Soldo Augments Prepaid Corporate Cards With NatWest Loans

Prepaid corporate card solution provider Soldo is teaming up with NatWest to connect joint business customers to small business loan solutions.

According to reports Thursday (Jan. 16) in Verdict.co.uk, Soldo’s business users will gain access to small business lending services from NatWest, including the financial institution’s Esme Loans and Rapid Cash services.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that use Soldo can now access loans of up to £250,000 (about $326,870) via the Esme Loans service, and up to £500,000 (about $653,730) in the form of a credit line provided against unpaid invoices via NatWest’s Rapid Cash service.

“As one of the U.K.’s biggest banks for SMEs, we’re extremely keen to work with anyone that offers a unique, simple experience that makes it easier for our customers to run and grow their business,” said NatWest ventures head Andy Ellis in a statement. “Soldo is a partner who do exactly that, whilst sharing our passion to do things differently for U.K. SMEs. We’re thrilled to be working with them.”

Commercial cards continue to be a focus for NatWest. Last October, the bank announced a pilot test of biometric corporate cards that enable business payers to use a fingerprint instead of a PIN to authorize transactions.

“This is the biggest development in card technology in recent years, and not having to enter a PIN not only increases security but makes it easier for our customers when paying for goods or services,” said NatWest Director of Strategy and Innovation Georgina Bulkeley in a statement at the time.

Soldo, meanwhile, recently announced a $61 million Series B funding round led by Battery Ventures, Dawn Capital and Accel. Investors backed the company’s spend management and corporate payment solutions, with Soldo noting it would deploy the funding toward sales, product development, innovation and expansion into the European market.