OakNorth launches SMB commercial cards with Marqeta platform
OakNorth is launching a commercial card programme for its business banking clients through the card issuing platform of Marqeta.
UK challenger OakNorth to launch commercial cards
The offering will extend to the digital commercial bank’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers in the UK and will be joined by deposit accounts and automation tools for bill payments.
OakNorth says it intends to democratise services that are “typically only available to commercial banking customers”, as part of a larger effort to help SMBs “plan for rising costs and thrive amid economic uncertainty”.
An analysis of open banking data published by embedded finance platform Liberis in December indicates that the business demographic faced cost increases of £10,000 in 2023, amid the £22 billion gap in sector funding identified by the Bank of England.
To offset this, OakNorth says its latest initiative will provide customers with “a more holistic view of their finances” alongside an ability to “more efficiently track spending and manage cash flow”.
The London-based challenger previously unveiled its business banking unit in November, pairing “overlooked and underserved” founders and C-Suite executives with an OakNorth business partner to fine-tune the offering more.
It also hired Sam O’Connor, former CEO and founder of the accounting and tax app-based solution Coconut, to lead the unit the same month.
