SAP Fioneer, a leading global provider of financial services software solutions and platforms, has announced the launch of its Fioneer SME Banking Edition. The solution will enable banks and neobanks to offer banking capabilities in a digital-first and data-driven approach, tailored to the financial needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – a historically underserved market segment.

The SME sector is a vital component of the global economy, accounting for 99% of UK and EU businesses and employing approximately 16.4 million and 84 million people respectively.* Despite making up a significant proportion of GDP and the workforce, SMEs have traditionally struggled to access financial services that meet their unique needs, as the perceived risks and costs associated are deemed too high.

Fioneer SME Banking Edition addresses these challenges by connecting banks to external data sources such as Open Banking, central company registry, e-commerce and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) data, to form actionable insights that significantly help SMEs to stay ahead. This will give SMEs clear transparency about cashflow and provide insight to the banks and enable e.g. smart funding options, offering more variety and increasing the number of businesses banks can serve.

As a unique end-to-end solution, Fioneer SME Banking Edition covers front-to-back capabilities and seamlessly integrates with any core banking system. It enables banks to offer services that go beyond traditional banking products such as loans and deposits. Banks will be able to broaden their offering with embedded services and stronger financial advice directly for SMEs. The solution can also be easily integrated and connect to ecosystems via pre-configured APIs.

Charlie Platt, Managing Director of Banking at SAP Fioneer, comments on the launch: “SMEs represent the lifeblood of the economy, and it is critical that they are able to access the financial services they deserve. Through our SME Banking Edition, banks will be able to create commercially viable, unique and better banking experiences for SMEs that will help them to stay ahead in a challenging economic environment.”

“The introduction of our Fioneer SME Banking Edition significantly strengthens how banks interact with SMEs. Utilizing our proven technology, we're facilitating banks to better serve SMEs in a dynamic economic landscape. Drawing inspiration from the B2C market, we're empowering banks to elevate their service offerings for SMEs”, adds Dirk Kruse, CEO of SAP Fioneer.