On Wednesday, New York-based banking service provider MANTL launched a Business Account Opening service that automates up to 97% of new account decisions whether online, in person, or “in the field.”
“MANTL is committed to developing technology that helps community banks and credit unions thrive in today’s digital banking landscape. This is the first business account opening product on the market that can achieve high levels of efficiency and agility while providing businesses with a seamless user experience,” Nathaniel Harley, co-founder, and CEO said. “To gain market share in business banking, community banks must digitize their account origination process. MANTL makes onboarding a business customer as simple as onboarding a retail customer.”
Harley helped found MANTL as a challenger bank in 2016 before the firm shifted from competing with peers in the community banking space to selling to them. The goal is to help modernize outdated banking infrastructure in the US without breaking the… bank. Community banks have developed into financial niche experts since MANTL pivoted, but they need cost-effective ways to scale without deep pockets like banking giants.
Account opening, online, from anywhere
MANTL boasts an account opening software that enables customers to open a deposit account in less than three minutes. The firm also claims the app automates “decisioning in 90% cases” and reduces fraud by 60%. It is even easier for small businesses to set up deposit accounts with MANTL partnered banks.
A MANTL commissioned Cornerstone Advisors report puts small business deposit accounts a top priority for banks in the US this year. Forty percent of fin institutions rate their own business account processes as “somewhat or very poor,” and more than half said their opening process limits their ability to grow.
In a separate report released in September, 57% of SMBs said they would not work with an institution that doesn’t offer online account opening, even if they preferred opening a bank account in person. The same report showed that 78% of executives predicted a housing market crash in five years.
In December, Ron Shevlin, director of research at Cornerstone Advisors, told American Banker that it is common for banks with $1 billion to $10 billion of assets to offer at least some type of online opening, even though some still require customers to sign documents physically.
“MANTL takes a customer and market-driven approach to product development: we build alongside our customers to ensure that we are developing products that solve their problems and fill a void in the market,” Colleen Wilson, VP of Product, said in a release.
“Business Account Opening by MANTL was built from the ground up with both the business and banker experience in mind. In a world where branches are declining, much like retail, bridging the digital and human-to-human experience is vital for a bank. We’ve solved for both experiences and have made each best-in-class.”
Half of banks still don’t go digital
The new process is a 100% digital approach and self-service for SMB customers. On the Banking side, a console lets banking staff expedite approvals, assist customers and check KYC/AML in real-time. According to the release, forms and document collection can be automated and uploaded online.
MANTL recently raised $40 million in a Series B round in April of last year, bringing the total funding to more than $60M.
Back then, Harley told TechCrunch he was going after the 10,000 community banks and credit unions in the US, 96% of which were outsourcing their tech to outdated platforms.
“At a high level, Mantl is an enterprise software company that is really focused on helping traditional financial institutions modernize and grow,” Harley told TechCrunch. “Our mission at the end of the day is to really expand the access to financial services by taking on the legacy infrastructure.”
