With PPP powering account growth, Radius Bank upgrades its business banking
- Radius Bank launched its small business banking platform and mobile app.
- The revamped service allows SMBs to smoothly transition across accounts as well as deposit checks, pay bills and make transactions.
Last week, Radius Bank announced the launch of its new business banking platform and mobile app for small businesses.
The bank’s online platform provides clients with a simplified user experience, increased security and integrated accounts with payable and receivable functionality. The new product was launched in partnership with Narmi, which offers an omnichannel account opening solution and powers digital banking experiences.
The bank transferred its small business clients onto the Narmi-powered platform to provide for a more specialized user experience. “Small businesses want a digital banking solution that is built for and catered directly to their unique business needs,” said Alain Glanzman, vice president of small business banking at Radius Bank. “Typically, SMBs are forced to utilize banking platforms reserved for the complicated idiosyncrasies of a commercial business – when truly the features and services they need are more closely linked to that of a consumer account.”
Radius Bank’s initial small business bank account, the Tailored Checking Account, debuted in 2018. The service allows users to open a digital bank account in under ten minutes. The bank built the new account by addressing the needs of its small business customers who wanted greater self service functionality in their use of the account.
“We made solving for this a primary focus as we were building the new platform – everything from enrolling for the first time, managing user permissions, turning a card on or off, or even transactions like sending a wire are all now fully digitally enabled, but with the appropriate controls to ensure convenience does not come at the cost of security,” said Glanzman.
SPONSORED
The revamped online platform enables users to assign and manage their banking access through dual approvals with customized controls for transaction amounts. In addition, the accounts provide full business ACH origination, wire transfers, mobile check deposit, and a business bill pay API integration.
Narmi and Radius Bank collaborated previously to launch a consumer banking offering and a companion app. This time around, the two partners opted to cater to the bank's small business portfolio, working remotely with an accelerated timeline in the backdrop of the pandemic.
“Too often, business customers suffer through antiquated banking experiences resulting in lost time and increased frustration,” said Narmi’s co-founder, Nikhil Lakhanpal. “We focused immensely on the user experience, and added seamless cash management tools, entitlements and various other business-focused functionality. The result is an intuitive experience that will keep bank customers happy and deposits growing.”
According to Glanzman, the launch was dictated by demands brought on by the bank’s small business consumers. Radius Bank’s small business portfolio experienced extensive growth as a direct consequence of the global pandemic. Stay-at-home orders resulted in the increased migration of business consumers from brick and mortar banks to digital banking. The government’s Paycheck Protection Program also contributed to this growth.
“As a Small Business Administration preferred lender, we were an active participant with the program providing nearly 7,000 business with over $870 million, keeping more than 75,000 people employed across the US. Nearly 30 percent of the new loan customers opened a Tailored Checking Account with Radius, growing the portfolio exponentially,” said Glanzman.