Fintech firm Vemanti Group has engaged Finastra to help build Southeast Asia’s first neobank that is focused on small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Initially focusing on Vietnam, Vemanti will use Finastra’s next-generation core banking solution, Fusion Essence, as the platform for new products and services aimed at increasing financial inclusion in the underserved SME finance market.
Vemanti has also tapped Finastra’s partner ecosystem to select Lendscape’s market-leading invoice finance and supply chain finance technology.
Tan Tran, CEO of Vemanti noted that SMEs across the region are being underserved by traditional finance, which generally lacks the ability or desire to accurately assess the creditworthiness of SMEs.
Thus, SMEs struggle to meet collateral requirements that tend to be designed for large corporations, leaving many unable to access formal financial services.
“Leveraging technology and creativity, we aim to solve these problems by offering innovative finance solutions,” he said. “We have chosen to work with Finastra not just as a technology vendor, but to leverage their deep, broad experience in banking, as well as their significant footprint in the region”
Finastra’s next-generation core banking solution, Fusion Essence, will provide the technology platform for Vemanti’s business and technology team to build and expand on product offerings, as well as the advanced capability for Vemanti to launch a full digital bank at scale.
“Choosing a SaaS cloud platform from Finastra means Vemanti can concentrate on its business, customers and product innovation, whilst we take care of their technology,” said John Guest, Finastra’s managing director on universal banking in the Asia-Pacific region.
Using embedded advanced analytics and technology to improve credit decisioning and processing, Lendscape’s solution will enable Vemanti to offer personalised SME finance that goes beyond traditional commercial loans, such as small unsecured, short-term loans and invoice finance solutions.
“SMEs are the lifeblood of all economies and offering providers in the region access to our specialist invoice and supply chain finance solutions will enable Vemanti to support digitalization and a better customer experience, unlocking the potential of these businesses,” said Kevin Day, CEO at Lendscape.
