CASE STUDY

Streamlining digital onboarding for SMBs with Signicat

Visa and Signicat are helping to automate the entire SMB onboarding process so financial institutions (FIs) can achieve greater efficiency and one-stop convenience.

Signicat logo superimposed on image of woman working at table. Signicat logo superimposed on image of woman working at table.

Challenge

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are increasingly seeking a fully online application experience when opening an account or applying for credit through their financial institution. But meeting SMB lending demand and delivering the modern user experience borrowers expect — while also maintaining compliance with legal and regulatory obligations — can be challenging for many FIs.

Traditionally, FIs have used manual, paper-based account opening and onboarding processes, which can be time- and labor-intensive for both internal teams and applicants. The lack of digital capabilities and cohesion creates a disparate flow of documents and Know Your Customer (KYC) information, making it difficult to effectively manage lending risk.

Manual onboarding also creates a less-than-optimal customer experience for SMBs, as it requires applicants to visit their FI in person to fill out paperwork, and results in longer wait times to receive a loan decision. Expanding digital capabilities can help FIs increase customer satisfaction, improve retention, reduce acquisition costs and drive near- and long-term growth.

SMB customers expect seamless, consumer-grade banking experiences¹

> 50 %

of surveyed SMBs said they were likely or extremely likely to switch to a provider with digital onboarding capabilities¹

50 %

of surveyed SMBs said they prefer online account opening²

Up to

48 %

of globally surveyed FIs expressed difficulty in accessing KYC and due diligence information³

Solution

To improve onboarding experiences for both FIs and SMBs, Visa has partnered with Signicat as one of Europe’s leading digital identity service providers. Signicat’s Workflow Manager solution equips FIs with the data and automation infrastructure they need to seamlessly onboard credit-seeking SMBs while minimizing fraud risk. With Workflow Manager, FIs can access critical Know Your Customer (KYC), Know Your Business (KYB) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) data from 200+ data sources, all within a single API.

The flexible platform integrates with any existing UI/UX flow, enabling FIs to develop custom workflows, change vendors or pivot onboarding strategies with no code. The end-user experience is a fully online application that reduces decisioning wait times for businesses from several days to a matter of minutes, without compromising on security or exposing FIs to additional credit risk. Signicat’s diversity of data sources and providers helps FIs perform thorough risk and compliance checks before offering loans to their business customers, helping ensure applicants are who they say they are — across any region or market.

"The fraud landscape is changing and outdated risk and compliance processes can’t keep up. We are seeing growth in AI-driven fraud, making it critical for FIs to have the right solutions to adapt. Signicat is uniquely positioned to help FIs evolve their risk and compliance strategy as the broader ecosystem evolves."

— Riten Gohil, Digital Evangelist, Fraud and Identity, Signicat

Results

Visa and Signicat are helping to automate the entire SMB onboarding process, so FIs can achieve greater efficiency and one-stop convenience.

Up to

80 %

automation rate for onboarding processes⁴

Up to

50 %

reduction in fraud rates for many clients⁴

Up to

40 %

uplift in verification rates for many clients (10% uplift average on the lower end)⁴

About Signicat

Signicat is a leading provider of digital identity solutions in Europe. They deliver business-critical services to Europe's largest companies, furthering their mission of building technology that helps people to trust each other in a digital world.

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  1. McKinsey, 2022. “A digital approach to SME banking”
  2. Visa SMB Emerging Solutions Survey, 2021
  3. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, 2021 “True Cost of Financial Crime Compliance Study” (Total base size 1,015 financial compliance decision makers across 25+ countries.)
  4. Signicat internal data