FinAi News

No products in the cart.

Subscribe
  • News
  • AI News Tool
  • Data
  • Transactions
  • Events
    • FinAi Banking Summit
    • FinAi Lending Summit
  • Podcast
  • WEBINARS
    • Webinar Library
Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Banking
  • Lending
  • Payments
  • Risk & Security
  • Strategy
FinAi News
  • News
  • AI News Tool
  • Data
  • Transactions
  • Events
    • FinAi Banking Summit
    • FinAi Lending Summit
  • Podcast
  • WEBINARS
    • Webinar Library
BAN PLUS
Log In
No Result
View All Result
FinAi News
No Result
View All Result

2 Startups Aim to Help Banks Do More for Small Businesses

Philip RyanbyPhilip Ryan
July 13, 2015
in Lending
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on Facebook

Copyright canstockphotos/monkeybusinessSmall businesses are classically underserved by banks — or so the story goes.

But a closer look at the small business space shows banks are stepping up partnerships with startups targeting the space, and are adding new services and improving existing services for small businesses in general. Just last week, for example, JPMorgan Chase rebooted Ink, its small business card service, and Capital One signed a deal with Vantiv to step up its merchant processing.

Two startups serving banks are also advancing what banks can offer small business customers: SizeUp, which was one of three startup winners at Innotribe in June, and alternative lender Mirador Financial.

SizeUp offers business intelligence based on location, to show businesses threats and opportunities in their space. Mining information from hundreds of inputs, most publicly accessible, SizeUp lets businesses compare themselves to peers and see a revenue heatmap by ZIP code.”This can help businesses determine good locations for additional branches,” CEO Anatolio Ubalde told Bank Innovation. It can also tell them if they have too many employees, or are paying them too much or too little.

Wells Fargo is already offering the tool, as is Deutsche Bank in Italy, and Ubalde is looking to add SizeUp’s service to banks all over the globe. This can be “behind the curtain” for existing small business customers, or out in front, as a customer acquisition tool, Ubalde said. Digital businesses may not benefit — SizeUp is meant for the brick-and-mortar world. “If you invented the next FourSquare, SizeUp is not the tool for you,” Ubalde said. “But for most other businesses, we have great data for you.”

SizeUp is based in San Francisco and was founded in 2009. Its funding is undisclosed.

Mirador Financial offers banks a platform for quickly and efficiently offering small business loans, and was recently endorsed by the Oregon Bankers Association, a group of Oregon-based community banks. Mirador CEO Trevor Dyer compared this to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, and is working to secure more such endorsements.

Mirador is based Portland, Ore. It was founded last November, and has $3.5 million in funding.

Small business lending is a space banks let slide following the Great Recession, making room for alternative lenders such as Funding Circle, Kabbage, OnDeck, DealStruck, and CAN Capital, to name just a few. Unlike these companies, Mirador Financial is only looking to offer its service through banks. The experience it allows banks to provide is up to the standard of other alternative lenders: fast, intuitive, and convenient.

Dryer said that while banks certainly know to originate these loans on their own, “banks have too much they’re working on” to specialize in this. For community banks with tight budgets and limited staff, that is particularly true. Community banks are showing a willingness, Dryer said, to look into what fintech startups have to offer. New companies, he said, help banks “move faster, and offer cutting-edge stuff with a high level of service.”

Mirador is optimizing its service for small to medium-size banks, and is focused on the Pacific Northwest, with ambitions to expand beyond that soon.

Tags: alternative lendingCapital & FundingCapital OneJPMorgan ChaseSizeUpsmall business bankingstartups
Previous Post

New Bitcoin Email Service Compounds Digital Currency Complexity

Next Post

Big Money: Top 5 FinTech Rounds: Kreditech, BitFury, & More

Related Posts

Courtesy/Axos
Lending

Axos Bank’s Jennifer Taylor to speak at FinAi Lending Summit

August 11, 2026
Lending

AI driving funding growth via credit adjudication

August 5, 2026
(AI-generated/ChatGPT)
Lending

Upstart automated nearly 91% of loans with AI in Q2

August 5, 2026
Next Post

Big Money: Top 5 FinTech Rounds: Kreditech, BitFury, & More

Please login to join discussion

EMERGING FINTECH DIRECTORY

Emerging Fintech Directory

FinAi Podcast

SPONSORED

Build an Antifragile Strategy to Outperform the Market

July 14, 2026

How AI and Product Experts Turn Fuzzy Requirements Into Focused Dev-ready Roadmaps

April 19, 2026

Is Your Technology Supplier There for You?

April 1, 2026

  • About Us
  • Help Center
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Terms
  • ADA Compliance
  • Advertise

Connect

twitter linkedin podcast podcast podcast podcast
© 2026 Royal Media
No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • All News
    • Banking
    • Lending
    • Payments
    • Risk & Security
    • Strategy
  • AI News Tool [Beta]
  • DATA
  • TRANSACTIONS
  • EVENTS
    • FinAi Banking Summit
    • FinAi Lending Summit
  • PODCAST
  • WEBINARS
    • Webinar Library
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Log In / Account

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Unlock This Article

Create your free FinAi News account to access this article and stay informed on how AI is transforming financial services including banking, lending, payments, and risk.

Yes, I'd like to receive FinAi News updates, breaking news, and exclusive AI insights for financial services leaders.

Continue Reading with FinAi News Premium - Less than $2/Day

Upgrade to FinAi News Premium for unlimited access to news, insights, trends, and intelligence on how AI is transforming financial services including banking, lending, payments, and risk.
Upgrade to FinAi News Premium Subscription
No Result
View All Result
  • NEWS
    • All News
    • Banking
    • Lending
    • Payments
    • Risk & Security
    • Strategy
  • AI News Tool [Beta]
  • DATA
  • TRANSACTIONS
  • EVENTS
    • FinAi Banking Summit
    • FinAi Lending Summit
  • PODCAST
  • WEBINARS
    • Webinar Library
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Log In / Account