In a tight credit market and fragile economy there are still a lot of things that the FI and payments community can do to help SMBs succeed. Eugene DeSilva, MasterCard’s Group Head responsible for the Global SME Segment within the Global Commercial Products Group, tells PYMNTS how SMBs and FIs can partner for success by focusing on the little things that add up to a lot of value over time.
One of the most effective assets SMBs owners can possess to ensure the growth of their business is a healthy credit report. To gain insight on how SMBs owners can truly understand their credit scores, borrow less, and take full advantage of relationships with their FIs, PYMNTS.com spoke with Eugene DeSilva, Group Head responsible for the Global SME Segment within the Global Commercial Products Group at MasterCard.
PYMNTS.com: Recent industry statistics reveal that small businesses are major players in the US economy, representing over 50% of the working population. What opportunities do MasterCard see within this segment?
ED: We see continued strong growth in the number of women and minority-owned businesses, as well as the micro-business (less than 2 employees) segment. Armed with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, these business owners are looking for products and solutions to help them attract new customers and control costs. At MasterCard we provide a wide array of products and services to help them achieve these goals.
PYMNTS.com: Starting a small business means taking out loans. What recommendations and best practices can you provide to those hoping to start and operate their own SME?
ED: First, business owners need to really understand their credit scores and take steps to improve it when needed. A healthy credit score will enable them to borrow at the lowest possible cost. Next, creating a proper, detailed business plan is essential. Having a thorough understanding of the costs the business will incur and a conservative estimate of when revenue will be generated will ensure the business doesn’t run out of cash before achieving its true potential.
PYMNTS.com: According to a very recent market statistic, only 35 percent of financial institutions actually have a specific plan for engaging small businesses. What recommendations would you provide to FIs looking to better engage and win back small business customers?
ED: Financial Institutions already have relationships with small businesses through their business DDA accounts, which is a great start for implementing a cross-sell strategy. Opportunities to educate the small business owners on other financial products exist both in-branch and through direct marketing channels. We’ve had great success working with our partners to educate branch staff to drive cross-selling of these valuable customers.
PYMNTS.com: Finally, how important are credit scores for the successes of businesses of all sizes, in particular for SMEs?
ED: A healthy credit score is one of a business’ most important assets. Access to credit at the lowest possible rate is a key driver of growth as a business look to expand. We recently partnered with Jeanne Kelly, a top credit expert and small business owner, to share tactics for improving the credit score of your business http://www.mastercardbiz.com/2014/04/09/how-to-raise-your-credit-score/. We recommend that business owners check both their personal and business credit scores at least twice a year.
To learn more about the importance of a healthy credit score, please check out MasterCard’s blog here.
Eugene DeSilva is a Group Head responsible for the Global SME Segment within the Global Commercial Products Group. In this role, he leads the global development and commercialization of the MasterCard innovative commercial products and solutions group that serves small business and mid-size organizations. Having joined MasterCard Worldwide in April of 2007, Mr. DeSilva brings more than 25 years of financial services experience to the group. He has held various general management, marketing, product development, strategy development and technology positions during his career.
Mr. DeSilva spent 12 years working for American Express in a variety of progressively more senior management roles and built a start-up transaction processing division to $200MM in annual revenue in three years. After leaving American Express, Mr. DeSilva joined a division of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) as part of their senior management team responsible for building a global internet bank. In a three year period, the division launched four co-branded internet banks and acquired over 1MM customers. Mr. DeSilva was also responsible for building an ancillary startup outsource management division where he grew annual revenue to $75MM in three years. He left CIBC and joined easyInternetcafe LTD, a division of Easy Group, to transform a global internet café company into a global internet café franchisor. In six months, he reorganized the company, significantly reduced losses and sold 50 global franchise licenses. Mr. DeSilva holds a Masters of Business Administration degree with a dual major (Finance and MIS) from Fordham University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from Fordham University College of Business Administration.