SME Business Issues

Small and midsize businesses face a unique set of challenges when addressing compliance with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. In many ways they’re under more pressure than larger firms because resources are usually limited, making penalties for noncompliance potentially disastrous. Allocating enough money to overhaul content procedures can limit opportunities for short term growth. In fact, a recent survey ... Read More »

On June 22, during the 7th China (Guangzhou) International Finance EXPO (GZIFE), the “Helping SME development in the GBA and promoting international cooperation” Forum was held.   During the event, CRIF Hong Kong Limited signed a cooperation agreement with Nova Credit Limited and various other companies and associations. The aim of the agreement is to help the government establish a ... Read More »

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)  reported that May business optimism rose to 107.8, the second highest rating in the history of the NFIB survey (more than 45 years). Expectations that 1) the economy would continue to improve long term, 2) higher expectations for real sales growth in the near term, and 3) optimism that now is a good ... Read More »

Equifax recently urged Small and Medium Enterprises to keep a closer eye on finances as they approach their four-year milestone Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) approaching their four-year anniversary[1] are entering the highest-risk period for business failure and should take extra steps to protect their business from financial stress, according to newly released data from Equifax, the global information solutions ... Read More »

Equifax Inc. (NYSE:  EFX) has announced the launch of the blended version of the Commercial Insight™ Delinquency Score, a high-performance product that predicts the likelihood of a business incurring severe delinquency (91 days or greater), charge-off or bankruptcy on financial accounts within the next 12 months.  The latest addition of this product suite is the first solution to combine consumer ... Read More »

Small Business Financial Exchange, Inc. and LexisNexis Risk Solutions to Create Small Business Data Sharing Platform between Banks and Insurers LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a technology, data and analytics company, announced today that the Small Business Financial Exchange, Inc. has approved a data sharing arrangement where the insurance companies and SBFE Member (comprised of small business lenders) can participate in sharing ... Read More »

CRIF and FundPark, a trade finance platform in Asia focusing on the SME segment, enter into a strategic partnership to provide SMEs with credit risk and trade finance solutions. Thanks to FundPark’s flexible trade finance solution and CRIF’s business information services, it will be possible for SMEs to satisfy their financing needs while minimizing credit risk. Relying on its international ... Read More »

Equifax, the consumer and business insights expert, has launched a new solution to support the government Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS) initiative seeking to stimulate competition and encourage new entrants in SME lending thereby addressing the shortfall in access to finance. The new Equifax solution gives lenders a comprehensive picture of a businesses’ financial health to facilitate faster and more ... Read More »

Amazon Lending & Six Alternative Funding Options for Your Business Amazon Lending is an invitation-only short-term business loan that helps Amazon sellers fund inventory purchases.  But it’s not something growing sellers can tap for other business needs like marketing, facilities, or staffing.  For these, sellers must turn to funding sources like Payability, savings, or credit solutions. Here’s what to expect ... Read More »

The World Bank published recently a Policy Research Working Paper 8252 which indicates that Microfinance is not as effective as originally intended. Microfinance is generally seen as a way to fix credit markets and unleash the productive capacities of poor people who are dependent on self-employment. The microfinance sector has grown quickly since the 1990s, paving the way for other ... Read More »

Small business accounts of 30% of the annual revenue of Russian businesses.  This assessment is based on an analysis by Credinform Russia of financial statements of the fiscal year of 2016. Since the beginning of market reforms in Russia, economists have argued about the important role of small business in the development of the domestic economy, as exemplified by other ... Read More »

Small business owners look like they’re embracing new technologies when it comes to the types of payments their businesses will accept, allowing more in-person credit and debit card payments using point-of-sale terminals. According to the latest Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index conducted in early October, 39% of business owners now accept credit or debit card payment, up from 31% in ... Read More »

Fin-tech startup, Lendingkart Finance Ltd. has announced its partnership with Transunion CIBIL, one of India’s leading credit information companies. Through this partnership, self-employed professionals and small business enterprises will now be able to access loans offered by Lendingkart Finance on the CIBIL MarketPlace platform. TransUnion CIBIL maintains one of the largest collections of consumer credit information along with creating information ... Read More »

From the 1st to the 3rd November, over 400 participants representing 205 institutions from 80 countries gathered in Berlin for the annual global SME Finance Forum. BIIA attended the event as a member of the Forum and was represented by Deputy Managing Director, Neil Munroe. The Forum works to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses and operates ... Read More »

The International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) has published its latest assessment of the shortfalls and opportunities in financing micro, small and medium enterprises in emerging markets.  According to this assessment the potential demand for MSME Finance is US$8.9 Trillion compared to the current credit supply of US$3.7 Trillion.  This leaves a finance gap of US$5.2 Trillion.  The report can ... Read More »

New Developments Helping Trade Finance, Small Businesses The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) signed a cooperation agreement on fintech this week in Hong Kong. The first initiative is a project based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) to help facilitate trade finance cross-border infrastructure. Additional details are expected to be announced in November, said ... Read More »

Led by a severe drop in sales expectations across the country, the Index of Small Business Optimism from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) slid from 105.3 to 103 in September. “The temptation is to blame the decline on the hurricanes in Texas and Florida, but that is not consistent with our data,” said NFIB President and CEO Juanita ... Read More »