Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move and manage money across borders for millions built Wise Business to enable business owners to pay international invoices, vendors, and employees in 80 countries without subscription fees and without paying any hidden charges in international transfers, which are made at the mid-market rate (i.e. the rate you see on Google). For example, in the UK, transfers with Wise are on average six times cheaper than traditional banks.

SME owners regularly identify easy access to key services as a barrier to growth, not least in the last 18 months as many have faced a myriad of challenges. Funding Options is addressing this problem by bringing together an ecosystem of providers who can champion SME growth in the UK. This collaboration with Wise follows on from its partnership with utilities comparison provider Love Energy Savings earlier this year to offer SMEs unbiased and fair comparisons on over 150 business energy tariffs from more than 17 providers.

This announcement is the latest milestone in an impressive year of expansion for Funding Options. The business has now helped well over 10,000 SMEs in the UK and the Netherlands to secure more than £570m in funding, and launched its award winning API-led and artificial intelligence-driven Funding Cloud™ platform earlier this year to help businesses access funds quickly. The company also launched the UK’s first green finance marketplace for SMEs in July.

The record from application to approval through Funding Cloud™ is now just 20 seconds, shaving minutes off previous times. Customers can now also receive cash in the bank in mere minutes, meaning vital growth decisions can be made almost instantaneously. By teaming up with the likes of Wise, Funding Options continues to bring innovative partners on to the platform with a shared vision of giving SMEs access to the best options on the market.

Simon Cureton, Chief Executive Officer at Funding Options, comments: “As we continue on our mission to help SMEs grow and thrive, we are delighted to be partnering with Wise. Business owners need and expect frictionless and affordable digital financial services, with international payments a key component for many. This strategic partnership adds another layer of depth to our Funding Cloud ecosystem, which we believe has the power to transform the SME finance landscape.”

Roisin Levine, Head of UK & Europe Partnerships at Wise, comments: “We’re thrilled to be working with Funding Options to bring a better international payments experience to SMEs. For too long, small businesses have been stuck with poor international payments services that are too expensive, mired in a lack of transparency, and slow and cumbersome processes. In fact, recent research has found that only two in 10 of all small businesses around the world believe their bank provides value for money. Like Funding Options, we believe small businesses deserve something better - an international payment service that is fast, transparent, convenient and affordable.”