Digital lending-as-a-service solution provider ezbob is making its smart onboarding module available to banks. The solution will enable banks to meet their KYC, AML, and sanctions challenges, as well as provide a better, more seamless experience for customers.

“When it comes to KYC, banks have made large investments, growing their compliance teams in order to deal with the new stringent regulatory requirements,” ezbob CEO Tomer Guriel said. “Clearing a customer now requires more back and forth with the client and at the end of the day it is the customer journey that suffers.”

The Smart Onboarding Engine enables banks to design, build, and manage onboarding journeys for current accounts, lending products, wealth services and other solutions – leveraging APIs to control the customer experience. The engine also offers smart, real-time monitoring analytics to help banks improve and optimize the onboarding process. And by using single sign on (SSO), customers can easily move from one product to another without having to provide credentials each time.

“With ezbob’s solution, once the customer clicks submit, that’s where our system instantly starts making API calls to databases, such as LexisNexis, in order to verify the customer,” Guriel said. “By cross-checking multiple data sources through out own KYC risk engine, we’re able to deliver a true ‘Pass/Fail’ along with whatever additional information may be required.”

ezbob has already won plaudits for its onboarding solution. Earlier this month, the company announced that its Smart Onboarding Engine helped it win Best Fintech Partnership honors at The Banker’s Tech Project Awards. The onboarding engine is part of ezbob’s Catalyst+ omni-channel, omni-product, modular LaaS solution, featured earlier this year.

Founded in 2011 and based in London, U.K., ezbob demonstrated its lending technology at FinovateEurope 2014. Among the first online, fully-automated lending platforms for small businesses, ezbob pivoted in 2017 to focus on providing lending-as-a-service (LaaS) solutions to banks. Since then, the company has forged partnerships with companies like American Express, NatWest, and Yorkshire Bank to help power SME lending products.

ezbob has raised more than $124 million (£103 million) from investors including Honeycomb Investment Trust, Leumi Partners, and Oaktree Capital Management.

American Express has partnered with online financing platform ezbob to offer U.K. SMEs competitive access to finance, reports Henry Vilar of Fintech Futures (Finovate’s sister publication).

Through the partnership, eligible American Express business clients will receive a referral to apply for up to £300,000 in financing from ezbob at a fixed annual interest rate from 3% per year.

Carlos Carriedo, senior vice president of Global Commercial Services at American Express, said: “We know agility is crucial for smaller businesses to help retain a competitive advantage, but accessing the financ(ing) needed to react swiftly to changing customer demands, or seize an opportunity, can be a challenge.”

Amex customers taking out a loan with ezbob will also benefit from a 40,000 Membership Reward points offer.

Ezbob will enable eligible American Express U.K.-based SME business customers to access quick and paper-free credit. The firm says companies can apply for a loan in ten minutes – and, if successful – receive funds on the same day.

The SVP continued: “We’re committed to helping U.K. businesses to ensure they can capture growth opportunities – whether that’s investing in headcount, optimizing seasonality, refurbing premises, or simply funding a large order.”

American Express and Oxford Economics recently conducted a global study of senior executives of 3,000 SMEs, which revealed that while U.K. SMEs remain confident, a significant number (24%) struggle to access finance to help grow and support their business.

The research highlighted that hidden fees, a lack of flexible repayment options and lengthy application processes are among the greatest challenges for small businesses looking to access finance or capital.

ezbob demonstrated its online application with automated lending decisioning and instant funding at FinovateEurope 2014. Founded in 2011, the company has raised more than $136 million (£103 million) in funding, including more than $50.3 million (£38.2 million) in equity funding. Tomer Guriel is founder and CEO.