AlignBooks, ICICI Bank Team For Streamlined SMB Banking

Cloud-based accounting software solution provider AlignBooks will be working with ICICI Bank, a private-sector bank, to deliver a new, simple digital banking experience for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), CRN India reported.

ICICI’s current account holders will be able to use the partnership to securely connect their software to their bank accounts. Those lacking an ICICI account will be able to apply for one within AlignBooks, the report stated.

Linking a bank account to the software will help users access automatic reconciliation, offer numerous payment options for customers, offer the ability to do mobile accounting while traveling, and allow customers access to their books any time, the report stated. The partnership also promises the ability for users to access their accounts offline if there’s no internet connection available. That activity will then be synchronized automatically once the user can connect to the internet again.

SMBs won’t have to manage both a banking platform and an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software with the new tech, the report stated, and they’ll be able to conjoin their banking and accounting to use contextual banking. That service was once only available to big companies with massive IT setups and infrastructure setups.

Pankaj Gadgil, joint general manager and head of Business Banking at ICICI Bank, said in the report that the company believes “that this access to new technology will help [SMBs] improve their operational efficiencies, thereby accelerating themselves to grow and enhance their business.”

“At ICICI Bank we believe that ‘ease of doing business,’ ‘digitization’ and synergy with technology partners are important growth enablers for the [SMBs],” he said, according to the report. “We are delighted to partner with AlignBooks. This partnership is yet another step in our constant endeavor of promoting the concept of ‘connected banking’ to enable [SMBs] and entrepreneurs to perform various banking functions like raising invoices, making payments and reconciliation on a common platform.”

Migrating to the cloud, PYMNTS reported, can help businesses expand functionality and cut out steps with downloading, installing and updating various software.