By now, it is clear that the global coronavirus pandemic and the government-mandated lockdowns that have resulted have had an unprecedented impact on the global economy. But perhaps what has not been sufficiently illuminated to date is just how critical the situation has become for those groups most at risk from this downturn.
Small and medium-sized businesses need reliable lenders, but they are often viewed warily by credit institutions. That could provide an opportunity for Big tech that use alternative data to credit score SMEs and help them optimise their financial performance. However, it is banks that will be the future of SME funding because they have financial data, can guarantee data privacy and have no conflicts of interest with their clients.