Banks are already an integral spoke in the wheel of running a small business. But in the digital age, they have the potential to represent much more to small business owners than a place to store their income and make payouts to suppliers and employees.

From streamlining the experience of online business banking, accounting and finance to empowering entrepreneurs to join the global e-commerce boom, there are plenty of opportunities for banks to become small business champions.

1. Offer a one-stop service for digital businesses

Worldwide, the e-commerce market is booming. In 2021, almost one-fifth of all global retail sales were done online, and that’s a number that is growing rapidly. The global appetite for e-commerce, coupled with a cultural shift in trust towards local independent brands, is creating a new wave of digital success for small businesses selling online.

Getting online and joining that wave can help small business owners unlock what their business is really capable of. Banks might not traditionally be seen as places to find website builders or e-commerce stores, but they have an opportunity here to become trusted small business partners by helping entrepreneurs get online and digitise.

Doing so doesn’t have to mean developing the digital tools themselves, either. White label software like the BaseKit Platform can give banks a cost-effective way to offer fully developed, robust and scalable digital products as part of their small business banking package.

As well as being fast to bring to market, this approach also enables banks to offer software under their own brand. They can wrap the offering as part of a one-stop-service for digital business tools, and build something close to a super app in terms of user experience and convenience.

2. Build better connections with open ecosystems

Digital tools and platforms are increasingly becoming part of the financial world. That doesn’t just mean the rise of banking online and via apps – it also includes the landscape of tools small business owners use to manage their taxes, finances and accounts.

Some of those tools are even designed to cater specifically to small business needs. One example of this is Earnr, an app that helps small business owners as well as creators and gig economy workers keep track of their finances and automate tax returns.

The more brands develop digital products specifically for small business owners, the more opportunity there is to weave those tools together through the power of open tech ecosystems. It’s a case of finding ways to join the dots between the platforms that entrepreneurs are already using, to make their services better through collaboration and create a more seamless user experience.

That’s an opportunity banks can get involved in too. Where small business owners are taking income through their online stores and managing it with apps like Earnr, banks can provide a crucial piece of that financial puzzle by collaborating with platform makers and open banking partners. As a result, everyone involved in the ecosystem can expand what’s on offer to small businesses without needing to build everything themselves.

To learn more about the small business market, check out how banks can win over small businesses through green banking.

3. Elevate the experience of online banking

E-commerce entrepreneurs are usually tech-savvy by nature. They’re used to slick and seamless online experiences in their daily lives, and expect the same from the tools they use to run their business. That’s especially true for banking – every small business owner will need to interact with their bank, sometimes every day, and they expect that interaction to be as smooth as possible.

This isn’t just about catering to digitally native generations like Gen Z and millennials, however. 90% of Gen X consumers are regular banking app users – slightly more in fact than the younger Gen Z. Gen X business owners are also more likely to have family commitments and lead busier lives, and need slicker tools in their hands to strike the right balance between their personal life and running their business.

The banks that dedicate time and resources to improving their online user experience will win an increasingly large part of the small business market. This is something that challenger banks and fintechs have regularly proven they can do. But if traditional banks can build the right online experience for small businesses in particular, it’ll help them to weather the advance of fintech.

We’re on a mission for tech democracy for small businesses – are you in? Request a demo of our software, or get in touch to see how we could collaborate.