Banks treating small fintech start-ups ‘unfairly’

3rd July 2019

Experts are warning fintechs to exercise caution when considering takeover offers from big banks, as reports of SMEs being taken advantage of increase.

Several senior fintech executives have pointed to recent cases of fintech SMEs entering administration after failed bank takeover talks as illustrative of the unfair relationships and power balances often present between large banks and start-ups, with SMEs left without adequate capital in some situations.

Anne Boden, chief executive of digital bank Starling, says that it is “far from a two-way partnership in most…relationships” between start-ups and major banks, noting:

“Talent, ideas and intellectual property get sucked into the big banks. And in most cases sufficient capital does not flow in the other direction to provide fintechs the support they need to survive independently.”

Big banks have been accused of going on “start-up safaris,” taking information and insight from emerging small firms on the strength of investments and promises of potential future takeovers, while not providing sufficient investment or support to help the SMEs thrive.

Start-ups forced into administration as banks back out

The warnings come after two start-up businesses in the fintech sector saw takeover talks with big banks fail in recent months, with one of the two firms forced to shut down as a result.

Loot – a start-up founded in 2014 to help young people manage their finances with a pre-paid card – entered into administration in June, after RBS backed out on plans for a takeover.

RBS’ decision last month not to go ahead with buying Loot – having previously invested £5m in the business for a 25% stake in 2018 – left the fintech start-up in urgent need of new funding, which it was unable to secure.

In another case, aggregation focused start-up Pariti entered takeover talks with HSBC, with the bank injecting £500,000 into the business before Pariti instead agreed a sale to larger fintech Tandem.

In May however – two months after Pariti’s sale to Tandem – HSBC launched its own Connected Money aggregator platform, with some critics stating that the technology bore strong similarities to that sold by Pariti.

30% of small businesses find access to finance worsening

The unexpected loss of major potential investors without alternative, contingency investment strategies in place can pose a potentially catastrophic threat to SMEs, which already face significant difficulties in securing financing.

According to research from Purbeck Insurance Services, 30% of small businesses are finding it increasingly difficult to access finance as the UK faces ongoing political and economic uncertainty, with 29% also reporting increasing issues with cash flow.

In addition to difficulties finding funding, many start-ups are facing a rise in cost pressures due to increasing business rates.

Business rate costs paid by small firms increased by £900m last year to £25.3bn, with the Federation of Small Businesses voicing concern over this steep increase.

Tim Levene of fintech investment fund Augmentum Fintech notes that the relationship between start-ups and big banks looks set to shift in coming years as the strengths of small fintech firms become clear, explaining:

“After a few years and several hundred million on internal R&D, big banks have realised they need to partner or become a key customer of fintechs offering key solutions to their customers.”

When considering offers from banks as investors and business partners however, start-ups are advised to proceed with care, remaining aware of the risks and preparing for the event that talks fall through, so as to minimise the danger to the company if big investors ultimately back out.

How CPA can help

CPA can help SMEs uncover hidden capital within their business and we can also help maximise cash flow and reduce losses from bad payers.

CPA is passionate about late payment

The Credit Protection Association has been protecting smaller firms against poor payment practices for over 100 years.

We are extremely passionate about breaking the late payment culture that holds back the UK economy and threatens many SMEs with cash flow difficulties being the single biggest killer of Britain’s small businesses.

If you were regularly paid late we can help. Those former customers used you to boost their own cashflow, regularly paying you late.

As a result you had extra costs, you had the distraction of having to chase payment, you had opportunity costs because your capital was tied up in their late invoices.

Under little used legislation, you are entitled to compensation for those late payments.

Now you can boost your own cash-flow.

CPA can help unearth the those hidden treasures.

We have the technology to reveal the compensation you are due and we have the extensive experience and expertise to then turn those claims into cash.

Yes, CPA can help you boost your business cash-flow.

Don’t let your bankers control you, contact CPA today.

The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections

Read our blog here on how to crack down on the late payment culture.

Read our blog here on how to give late payers the slap they need.

The “Why” of the late payment culture.

Paying late is “crack cocaine” to big business.

Late payment culture risks “spiraling out of control”

New warning over catastrophic effects of late payments

visit our late payment compensation page

See our full blog and FAQ on late payment compensation

Do you realise you could be sitting on a fortune?

Late payments often result in a cash flow crunch and leave SMEs in need of a cash injection.

If you sold B2B on credit then there may be a hidden source of capital you can call on.

If you fancy an bit of extra cash in your business, rather than jumping through hoops with your bank, you could look to uncover the resources from an unexpected source within your own business.

