Accelerating funding

USA Clients driving change > Swoop Funding
 

Founded in 2018 with the purpose of helping business owners to gain easy access to finance, through lending, investment or grants, Swoop Funding has expanded rapidly and with its team of 125 employees, serves markets in Ireland, UK, US, Canada, Australia and South Africa. 

Specialising in finding the right technology for individual clients to enhance connectivity to banking and accounting information, the company works with businesses across every sector with turnovers ranging from €100k to €20 million.

“We currently have 200,000 clients and sign up 300 per day,” said co-founder, Ciaran Burke. “We are a virtual CFO for our customers with a strong representation across many sectors, industries, and stages of growth - helping with personalisation and finding the right package for them, whether their business is in agriculture, pharmaceutical or anything in between. 

“We also work with a small number of partners where we embed our technology into their software – for example, banks like Nat West or Lloyds have a million small businesses but because of how their bills are constructed, they can’t have a one-to-one with all of their customers, so we offer an alternative way of doing this.”

Unique Solution

With AI driver algorithms matching businesses to the best funding options available, the Swoop platform also aggregates financial data from multiple sources, offering funding solutions which are unique to each of its clients. It also integrates various fintech solutions, such as open banking, into its platform which enables faster and more secure access to financial data, improving loan application processing. 
So, as the traditional method of banking becomes increasingly less common, the COO says that ‘accountants are the bank managers of today’.

“We have a symbiotic relationship with accountants,” he said. “For example, with software accountancy company SAGE, we embed with their software so their customers can get access to finance solutions - basically we go where the SME goes.

“We’ve also partnered with Microsoft and will spend time not just accessing the technology but really putting it to use within our platform. This is where being a virtual CFO really comes in, as with Generative AI in our database, we can benefit everyone within the system.
 

“So, when the business owner connects their data or uploads documents, not only are we able to read and analyse it to help build applications, but we can give feedback and build a future. Our clients want to grow and hit revenue targets and we can help them to meet their goals and set expectations for funding.”
Burke says that companies ‘are realising that they need to get with the times’.

Breaking down barriers

“Technology can be intimidating, so Swoop puts it into an easier format,” he said. “We want to create an environment where customers feel comfortable enough to engage and understand as this helps with making decisions, can be massively transformative for their business, helps to reduce costs and drive efficiency.

“When it come to banking, SMEs have been behind the curve, often getting massively overcharged for making transactions, so we can help to reduce spending. We can see their expenditure and show them how they can optimise their bottom line to create more affordability.”

Along with a healthy client base, which includes HSBC, Tax Assist and Funding Circle on this side of the Atlantic, Swoop has a big presence in the US, with clients such as Microsoft, BaskinRobbins, and United Franchise Group, to name just a few. It also works with Wells Fargo, On Deck, PNC, Mitsubishi and more. 
And, the co-founder says that the ‘American market is massive’ for Swoop. 

“It has the largest alternative finance market in the world and presents a huge opportunity,” he said. “In Ireland, the market is dominated by a handful of big banks whereas in the US, there are thousands, so there’s a need to bridge the opportunity which exists in the market with the vast number of business owners out there. And to do it in a way so they can see exactly what is available to them at the right time.  
“Our promise is to give customers the best possible option, offering a breadth of choice, whether we are working with top tier banks, big grant agencies or SMEs.”