London fintech plans to deliver £5bn of SME lending alongside international partnership

London based SME fintech Cashplus Bank has announced it will launch a UK-first Business Creditbuilder tool in partnership with international credit agency Equifax.

The company also announced plans to deliver £5bn of new SME lending through the product over the next five years and the ambition to lend to 100,000 new customers in the next 12 months.

The Creditbuilder tool is aimed to increase accessibility to lending for the 65 per cent of new UK businesses who are refused access to credit. Available as a free add-on to fee based Cashplus business accounts, the feature will structure the customer’s monthly account fees as an interest free loan.

65 per cent of new UK businesses are refused credit and independent research commissioned by Cashplus estimates a £6bn “lending gap” between SME credit demand and available credit.

The new Business Creditbuilder tool will support these businesses by upgrading Cashplus’s pioneering Creditbuilder for consumers, which has been used by over 200,000 people and remains unique in the UK 13 years after its launch.

Rich Wagner, CEO, Cashplus said: ““The work we have done with the team at Equifax means that early-stage businesses will now be able to make a meaningful difference to their credit score and combined with our new 1% reward credit card for micro businesses creates a powerful tool for closing the £6bn SME lending gap.”

Jayadeep Nair, chief product and marketing officer, Equifax UK, added: “We’re very pleased to have worked with Cashplus Bank on this first-of-its-kind Creditbuilder product.

“We know that intelligent use of data has the power to create powerful results for customers and the wider economy. This innovative solution is a great example of how businesses and credit institutions can get the best out of our enhanced business credit insights.”

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