CRIF Realtime Ltd provides Open Banking solutions to support SMEs through Covid-19

CRIF Realtime Ltd, a leading innovator in the SME credit risk sector, has launched a suite of products to help the 5.9 million UK SMEs manage the unprecedented challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Available free to SMEs, the products are enabled by open banking technology and provide SMEs with the ability to present a more accurate picture of their financial performance and viability – pre, during and post the pandemic. Crucially, the products also make it possible for lenders to produce faster, more informed lending decisions.

CRIF Realtimes’s Covid-19 Credit Passport^® Tools are based on Credit Passport^®’s unique, real time credit scoring and open banking data. The comprehensive suite of products includes:

• Pre-Crisis Funding Credit Report: provides an SME with a certification of their credit quality at a fixed date of 1 Feb 2020, pre the impact of the pandemic. It demonstrates to lenders and other institutions an SME’s financial quality before the crisis, as well as eligibility and impact so that they can make quick and accurate lending decisions – vital during this crisis when each day matters.
• Covid-19 Liquidity Calculator: generates three different funding requirement scenarios for an SME to consider in order to maintain solvency through the pandemic. It includes a comprehensive analysis of the SMEs cost base and projected revenue loss during the crisis.
• Funding Application Portal: reduces the admin burden for SMEs by providing an interactive filter that immediately identifies cost savings initiatives and available funding options for their business, including relevant government support schemes.

In addition, CRIF Realtime has established a Covid-19 Resource Centre on its Credit Passport^® website where SMEs can access useful information to help navigate the crisis and prepare for the recovery.  The Centre includes articles, reports, expert interviews, data and guidance specific to the SME sector.

Glen Keller, Chief Product Officer, CRIF Realtime, stated: “It has always been our mission to help SMEs create resilience and access the funding they need. Never has this been more important and I am delighted that we can provide a solution that helps business owners navigate these challenging times. The SME sector accounts for 99.9% of private businesses in the UK and 60% of total private sector employment.  Securing the future of millions of businesses across the UK is vital to saving jobs and protecting the economy. We look forward to continuing our work with banks and alternative lenders to ensure that happens.”

Available to every UK SME and all authorised lenders, the Covid-19 Credit Passport^® Tools can be used to streamline the lending process for businesses applying for funding – including Government support schemes such as CBILS.  This is vital for millions of SMEs facing a liquidity crisis in which days, not weeks, matter.