B2B Payments Today: What Firms Want From Global Payments Innovation; Truist Eyes Industry-Specific Business Banking

Today in B2B payments, PYMNTS releases new data on corporates’ cross-border payments innovation needs, and Truist discusses an industry-specific approach to business banking. Plus, Funding Circle collaborates with Atom on small business lending, Credit Suisse addresses the ongoing Greensill fallout and iBanFirst secures new investment.

NEW DATA: What UK And US Businesses Want From Cross-Border Payments Innovations

Both U.S. and U.K. businesses want to maximize their cross-border payment efficiencies, but they have different ideas about how best to do so. In the Innovating Cross-Border Payments: Innovation Drivers Brief, PYMNTS surveyed 456 decision-makers in international businesses to learn why U.K. businesses are prioritizing cost-reducing innovations while their U.S. counterparts aim to enhance their cash management capabilities.

Building The Business-Bank Relationship With An Industry-Centric Approach

Community banks place their competitive bets on being able to operate in the same neighborhoods as their clients. But with businesses embracing online banking, these financial institutions (FIs) need new ways to retain customers. Truist Head of Industry Consulting Mary-Crawford Taylor explores why an industry-specific approach to business banking is a valuable approach.

Funding Circle, Atom Partner On Lending For UK SMBs

U.K. small business loan platform Funding Circle will work with U.K.-based mobile bank Atom, on a 300-million-pound (about $426 million) lending partnership, according to a press release. There has already been 350 million pounds (about $497 million) lent from Atom through Funding Circle, the release stated, and this will bring the total up to 650 million pounds (about $923 million) lent. Atom plans to use Funding Circle’s technology and distribution platform to send out funding to around 4,000 small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the U.K.

Credit Suisse Seeks To Mitigate Talent Fallout After Greensill Incident

With a new incoming chair, Credit Suisse is looking at how to prevent top bankers from jumping ship, Bloomberg reported Friday (May 28). Credit Suisse won’t be working with SoftBank Group, which backs Lex Greensill’s collapsed supply chain finance empire. It also won’t be letting clients withdraw all their cash from a fund that invests with Renaissance Technologies since that strategy didn’t work out and led to losses of investors.

Marlin To Invest In Cloud-Based FX Platform iBanFirst

Marlin Equity Partners announced a definitive agreement for a “growth investment” in iBanFirst, a provider of B2B cloud-based services traditionally offered by banks, according to a press release. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but iBanFirst stated in its own separate announcement of the deal: “Global private equity firm Marlin will become the FinTech’s largest shareholder, replacing existing business angels and some of the company’s early backers. Through the transaction, a number of iBanFirst’s historic partners, including top-tier venture capital firm Elaia, Bpifrance Large Venture and Xavier Niel, have strengthened their existing commitments. iBanFirst CEO and Founder Pierre-Antoine Dusoulier will become the company’s second-largest shareholder as part of the new agreement.”