Do business owners need banks or just banking services?

Since 2009 we have seen an increase in the market for alternative lenders as a result of businesses changing the way they conduct their banking affairs. 

Many banking services appear to have moved online which in turn has resulted in businesses not contacting their local Business Relationship Manager as they once would. As we all know, there has been constant stream of restructuring and redundancies within the banking sector over the recent years, so the return to local branch based relationship manager seems a thing of the past (especially for small businesses) in a majority of cases.

Factor in the decrease in the number of overdrafts that are offered, renewed or extended and this can make thing very difficult for business owners when trying to manage their cashflow. Whilst the standard services like cash deposits, issuing of cheques and making online supplier payments/wages are a necessity; it is questionable how many businesses are actually only using their banks for the standard services and how many of them would turn elsewhere when looking for any additional financial products and/or services. The use of the internet now makes it easy for business owners to compare a number of things including insurance, energy suppliers and finance, proving that the banks are no longer the only port of call when reviewing or exploring their options.

Do business owners still want the personnel touch or are we moving to a new generation that embrace online/remote services, or do they want both? The use of accountants, growth coaches, brokers and business advisors have gone a long way to replacing the personnel interaction once provided by their local bank manager

At Reparo, we believe the answer to the above question is ‘both’. We provide the personnel touch to all of our clients and contacts, all clients are met by one of our Directors, however we also embrace technology and have on line application forms, web based processes and an on line presence.

We will happily speak to any of our trusted advisors and discuss what we have to offer, but ultimately it’s about meeting the client to ensure that we fully understand their requirement to allow us to tailor the right solution for them.

We offer fast, short term working capital solutions (of up to £50,000); which more often than not is only supported by personal guarantee. We also have longer term loans available (of up to £500,000) where commercial assets are available as security – in either case Reparo are here to help.