EXCLUSIVE – It is not everyday that a new tool for banking at the infrastructure level is introduced, but that is exactly what Finspace has unveiled today.

The new tool, a beta of which is being made available today, is called Finspace, and it serves as a pipeline between banks and businesses for the exchange of operational data.

Businesses link their accounting software and set permissions on how much information they would like to share with a bank, while bank officers get a dashboard showing the information that is most relevant for a commercial banking or lending arrangement.

Finspace, a member of INV Fintech, this site’s sister accelerator, is currently in pilot with several financial institutions.The service promises to improve the speed and safety of the data exchange that typically takes place between banks and businesses, avoiding frustrating email exchanges with attached Excel spreadsheets and the like. This can help banks compete with online lenders, which boast approvals within minutes (along with considerably higher interest rates than banks are able to offer.)

“The use of SaaS products among small- and medium-sized businesses has exploded in recent years, but banks have been slow to create connectivity with cloud financial systems that many of their business customers now rely on,” Finspace co-founder and CEO Nick Farrow told Bank Innovation. “With Finspace, you can begin connecting with customers instantly, without changes to your existing technology or processes.”

Bankers can set up their Finspace at Finspace.io. The site allows bankers to “invite” corporates to their secure Finspace to kick off a banking relationship.

Farrow said the company sees Finspaces serving as foundations of other API-driven services in the future.