Digital bank Arc launched a venture debt financing platform to fill a gap in the market that surfaced during the 2023 banking crisis.  

When Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March, the venture debt marketplace was left underserved, which “unlocked this market opportunity for [Arc],” Chief Executive Don Muir told Bank Automation News. Venture funding was down more than 50% year over year in the second quarter of 2023, he said.

That’s when startups started looking to Arc for capital needs, Muir said.  

One of the early adopters of Arc’s debt financing platform was lithium-ion battery manufacturing startup Mitra Chem, Muir told BAN. 

In April, Mitra Chem was able to onboard with Arc in five minutes and integrate its accounting and APIs to the platform, according to an Arc case study. After onboarding, Arc was able to create a $2 million venture debt term sheet in less than two days.  

“The analogy I like to use is Arc is the Uber Black of venture debt,” Muir said. “We find the premium drivers and the premium riders, and we bring them together.” 

The platform will serve the $100 billion tech lending marketplace, Muir said, adding that the company has built a data-driven software onboarding experience, which can upload millions of historical raw financial data points of a potential borrower. 

Arc is using APIs and AI to upload financial data from banking documents, billing accounts and other sources that the model will synthesize and standardize to share with potential lenders, Muir said. 

The San Francisco-based digital bank has seen its deposits grow by a factor of 12 in 2023 as businesses moved away from SVB and other regional banks, Muir said. 

Muir will speak at Bank Automation Summit U.S. 2024 on Tuesday, March 19, at 10 a.m. CT in Nashville, Tenn.

Security Bank of Kansas City deploys ITMs with NCR Atleos

Security Bank of Kansas City is deploying interactive teller machines with NCR Atleos to provide self-servicing capabilities to customers at branches. 

Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) have the functionality of ATMs, as well as a live video chat with a centrally located teller if a customer needs help with a complex transaction, a Security Bank of Kansas City spokesperson told BAN. 

NCR will provide “end-to-end ATM and ITM maintenance and management as a service, allowing the bank to expand self-service banking options for customers while saving employee time and bank resources for higher-value core business activity,” the spokesperson said. 

NCR Atleos will take on all the costs associated with running an ATM network, “typically at about a 20% cost reduction,” the spokesperson from the $3.6 billion bank told BAN. 

Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan, Fifth Third Bank, RBC, Scotiabank and Wells Fargo are among NCR’s customers, the spokesperson said. 

Magnifi Financial teams with Eltropy for gen AI solutions

Magnifi Financial Credit Union is teaming with digital communications company Eltropy to deploy generative AI models for employee training and personalized communications with its customers, according to an Dec. 15 Eltropy release. 

“Eltropy’s solutions focus on all aspects of the organization, providing benefits for both customer-facing and back-office staff,” Brad Shafton, senior vice president of IT and digital at Magnifi Financial, told BAN. 

The $2.1 billion credit union aims to implement gen AI “to provide an employee assistance bot” that can provide “answers to common operations, HR and IT questions for all staff,” Shafton said. 

“By arming staff, specifically front-line staff, with answers right at their fingertips, we anticipate faster response times and resolutions for our members,” Shafton said. 

Redwood Capital Bank selects Apiture for digital banking solutions

Redwood Capital Bank selected Apiture, a digital banking solutions provider, to upgrade its online and mobile banking channels, according to a Jan. 10 Apiture release. 

Consumers are pivoting toward digital banking, with the total number of digital banking customers expected to hit 217 million by 2025, up from 197 million in March 2021, according to Statistica, a data analytics company. 

Apiture’s digital banking solution will allow the $512 million bank to provide a modern user interface with multiple integrations from hundreds of fintech partners on the network, the release stated. 

“Redwood Capital Bank’s forward-looking approach and desire for nimble, highly configurable solutions combined with its emphasis on outstanding service and support make it a natural partner for Apiture,” Chris Babcock, chief executive of Apiture, said in the release.  

Cross Keys Bank, First Reliance Bank and Live Oak Bank are Apiture clients, according to the company’s website. 

Visit Bank Automation News’ Transactions Database, which lists the technology selected or acquired by companies in the financial services industry, with a specific focus on technology that enhances automation.

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