Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS
00:10:45 · David M. Brear, Ben Johnson, S5
[00:10:45] S0: Yeah. I mean, what does this mean from a a Xero context perspective? [00:10:48] S2: Yeah. Absolutely. So over the last couple of days at the conference, you'll see that Xero is owning and helping build workflows for small businesses to send invoices and run reports and manage cash flow but we're not a financial services business ourselves. So for us to really effectively help businesses get paid faster and grow, we've got to partner with best in class solutions and figure out how we logically embed those solutions within Xero. So much like you've seen in payments over the last couple of days, we've sort of identified working capital and actually being cash flow positive is really, really hard for small businesses, but they identify that need when they're in zero. And so what this really kind of means is the resources to go and research for their customers, understand how they wanna access capital on the platform, and then ideally tap in some of the expertise that EyeWalker has sort of in Lara's team in the business to kind of build those products out, you know, in the right sort of way. So we're super excited. [00:11:48] S5: Yeah. And one of
00:11:48 · S5, Lara Gilman, David M. Brear
[00:11:48] S5: Yeah. And one of [00:11:49] S6: the things that I add on to that is that an important part of this is how do we kind of take off the cognitive load of finance. It's quite... It's a lot of decisions you have to make around what kind of finance, what kind of structure, how does this work, is it good for me, who do I go for? And actually, by kind of making this objective, making finance more contextual, the aim is really to help small businesses just make it feel more natural. Like a solution that works. [00:12:09] S0: Yeah. Well, and like you say, you've got the point where the problem is being identified in the solution to that problem. It's a... It's quite a natural fit there. So, I mean, so how far down the line are you now? Because I imagine, you know, the day after you were like, yay, £10,000,000. But actually now the... Until the break. Exactly. So the reality of everything that's happened with... So for, you know, for everybody who's listening, we've talked to this a bunch of times before. Remedy's fund, I think it was £863,000,000 RBS gave away to various different people. That's an interesting thing to kind of have. And actually, the context of an SME space, it's just huge. Yeah. So this is really where we start to see it's the the solution moving much closer to where the problem's being identified. Right?
00:12:09 · David M. Brear, Lara Gilman
[00:12:09] S0: Yeah. Well, and like you say, you've got the point where the problem is being identified in the solution to that problem. It's a... It's quite a natural fit there. So, I mean, so how far down the line are you now? Because I imagine, you know, the day after you were like, yay, £10,000,000. But actually now the... Until the break. Exactly. So the reality of everything that's happened with... So for, you know, for everybody who's listening, we've talked to this a bunch of times before. Remedy's fund, I think it was £863,000,000 RBS gave away to various different people. That's an interesting thing to kind of have. And actually, the context of an SME space, it's just huge. Yeah. So this is really where we start to see it's the the solution moving much closer to where the problem's being identified. Right? [00:12:52] S6: Yeah. And I think it's probably important from our side what's happening concurrently is this is one of our commitments. Our other commitments around new... Bringing new products to market. And so while we're working with Xero to understand what is the right context, what will work for Xero customers, what makes sense for them, we're also simultaneously working on what are the great new products that customers need. And so our other commitments are introducing a no personal guarantee, a loan that didn't require a personal guarantee, and also bringing a new product to market which is called iWalka Pay [00:13:18] S0: Yep. [00:13:19] S6: Which really does kind of fit to the idea of how can we make payment terms easier for both buyers and suppliers
00:13:19 · Lara Gilman, David M. Brear
[00:13:19] S6: Which really does kind of fit to the idea of how can we make payment terms easier for both buyers and suppliers [00:13:24] S0: Yeah. [00:13:24] S6: Using our engine. So kind of while we study the context and understand how iWalka's engine can be used for Xero customers specifically, it's also allowing us to really accelerate our product development more holistically as well. So that gives us more options of things we can build with Xero. [00:13:40] S0: Well, and and and the the matching there of, like, product and distribution in that sense. Actually, you usually when you come up with a good idea for a product, it's like, well, let's see how many people we can distribute. Actually, you've got a great audience just to release that thing to, which, I mean, it sort of changes the game to a certain degree.
00:13:40 · David M. Brear, Ben Johnson
[00:13:40] S0: Well, and and and the the matching there of, like, product and distribution in that sense. Actually, you usually when you come up with a good idea for a product, it's like, well, let's see how many people we can distribute. Actually, you've got a great audience just to release that thing to, which, I mean, it sort of changes the game to a certain degree. [00:13:56] S2: It does. And I think the wonderful thing about the zero customer base, so we've got half a million subscribers here in The UK that are already actively engaging with fintech and apps through our API. Actually, introducing new technology to our customers is already pushing on an open door. We're really excited through phase one of research and prototyping is actually talking to the 10,000 accounting partners we work with and the half a million customers we work with saying, does this resonate? Is this kind of the right situation to introduce working capital to you or is kind of... Is it a bit odd in context? Once we figure that out and we think iWalk is a great partner to help us do that, we know that we've got 800 plus apps in our ecosystem that can help contribute at the right point in the workflow or the lifecycle. So where we're at right now to answer your question is using the resources of the BCR funding via our Walker to really understand where is the most effective place within Xero to introduce working capital Yeah. Similar to how we've done with with payments and and open banking as well. So...
00:13:56 · Ben Johnson, David M. Brear, S3, S5
[00:13:56] S2: It does. And I think the wonderful thing about the zero customer base, so we've got half a million subscribers here in The UK that are already actively engaging with fintech and apps through our API. Actually, introducing new technology to our customers is already pushing on an open door. We're really excited through phase one of research and prototyping is actually talking to the 10,000 accounting partners we work with and the half a million customers we work with saying, does this resonate? Is this kind of the right situation to introduce working capital to you or is kind of... Is it a bit odd in context? Once we figure that out and we think iWalk is a great partner to help us do that, we know that we've got 800 plus apps in our ecosystem that can help contribute at the right point in the workflow or the lifecycle. So where we're at right now to answer your question is using the resources of the BCR funding via our Walker to really understand where is the most effective place within Xero to introduce working capital Yeah. Similar to how we've done with with payments and and open banking as well. So... [00:15:01] S0: No. It makes huge amounts of sense. Congratulations. Glad glad to hear it's going so well and look forward to seeing how it develops more. So thanks so [00:15:08] S3: much for joining us. [00:15:09] S2: Thanks, David. [00:15:09] S5: Pleasure. All