Not many are aware but there could be a hidden fortune within your business, sitting there, just waiting to be uncovered and released.

We can help you uncover the pile of gold, you didn’t even know you were sitting on.

If you trade with other businesses and were often paid late then you could be entitled to significant compensation.

Under little known and under-utilised legislation your business could be due huge amounts in compensation that you didn’t even know about.

Let’s be clear – this is not a way to weaken any customer relationships you value. It is one that identifies who’s been paying late and then recover the potentially significant sums in compensation using Late Payment Legislation from businesses where the relationship has already ended.

You can pick and choose who you want us to follow up – but once we’ve agreed which companies you’d like to pursue compensation from it’s a fast process and there’s no financial outlay to you whatsoever. My team at CPA put its expertise to work to recover the compensation due and fight late payment culture.

That compensation could provide the cash boost your business needed.

But don’t delay, that compensation evaporates if not claimed within six years of the late payment.

How can CPA help?

CPA has developed a unique technology to dig into your accounting records and discover the cash injection you are due by means of compensation. The software does all the hard work. Our software interacts over the cloud with over 300 different software packages, working directly with your accounts package, just so long as it’s stored on a computer.

We recognise that most companies do not have the resources to spend time on the identification and calculation of Late Payment Compensation. Our service can produce an Analyses within just a few days with (usually) less than 30 mins of co-operation from our clients. We work directly with over 300 accounting packages but can also work with bespoke accounts packages. Indeed, speed is essential as the oldest invoices may fall foul of the 6-year time limit.

Once the Sales Ledger Analyses is made available to clients, all that is required is that management decide which commercially sensitive ex-customers to remove from the list and return it to us.

CPA then uses its years of collection experience to explain and recover the Late Payment Compensation Claims. Clients do not handle any part of the recovery process as our team will take all communications from the companies against who the claims has been made. Often, it’s simply a case of explaining the legislation, sometimes we have to go all the way and enforce the legislation through the courts.

The result is that we are realising clients’ claims worth tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds which, of course, is pure net profit. You may also be among the recipients of “hundreds of thousands of pounds” should you elect to take advantage of our services.

We do the work, you receive the cash.

If you have supplied goods and services to businesses on credit and were regularly paid late then you could be due significant sums in late payment compensation.

We are talking to companies and unearthing claims in the hundreds of thousands from former business customers who paid them late. Large business customers who abused their power to inflict unfair and sometimes illegal payment practices.

We are helping business owners who are looking to boost the returns from their business before they retire. We are helping businesses who have lost major clients after years of loyal service to get properly compensated for systematic late payment. We are helping companies that were looking to close down, who looked insolvent and finding that cash injection they need to avoid insolvency.

Those former clients who regularly paid you late can finally be made to pay.

Ready to speak to an advisor?

For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.

Call us today

0330 053 9263

Do you sell on credit?

With pressures on the cash flow it is essential that you stay on top of the credit limits you grant customers and watch carefully for any late payments.

Those customers will look for the easiest option to boost their cash-flow. Don’t let it be you.

You can’t just assume your customers can and will pay you eventually, no matter how big their name is.

It is essential to have credit management systems in place to monitor and check your customers credit worthiness.

It is also best practice to use a trusted third party like CPA to make sure you are paid on time by customers, no matter how good a name they have.

See the section below – About CPA.

About CPA

The Credit Protection Association can help!

Formed in 1914, CPA has been providing credit management services to SMEs for over 100 years.

At the Credit Protection Association, we provide first class credit information that can help you avoid being over extended to customers who are at risk. Our monitoring service can flag up warning signs long before the end, giving you the chance to adjust and reduce your exposure. We provide recommended credit limits and credit scores on a traffic light system and can help you set appropriate credit policies for your customers.

We regularly publish lists of the latest insolvencies but by then it is too late. Our credit reports however predict approximately 96% of company insolvencies long before they arrive.

Companies in trouble usually have very bad cash flow and they try to deal with it by delaying payment to their suppliers, increasing your exposure to them.

If you supply on credit, help us help you identify the risks.

Why use a third party collector?

As a third party collector, we can also get your payments prioritised over those who are not as hot on collections. When you customer receives a letter from the Credit Protection Association regarding their outstanding account, they are going to want to get that resolved as a priority. Our overdue account recovery service can get your unpaid invoices to the top of their “to do” list and get your invoice paid.

Over the years we have collected billions in overdue invoices for our customers.

Our debt recovery and credit management services give our members the financial freedom needed to grow and prosper, while our new Late Payment Compensation department could unlock hidden potential and offer the compensation needed to springboard your business to success.