Silverbird is an online banking platform built to serve small and medium-sized businesses. Entrepreneur Max Faldin launched Silverbird in 2020 to solve a major problem he observed. We’ll explore Silverbird’s founding story, features, and what it offers to businesses.
What Is Online Banking And How Does It Work?
Online banking means conducting financial transactions via the Internet. It refers to people sending and receiving money online, sometimes instantly.
The traditional financial system has existed for centuries, but online banking has existed for just a few decades. In ancient times, banking was done manually. You had to visit a physical banking branch to open an account, deposit checks, send money, pay bills, etc.
Digital banking began in the 1960s, albeit not online. Banks began storing data electronically and communicating via telephone, speeding up customer transactions. Online banks came in the 1980s and revolutionized the financial system. We now have banks that operate entirely online; you can open an account, withdraw money, transfer funds, and do many other things without visiting a physical branch.
Online banking has opened up global trade and fostered enormous economic growth. Businesses can now trade across borders relatively easily. Yet, they still face many challenges that need to be addressed.
What Challenges Do Businesses Face?
Businesses have to deal with bureaucracy and regulatory scrutiny when dealing with banking platforms. Big companies have adequate resources to tackle these obstacles, but small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are disadvantaged. Big companies enjoy good relationships with financial institutions, while SMEs get the short end of the stick. Max Faldin founded Silverbird in 2020 in response to this problem.
Faldin previously ran Wiki CBT, a cross-border e-commerce fulfilment platform based in Singapore. Wiki CBT’s customer base included Chinese merchants selling goods via eBay, the popular e-commerce marketplace. Faldin pushed hard for Singaporean banks to onboard these merchants but faced reluctance. Banks hesitate to work with these merchants because they perceive them as having high risks for little revenue.
Faldin observed the reluctance of banks to work with small and medium-sized merchants and created Silverbird as the solution. It is an online banking platform designed for SMEs. It gives SMEs access to the banking resources usually reserved for big companies. SMEs can open virtual accounts on this platform and send or receive payments in many currencies.
Millions of global SMEs are underbanked despite online banking being widespread. The traditional financial system is often inefficient and elitist to the detriment of SMEs. Faldin created Silverbird to change the narrative.
What Does Silverbird Offer?
Silverbird provides multi-currency accounts for seamless cross-border transactions. SMEs can open accounts and send or receive foreign currency payments with no limits. This platform supports over 30 currencies, including the U.S. Dollar, Chinese Yuan, British Pounds, European Euro, etc.
Of course, SMEs signing up on Silverbird must go through verification and know-your-customer (KYC) checks. However, the platform makes the process seamless and less difficult than what they’ll go through with traditional banks. The entire onboarding process occurs online; there’s no need for interviews, physical documents, or bank visits. If you need help, the platform’s team is an e-mail away.
Silverbird empowers businesses to liberate their supply chains with super-fast payments across all countries. Businesses can open virtual, local EU, UK & US accounts and get paid via the SWIFT network, SEPA, FPS, or SWIFT.
Silverbird’s foreign exchange rates are updated every 10 minutes, offering lower foreign exchange fees than traditional banks. Faldin launched this company to empower SMEs to succeed. The platform has onboarded hundreds of businesses and plans to serve 3,000 merchants by early 2024.
You can join Silverbird and become part of the growth story. Expect more features as the platform grows, making online banking more effortless than ever for SMEs.
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