by Liz Syms, CEO, Connect for Intermediaries
I recently had the opportunity to attend the FCA’s SME Finance Tech Sprint Showcase Day, focused specifically on SME lending innovation. It was one of those days that left me both energised and, I’ll be honest, a little concerned about how quickly the landscape is shifting and whether enough advisers in the commercial space are paying attention.
Let me start with the big picture. The FCA has made it clear that the UK is dominating open finance internationally and it is a UK priority. This isn’t a theoretical exercise happening somewhere in the distance; it is being actively shaped right now, with the regulator firmly behind it. The premise is straightforward: consent-based data sharing that reduces friction, improves underwriting decisions and ultimately gives SMEs better access to the finance they need. For an economy where small and medium-sized businesses are the engine of growth, the benefits are significant. Better data and access to data means better lending decisions, more tailored products, improved ability to fight financial crime, and crucially, support for those non-straightforward cases that so often fall through the cracks of mainstream lending.
What struck me most on the day was the sheer number of technology providers already building solutions in this space. Companies like Smarter Contracts are making it easier for clients to share documents with their adviser and for advisers to pass them seamlessly to the chosen lender. That kind of efficiency gain is exactly what our market needs. But there was a more sobering side to the exhibition too. I saw providers including major players like Mastercard, NatWest and fintech lender Ezbob developing tools designed to take finance directly to the consumer. A new AI-powered fintech is positioning itself as both a financial platform and an online broker, looking to introduce customers directly to finance lenders with the platform itself acting as the intermediary.
For the adviser market, the message could not be clearer. If we do not establish and cement our client relationships as firmly as possible, there are well-funded, technology-driven businesses ready to go around us. The direct-to-consumer proposition is becoming increasingly slick, and for a small business owner who behaves more like a consumer than a corporate, which, let’s face it, describes most sole traders and small limited company directors, the appeal of a quick, frictionless digital journey is obvious.
That said, I also came away with real optimism about the opportunity for advisers who are prepared to adapt. I had a particularly interesting conversation with a former commercial mortgage adviser who is developing a commercial sourcing tool that fills a genuine gap in the market. It’s the kind of innovation that supports intermediaries rather than replaces them, and we need more of it. Open finance solutions that give lenders direct access to a client’s accounting data, with consent, will enable faster, better-informed credit decisions. Advisers who understand how to use these tools and position themselves as the trusted guide through an increasingly complex landscape will thrive.
Which brings me to a question I think every commercial broker needs to ask themselves: are you leaving money on the table? The reality is that most commercial brokers are not currently involved with products such as unsecured business loans. These are products that business owner clients genuinely need for the growth of their businesses, and by not offering them, advisers are not only missing a revenue opportunity but, more importantly, missing the chance to deepen the relationship with their client. If you are already advising a business owner on their commercial mortgage or property finance, why would you not also be the person they turn to for a business loan, an asset finance facility, or working capital? If you are not having that conversation, someone else will, and increasingly that someone may not be a person at all.
This is the tension at the heart of the open finance revolution. Small-ticket business lending, the kind of transactional work that can be processed quickly and efficiently, is exactly the territory most vulnerable to AI-driven, direct-to-consumer platforms. The economics are compelling for lenders: why pay a broker when an algorithm can do the job? But human nature is not so easily displaced. Business owners still value a relationship, still want someone who understands their circumstances, and still need advice that a chatbot cannot provide. The question is whether that human value is enough on its own, or whether advisers need to combine it with the kind of technological capability that makes them indispensable.
My view is firmly the latter. The advisers who will succeed in the commercial space over the next five years are those who embrace the tools that open finance and AI will bring, who broaden their proposition to include the full spectrum of business finance, and who make themselves so embedded in their clients’ financial lives that going direct simply is not an attractive alternative. The FCA’s open finance agenda is not a threat to good advice, it is an opportunity to prove its value. But only if we are ready to seize it.
