Virgin Money has partnered with FinTech Trade Ledger as part of plans for a new business banking proposition.

The bank will use Trade Ledger’s lending-as-a-service (LaaS) capability, which supports secured and unsecured lending, to unlock working capital and business lending products for businesses that otherwise find access to finance difficult.

Virgin Money said the partnership with Trade Ledger will allow it to deliver a quicker, and more user-friendly experience for business customers applying for lending.

By using the Trade Ledger platform, which analyses data and automates a wide range of key lending processes, Virgin Money said it will be able to provide a quicker, more efficient service to its customers while reducing risk.

The initial Trade Ledger products in scope for the Virgin Money working capital health proposition include business term loans, asset finance and invoice finance.

Virgin Money’s partnership with Trade Ledger forms part of its commitments to the £35m award from the Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) Capability and Innovation Fund in 2020.

Gavin Opperman, group business director at Virgin Money, said: “Customer experience is key as we prepare to bring our business banking proposition to the market in the Autumn. Our FinTech partners are allowing us to create something completely new for businesses, and lending is an important part of the conversation. We have seen first-hand the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our business customers and we want to be able to support SMEs as they seek opportunities to recover and grow.”

He added: “Trade Ledger complements our digital proposition and will help us to support customers more effectively.”

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