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First, the partnership will integrate DBS bank accounts with Xero software. Next, the goal is to help SMEs when applying for loans
Xero, a New Zealand-based global company that helps SMEs bring their accounting into the cloud, announced today it has inked a strategic partnership with DBS Bank. The deal will allow Xero and DBS customers to make payments and apply for loans through the integrated cloud platform.
The first step is to connect the accounting software of Xero with client’s DBS bank accounts with the goal of speeding up the back-office processes. Xero also will be able to provide consolidated financial information which will allow them to make decisions based on real-time data.
One of the biggest issues for most small business owners is managing cashflow. Even if the money is there, if it is tied-up or being processed, it is not useable in the near-term. This can be a burden for companies that are, in essence, scraping by ‘paycheck to paycheck’.
Also Read: Xero secures US$141M from Accel Partners, Matrix Capital Management
In the long run, Xero wants to leverage APIs to help improve the ability for SMEs to get approved for bank loans. The idea is that the bank will have better access to a company’s financial data which will offer them more details on the health of the business.
Ideally, this will help ease the administrative burdens on SMEs as they apply for loans.
“DBS, together with Xero, has the potential to connect more small businesses to the financial services they need and empower them to run their businesses even more efficiently,” said Rod Drury, the CEO and Founder of Xero.
A similar deal was struck with UOB in August, 2016.
Alex Campbell, the Managing Director of Xero Asia, explained that, because banks are the foundation of the financial internet, these kinds of deals can improve business by connecting SMEs closer to their banks.
“It enables small business owners, working in the cloud, to do their bank reconciliations on their mobile phone while travelling into work, or capture a daily view of their cash flow – thus, ending the monthly stress of catch-up when consolidated bank statements come through,” he said.
Also Read: UOB partners with cloud accounting firm Xero to ease SMEs’ bookkeeping woes
Xero is a publicly-listed company on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges. It has over 862,000 subscribers in more than 180 countries.
In 2015, Xero raised US$141 million from Accel Partners and Matrix Capital Management.
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