FinTechs Keep The Big Picture Of Bank Modernization In Mind

The U.S. remains behind the curve when it comes to open banking initiatives, compared to some more advanced markets like the U.K.

In this week’s bank-FinTech collaboration roundup, PYMNTS zeroes in on Canada, the U.K. and Germany, where industry collaboration continues to drive the corporate banking arena forward.

Moneris Modernizes B2B Payments At BMO

Canada’s Bank of Montreal (BMO) is collaborating with card processing conglomerate Moneris to modernize its B2B payment offerings through the launch of Moneris B2B Pay for BMO’s Canadian commercial clients. BMO said the integration of Moneris B2B Pay will facilitate straight-through processing for B2B payments that can support the adoption of commercial cards by both buyer and supplier. Moneris’ B2B payments technology can be used for BMO’s virtual commercial card product, Approve2Pay, which allows suppliers to see funds automatically deposited into their account.

“Digital B2B payments are not new to Canada, but many business owners have not had the time or resources to make the transition,” said Duri Alajrami, chief sales and marketing officer at Moneris, in a statement. “By offering our enablement services to a buyer’s usual suppliers, Moneris B2B Pay removes the heavy lift from business owners so they know their payments are going through and can get back to running their business.”

Virgin Money Taps Fluidly For Cash Management Offerings

As it continues its focus on small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), U.K.-based Virgin Money has announced it is teaming up with FinTech Fluidly to introduce its cash flow management technology for SMB customers. With integrated cash forecasting, invoice follow-up and financing functionality, Fluidly offers a holistic cash management portal. That technology will now be used for help Virgin Money develop its own SMB cash management offering, with a focus on not only digitizing financial services for SMBs, but using data from those products to drive insights for relationship managers.

In a statement, Virgin Money Group Business Director Gavin Opperman said the collaboration is bolstering the bank’s positioning ahead of the official launch of its SMB working capital health offering later this year.

“Adding Fluidly to our team is another important step in that journey,” he said. “Enabling our customers to understand the financial health of their business is a key part of the new proposition.”

Google Cloud To Accelerate Commerzbank’s Digital Transformation

Germany’s Commerzbank continues to press ahead in its modernization initiatives and has revealed an expanded partnership with Google Cloud to accelerate those efforts. According to a recent announcement, the financial institution (FI) will be working with Google Cloud to migrate more of its products and apps to the cloud. Doing so, the bank said, will reduce operating costs and facilitate a more agile method of keeping those products up to date with new app versions.

“This is intended to accelerate the bank’s overall digital transformation,” a press release stated, pointing to its multi-cloud approach to modernization.

Their existing partnership had led Commerzbank to introduce its digital account analysis app created on the Google Cloud Platform, which includes features such as income and expense balance sheet creation, financial data tracking, and direct account analysis for faster loan processing.

Finzly, Fintel Connect Team Up For Bank Digitization

Also in Canada, FinTech Finzly is collaborating with marketing technology Fintel Connect to help drive digitization across the country’s banks. A press release revealed Finzly will deploy its cloud banking operating system BankOS to create a robust digital banking experience that facilitates digital customer onboarding, account opening, payments, foreign exchange, trade finance and more.

Through Fintel Connect, Finzly will connect banks to its onboarding capabilities and then allow those FIs to attract new customers via the marketing company.

“Fintel Connect provides our clients with a cost-effective, digital channel for attracting potential customers, who can then be onboarded through Finzly’s account opening solution,” explained Dave Hunkele, chief strategy officer and adviser to Finzly, in the release. “Finzly and Fintel Connect are a powerful combination for institutions that want to accelerate growth by meeting customer demand for more convenient access to services.”