What the strain on global supply chains tells us about the weakness of start-up banking

By Asher Ismail, Co-founder at Uncapped

We are currently in the middle of nothing less than a financial services revolution. Driven, largely, by technology, the arrival of challenger banks like Revolut and Monzo has shaken up the financial services industry, with digital-first banks providing agile, fast and customer-centric solutions which have left their legacy counterparts playing catch up.

Although the positive impact of challenger banks can be keenly felt in personal banking, its reach is not yet making the same difference when it comes to business banking, particularly when it comes to serving the needs of the growing number of digital-first small businesses. As many start-up businesses will tell you, legacy banking providers are simply not keeping up with current business realities, particularly as challenger banks lack credit offerings and, right now, the situation can be keenly felt by a large and growing number of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is currently on the increase – in response to the disruption caused by the global pandemic, the number of new businesses registered in the United Kingdom in the third quarter of 2020 rose 30 percent compared with 2019 – the largest increase since 2012. On top of that, across Europe, ecommerce revenues jumped by 30% to a record $465bn in 2021, a number which is expected to reach almost $570bn by the end of 2025.

The pandemic has created an ecommerce boom, but this thriving sector needs more capital than either legacy banks or VCs can, or are willing to, provide.

​Looking to the golden quarter

Right now, many of these newly-formed ecommerce businesses will be grappling with how best to tailor their activity to meet the demands of the period widely believed to be the most profitable for retailers and ecommerce businesses – The Golden Quarter. Preparations for this peak seasonal trading period from October to December, including such milestones as Black Friday and Christmas, will already be well underway and, with more shopping days in these months, planning an effective strategy to maximise all opportunities has become vital.

It is vital that ecommerce businesses plan ahead to secure their inventory to ensure they benefit from increased demand in the Golden Quarter. With consumer confidence reportedly at its highest level since 2008, it feels like, after the huge challenges brought about by the pandemic, there is everything to play for this year.

However, I am among some of the voices currently sounding a note of caution around hopes for this year’s Golden Quarter. Without wishing to spread panic, 2021’s peak shopping season may end in big disappointment for ecommerce businesses if they don’t secure inventory immediately. Whether they are able to do so or not could be entirely predicated on their ability to borrow now to secure their future success.

Global supply chains under threat

Many of us will have read with alarm news reports detailing the human cost of recent floods in Europe and China. Weeks after the evacuation efforts got underway and governments attempted to mitigate the impact of these devastating extreme weather events, it is becoming clear that shockwaves from these floods will be felt for months, even years to come.

For businesses of all sizes, these sad events have also exacerbated already strained global supply chains and there is a very real risk that shipments will be delayed and inventory will not arrive in time for The Golden Quarter.

Cash flow challenges

Placing inventory orders for the whole of the Golden Quarter now will be challenging for most new ecommerce businesses because paying for these orders during the traditionally quieter month of September could lead to significant cash flow problems. Borrowing now in order to secure the future success of their business makes sense, but the way legacy banks lend will simply not work for many digital entrepreneurs. Banks’ inflexibility around requirements for equity and/or personal guarantees and running credit checks, all while they insist on compounding interest puts up a huge amount of barriers for digital-first entrepreneurs who need financing that works as flexibly as they do.

The huge squeeze on global supply chains that we are seeing currently has exposed the multiple shortcomings of the way businesses – particularly ecommerce businesses are financed. The reality is that legacy banks don’t really understand the needs of digital entrepreneurs, and their dated infrastructure is not up to the standards required to help ecommerce businesses grow. It is no surprise that 82% of business owners say they are unhappy with their bank. Our economy is changing, with digital native businesses contributing an ever-increasing share to overall GDP. It is in everyone’s interest to ensure these businesses are successful, yet time and again we see their need for fast, flexible finance is not met.

The technology being deployed to power ecommerce businesses, should also be used to provide fast and fair funding. We now have the infrastructure in place to make this happen and alternative lenders are already using real-time data provided by their clients across APIs to offer bespoke credit and other novel banking services. If they are to stay relevant, banks need to adjust their business models and adapt to new realities – tighter regulation, lower interest rates, technology disruption and, above all, rapidly changing client needs, behaviour and expectations.

Until this happens, entrepreneurs must stay ahead of the game, prepare for the future as early as possible and look for innovative ways to fund their business and their growth ambitions if they are to secure a successful future.