Mercantile Bank has taken its eBureau online portal, which is custom designed for bulk payment and collection processing, and packaged it in a way that business owners can simply plug their own financial systems into the system.The eBureau systems can help simplify processes and increase productivity by giving businesses better management of their cash flow, particularly important in tough economic times, as having an efficient system can help to improve unpaid collections by up to 35%.
Some businesses use the technology to process all their collections and payments with full integration into their own financial systems, whilst others access the portal to upload debit orders or payments. The platform has been packaged so it is adaptable to the needs of the end user, thus helping entrepreneurs save time, allowing them to get back to making money.
Financial processing is the lifeblood of any business, but many can’t afford the technology infrastructure investment required to process their cash flow.He says investing in the right systems will help business owners achieve effective operations and afford them the opportunity to manage their cash flow – which is the biggest concern for most entrepreneurs.
A unique feature of the offering is how eBureau has been packaged. Mercantile Bank has “white labelled” the platform, this means that entrepreneurs can rebrand and adapt the technology to allow them to operate as agents for eBureau, and create a sustainable business of their own.
When Mercantile realised that eBureau could be packaged as a new business opportunity for tech-savvy or financially-minded entrepreneurs Kumbier and his team did not hesitate. This model now provides eBureau with about 10% of its revenue, and has created sustainable businesses for the entrepreneurs who have taken the opportunity.
He went on to note that Mercantile Bank is a business bank for entrepreneurs and other business owners, and that the bank is focused on ensuring they receive the support needed to grow their business through the introduction of smart technology solutions. Kumbier explains that technology is usually seen as an expensive or unnecessary addition to a business, especially if it is not used to produce goods and services to generate sales. “If we are to support the growth of entrepreneurs, corporate South Africa must find ways to share knowledge and technology solutions.”
Mercantile Bank also provides eBureau clients with access to a software development team, as well as support services such as compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).
Entrepreneurs that participate in selling the technology solution can also rely on the bank’s back-up systems in the event of a system crash, communication failure or complete loss of data. Other advantages include secure, encrypted data and automation of payments, which reduces man hours.
Customers who could use the system include private gyms, security companies or insurance brokerages. The eBureau solution has already helped several businesses streamline their internal operations. An example of this is Snapbill, run by tech-entrepreneurs Jaco van Wyk and Josh Yudaken. Snapbill operates a cloud based billing system, which entrepreneurs use to invoice their customers.
They adopted the Mercantile Bank eBureau platform for collections as it was highly complementary to their current business model.