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Small Business Banking Increasing In Popularity by Wouter Carrie http://www.flbanking.com Small business banking is drawing more attention from banks. Turns out, this market is a lot more lucrative than bankers once estimated. As small businesses take out loans at record speed, lenders are noticing this trend and competing for the small business customer in very unique ways. As the economy picks up, so too are banking practices for small businesses. Where once small businesses were forced to pay high fees, bankers are cutting these fees and setting up special departments to handle small business services. Generally in the past, customer satisfaction among small businesses at banks has been low; banks are working to target this segment and win them over to their side. By focusing on ways to free small businesses from time-draining duties and to help these small businesses succeed, banks are offering outsourcing services that are second nature for these financial institutions. Some of these BPOs (business practice outsourcing) services are outside traditional checking and credit cards. For instance, some banks offer travel arrangements, financial advice, payroll services, and 24-hour Internet banking. Bankrate.com~s Small Biz, for example, offers the below special services just for small businesses: - Current loan and credit card rates - E-newsletter just for small businesses - Advise regarding e-commerce, taxes, finance, cash flow and so on. - Accounting services online such as paying bills and payroll outsourcing Another banking institution that's tailoring services for small businesses is Bank of America. These services include packages that assist a small business with managing its duties in a more economical way. For instance, some packages offer professional financial advice and resource specialists. One package, Value, offers Bank of America's payroll outsourcing called PayChex, free small business money market savings account, overdraft protection, merchant services and so on. Small businesses make up almost 21% of the banking market. This segment also accounts for nearly 41% of private payrolls in America. This economic influence is starting to draw the attention of large banks, partly due to recent consolidations with many smaller banks and an increase of as much as 91% for small business loans in the past several years. These loans are mostly sought by non-technical small businesses. As result, the time for getting credit for a small business has never looked better. For many small businesses and the banking world, this is a win-win scenario whereby small businesses are paying less for time-consuming activities and succeeding at a greater rate. The competition among banks is picking up in a race to get the small business's attention. American small businesses and American banks aren't the only operations partaking in this trend; places such as United Kingdom, Australia and other developed countries are also noticing expansions in small business banking. More banks are expected to incorporate special small business banking as more small businesses pick up on the benefits of BPO. |