Businesspeople too little involved in their own financing
When a businessperson makes a financing application, or has a loan with a bank, a lot of information is requested from them. For example annual figures, income tax returns and, in the case of real estate, information about the rental condition and the sustainability of the property.
SBR Nexus realised that, in practice, supplying all this information primarily involved much toing and froing between the receiving party and a service provider (accountant or valuer). The businessperson was scarcely involved, even though it concerned data about them. Reason enough for SBR Nexus to look for a party that could create a solution that would involve businesspeople in their own application process.
SBR Nexus:
“We increasingly saw that, in reality, providing all the relevant information was first and foremost a process involving the receiving party and a service provider. The businessperson was only involved to a limited extent, while this was data about them.”
CTO at SBR Nexus
The request from SBR Nexus
Help us create a platform where our clients (the banks) can exchange information easily, securely and digitally with their customers, so that we give businesspeople back control over their own data.
Approach and solution
Together with SBR Nexus, we critically analysed the idea behind My Data, My Business (a platform for exchanging company reports), defining exactly what the problem was it was going to solve? “We definitely brought out the best in each other. We at SBR Nexus may have come up with the idea ourselves, but we fine-tuned it together" says Gerard Huis in ’t Veld, CTO at SBR Nexus.
Using the so-called Agile method gave us the necessary flexibility. For example, during conversations between SBR Nexus and its clients, it became apparent that they found it particularly important that the platform connects to their customer journey (roughly speaking, from initial contact to becoming a client). So the new platform had to integrate well with the bank’s existing internet sites. This makes submitting an application easier, more efficient and less error-prone for the entire chain – bank, intermediary and businessperson alike.
When supplying data, it's important to know how you can be sure it comes from a trusted source? The possibilities for digitally identifying the businessperson turned out to be more complex than we’d thought. But we extensively researched and weighed up the options in close collaboration. This called for creativity on both sides in terms of planning, but it’s in place now and works really well.
“Our goal is a single point where the businessperson can easily manage all the information about their business that they share with third parties.” says Gerard.
SBR Nexus:
“Our goal is a single point where the businessperson can easily manage all the information about their business that they share with third parties.”
CTO at SBR Nexus
Impact on IT
There is now an optimal platform in place that helps the entire chain with the digital delivery and processing of data. Businesspeople have more options using My Data, My Business to arrange things themselves, such as the submission of their annual accounts. For banks it means they can trust the data provided more. As a result, the risk profile can be better assessed. But from a duty of care perspective, they can also help clients by providing them with insights.
“The portal we now have is a means for us to innovate our services further,” explains Gerard. “For example, together with the sector, we’ve drawn up a standard format for supplying rental information. For clients this means that, even if they have financed their real estate with different banks, they can supply all this information following this fixed format via the platform.”
The aim is to add even more applications to the portal in the future, so it can be used as a login tool and far more information can be shared. Thereby creating a one-stop-shop for the businessperson, where they can easily manage all the information about their company that they share with third parties.
Benefits
- More control for the businessperson, who can decide for themselves with whom their data is shared;
- Convenience for the businessperson, as they can supply information in a standardised way;
- Banks get reliable data and can process it more efficiently;
- Banks can better assess risk profiles and broaden their service offering to businesspeople.
Download the case of SBR Nexus
SBR Nexus is the go-to company when it comes to the secure digital exchange of business and real estate information, such as annual accounts and valuations: information that financiers request for the assessment and approval of business credit applications. With ABN AMRO, ING and Rabobank as owners, SBR Nexus has a strong basis. But they are an open platform that other parties can also use. So it’s their mission to become the most used platform in the Netherlands for exchanging business and real estate data.
Although their collaboration with Topicus goes back more than ten years, SBR Nexus wanted to make a conscious fresh decision when choosing the right supplier for this solution. As Gerard says, “It’s really handy that Topicus have knowledge of the financial sector and really know what they’re talking about. What we felt showed real initiative was how they translated the concept-idea into a mini-prototype for their pitch. We were really impressed by that.”
Want to share this case or read it again later? Download it.
