $100,000, in as little as seven minutes through a new partnership with Kabbage, a leading financial technology and data company and disruptor in the online lending business.

Access to Scotiabank business loans, powered by Kabbage®, will combine the convenience of a six-month (Canada) and 12-month (Mexico) term loan, with the flexibility of a line of credit. Scotiabank will leverage Kabbage's data and technology platform to provide fully automated onboarding, underwriting, servicing and ongoing monitoring throughout the entire customer lifecycle. The Bank is piloting the new lending program in Canada and Mexico through a phased-in approach, beginning by offering the service to its more than 100,000 current non borrowing small business customers in the two launch markets.

Seven facts about the Scotiabank-Kabbage partnership:

  • More than 80% of Canadian start-ups used personal financing to finance their new businesses in 2014 because they lacked the credit history or collateral to secure a loan.
  • Scotiabank small business customers will be able to apply for a small business loan online and receive a decision and access to funds in minutes, using key business data sources and account information.
  • The platform will be available through Scotiabank online banking sites in Canada and Mexico.
  • Once approved, customers will have the flexibility to draw the funds as individual term loans, from $1,000 (specific to Canada), up to the approved loan amount. Each loan can have its own repayment terms.
  • Scotiabank is the 3rd international bank and the 1st in Canada to select the Kabbage platform, in the past six months, reinforcing the importance of fueling small business growth across the world, with an unmatched customer experience.
  • In October 2015, Kabbage announced that Scotiabank invested in the company's growth. This is another example of the Bank's commitment to providing customers with a digital banking experience, and an example of the work being done at the Scotiabank Digital Factory.
  • Existing small business customers, currently not borrowing from Scotiabank, will be able to apply for a Scotiabank Fastline for business, powered by Kabbage® loan, beginning July 2016. Scotiabank Mexico customers will be able to apply for a Scotiabank Kabbage loan beginning August 2016.

"The Scotiabank-Kabbage partnership is another significant milestone in the Bank's digital transformation. Scotiabank is embracing technologies that drive new and improved experiences for its customers worldwide. Small businesses are a very important customer segment in our journey, and this partnership is an example of how banks and FinTechs are working together to provide customers with a better banking experience." - James O' Sullivan, Group Head, Canadian Banking, Scotiabank

"Scotiabank combines the agility of a progressive and technology forward company with the strength and stability of its position as a leading global bank. Today's announcement further demonstrates the scalability of Kabbage to power lending for organizations worldwide. Working in markets as diverse as Canada and Latin America together with the U.S., Europe and Australia cements our position as the most advanced data and technology platform in lending." - Rob Frohwein, Co-founder and CEO, Kabbage

"Our partnership with Kabbage will provide our small business customers in Canada and Mexico with a new digital lending experience. This partnership will allow us to learn from each other and to adapt our value proposition to meet the needs of small business customers. Scotiabank is undergoing a digital transformation and we are delighted to work with Kabbage to accelerate our digital strategy." - Nacho Deschamps, Group Head, International Banking and Digital Transformation, Scotiabank

Canada Small Business Facts:

  • Employing more than 8.2 million Canadians, small businesses represent 97.9% of Canada's employer businesses.
  • Borrowing activity by Canadian small businesses fell for the 5th consecutive month in April according to data from PayNet.
  • Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (June 2016)

Mexico Small Business Facts:

  • SME segment is an important engine for Mexico's GDP. According to 2014 Economic Census in Mexico, Small Businesses generate 40% of the GDP and 60% of formal employments in the country.
  • According to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography in Mexico (INEGI), from the ~5 million enterprises in Mexico, over 90% are small businesses. 

Comments: (1)

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 24 June, 2016, 12:18Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

I think that this article shows the point I have been trying to make to rebut arguments that fintech operations will put the Canadian chartered banks "out of business". Hardly. The banks have huge sums to invest in these start up operations in need of small installment loans, so they will simply buy up the successful ones and integrate the ones they want into the corporate structure.