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Barclays is aiming to give SMBs access to market insights that traditionally would be the preserve of larger companies with its new SmartBusiness service.
The firm is launching the new online data insights service for its small and medium business customers in May 2016.
SmartBusiness will analyse transaction data and allow business owners to compare against similar businesses in their region. The solution, the first of its kind, will ‘bring the power of a market research department to time-starved small business owners’.
The service will be available to over 500,000 business customers through Barclays online banking. It will show key trends around business inflows and outflows and show how money is paid in from cash, debit cards and cheques, in addition to an average spend by customer.
The tool will analyse business banking and card payment transactions to present data and intelligent insights to help customers manage and grow their business, identify opportunities and take informed actions and decisions for their business.
Using anonymised sector data, businesses will be able to compare against similar businesses in their area and track how they are performing over time. Users with a Barclaycard terminal will also be able to view customer insights such as behaviours, audiences, and spending patterns. Its design will help businesses design loyalty or reward schemes planning, by having an easy to read summary of customer spend and visits.
“For small and medium sized business owners, running a business is a full time job and it can be difficult to find the time to take stock and plan for the future,” said Ian Rand, CEO of Barclays Business.
“SmartBusiness will help SMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs to both run their business by understanding their cash flow better; and to grow their business by understanding more about their customers.
“We want to give small businesses access to affordable market insights that traditionally would be the preserve of larger companies. We are equipping the nations businesses with access to their own data in a form that’s much easier to use, and supporting the government’s plans to promote digital business solutions around data.”
The service will cost SMBs £4.95 per month plus VAT. Find out more at www.barclays.co.uk/smartbusiness
