The DueDil Funding Options partnership aims to improve financing outcomes for customers by improving the fit between customer and lender and speeding up the application process.

DueDil uses proprietary matching technology to link billions of company data points from authoritative sources. This expertise enables Funding Options to pre-empt friction points that business borrowers might encounter during finance applications. The technology sources necessary data in the background on their behalf, pre-filling fields and cutting down the size of the application form, effectively saving the applicant time, worry and stress.

The partnership represents a win-win for both Funding Options’ customers and panel of lenders. Customers can feel confident that they are more likely to be approved for lending, because they have all the required information to complete the application process. Lenders can be confident that applications they receive will meet their criteria.

Simon Cureton, CEO of Funding Options, said: “Creating the simplest and smartest customer experience is one of Funding Options’ core values. From our partnership with DueDil to our commitment to help thousands more small businesses benefit from Open Banking, we are constantly building a more efficient platform for our customers, connecting them with the best products and services for their business.

“DueDil’s unrivalled company intelligence platform helps us to leverage our customers’ data to serve them better, automate the loan application process on their behalf and proactively help them before they know they need it. I’m excited that through this partnership we will be able to make business financing even simpler for the millions of small and medium businesses across the UK.”

Justin Fitzpatrick, Co-founder and CEO, DueDil, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Funding Options to make finance more fair and accessible for small businesses. Since their founding, Funding Options has demonstrated their commitment to increasing the range of financing available to SMEs. The funding gap has persisted in large part because the process of applying for finance is still too burdensome for the majority of small businesses.”

“As financial service increasingly moves to an ecosystem of providers, seamless digital customer journeys and authoritative information for fast decision-making are key to opening up the market. DueDil and Funding Options are bringing together a best in class digital customer journey with a deep pool of financing providers, ensuring that small businesses of all shapes and sizes have access to the capital they need to grow.”

The partnership with DueDil is another step in Funding Options’ journey towards building a comprehensive platform that anticipates customer needs, proactively directing them to the best products and services before they even know they need them.

As well as pioneering the use of Open Banking data to benefit customers, Funding Options is also developing products and services that analyse a customer’s real-time business banking data.

This enables Funding Options to anticipate cash flow issues before they become acute and proactively recommend the most appropriate lending facility, giving small business owners greater control of their finances.