Lendica, a Boston-based fintech, announced the launch of the iBranch, a powerful embedded lending software that changes how businesses access capital. The premiere roll out is with Versa Cloud, a leading cloud-based ERP. The AI-powered lending tools are built to help SMBs fight market headwinds and take control of their cashflow.
Fintech steps in where banks step out
The announcement comes at a pivotal time for US businesses. Banks have pulled back lending and may face upcoming regulatory changes. Versa Cloud released the iBranch to ensure its small business customers are well served during these volatile times.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are facing major challenges in today's climate. Inflation has decreased their buying power and monetary policy is crowding them out of credit markets. Even worse, new banking regulation could expand the underbanked universe by another 20% - $150bn in SMB private credit," shares Jared Shulman, CFA, Lendica's Co-founder/CEO. "This environment may be the beginning of a sea change in the banking industry. We expect most vertical SaaS businesses will offer lending over the next several years or run the risk of being left behind."
Versa Cloud is an early adopter in the space, providing cutting edge software to help SMBs manage invoice payments, track inventory, pay vendor bills and more. A full suite of digital lending tools is the latest addition to its offering.
The iBranch is built right into Versa Cloud customers daily workflows. SMBs can delay vendor bills using Lendica's PayLater, speed up invoice collection from their customers with FundNow, or purchase a new piece of equipment with their DrawDown credit facility. Users can even include a PayLater link on client invoices which gets them paid on delivery while allowing customers to pay over time - similar to how Amazon includes Affirm at checkout.
AI is more than just a chatbot
The ease of the tool is designed to be inviting, but the power of Lendica's instant-approval AI-underwriting model is core to the platform. "AI has gotten a lot of attention, especially around content generation," shares Jerry Shu, Lendica's Co-founder/CTO. "Our AI-driven underwriting model, called Lendica Lens, has been quietly performing for the last several years. Accurate, instant decisions are made possible by our proprietary streams of embedded data. This helps us deliver on our value proposition of fast and affordable finance, on-demand."
"Value is a big focus for us," adds Sunil Pande, Co-founder/CEO of Versa Cloud. "We offer the most comprehensive, cost-effective ERP solution on the market today. Lending has always been top of mind and we had been searching for a solution for several years. Lendica's tools were the long-awaited answer to our search - we're excited to provide these benefits to our customers and support them during tough economic times." Small and medium sized businesses in need of advanced ERP software with built-in lending tools can now look no further than Versa Cloud.
