UK independent consumer group and ratings provider Fairer financing added a new professional bank account Product rankings designed to help small businesses.
THE the group now offers ratings for more than 30 types of products, including insurance, banking and credit products, Fairer Finance said in an emailed press release Monday, Jan. 20, to PYMNTS..
THE the new business banking product rankings are designed to facilitate a process that can be takes time and confusing, especially for new entrepreneursManaging Director of Fairer Finance James Daley said in the press release.
“Our new product reviews are designed to provide a shortcut for entrepreneurs, helping them determine which accounts will prove most profitable,” Daley said. “Businesses will still need to do additional work to understand which accounts are responding All their needs. But hopefully these assessments will make this process faster and easier.
THE Ratings consider the benefits and costs of each account, including fees that may not apply initially but are incurred over the life of the accountaccording to the press release.
For an account to get a five-star rating, it must offer key features needed by most customers, be priced competitively with its peers, and have reasonable fees and chargessays the press release. No more than 15% of products receive the Fairer Finance top, five star rating.
To model typical account usage for different business typesThe group’s professional bank account ratings are segmented into high-frequency cash accounts, low-frequency cash accounts and cashless payment accounts.according to the press release.
“Our goal is to encourage better competition and transparency in this market, pushing banks to innovate and helping small businesses reach their potential and help drive economic growth,” Daley said in the release. .
In February 2024, the British Parliament Treasury Committee reported more than 140,000 business accounts in the country – or 2.7% of all accounts owned by small businesses – were closed by the big banks the previous year.
The eight banks that provided data for the committee’s report attributed the closure of these accounts to their appetite for risk, concerns over financial crime and a lack of information sharing. And other reasons.
Another new project aimed at helping the British small businesses was announced Jan. 7 by the Center for Finance and Innovation And Technology (CFIT).
The group said MasterCard And Lloyds Bank has agreed to partner with him and fund his new industry-led coalition which will develop solutions to help the UK’s 5.6 million small businesses raise external finance.
