Project description
New platform to help keep cash flowing
Cash is the beating heart of any small business. The proper management of funds in any business is vital. The EU-funded SCF project aims to make professional cash flow management accessible to small enterprises. It will develop a Smart Cash Flow platform – fully embedded in the user’s online banking services – to advise companies on how to best manage cash flow on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. To make this available to SMEs, the project proposes the linking of accounting software packages to corporate banking accounts, using artificial intelligence to register patterns, develop forecasts, and streamline cash flow planning. The natural interface of this solution is the online banking account.
Objective
The objective of Smart Cash Flow (SCF) is to empower SMEs to act on their cash flow problems. We want SCF – a platform
fully embedded in a user’s online banking services – to be the advisor-of-choice for companies wanting to avoid the pitfalls of
cash flow.
Today, if a small company wants to begin to assess its cash flow and decide on the best way to effectively manage it longterm,
it is optimal for it to have open at least four stand-alone programs: accounting software, online bank account, invoice
system, debt collection system.The gap is a product enabling businesses to manage cash flow on a daily, weekly and
monthly basis and obtain insight from the trends and histories without spending a fortune. This gap has not been filled by the
fintech market.
The tide, however, is turning. Open Banking in Europe is being promoted by the European Commission as part of a digital
agenda to open up services, provide choice and competition, and allow innovation in the market. Open banking is a
cornerstone of the EC’s revised Payment Service Directive (PSD2), which came into force last year. A crucial aspect of this
shift is to allow 3rd party providers, like Asteria, to gain access (with the bank customer’s consent) to an account, learn from
the history of transactions, and be able to provide actionable insight and recommendations. SCF is about making
professional cash flow management accessible to small enterprises. It accomplishes this by linking accounting software
packages to corporate banking accounts, using artificial intelligence to register patterns, develop forecasts, and streamline
cash flow planning. The natural interface for our solution is the online banking account. Asteria’s product has already
reached an advanced enough stage to be tested by a Swedish bank, and we have worked with three other major banks.
Other business opportunities are being pursued, including in Latin America.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
111 34 STOCKHOLM
Sweden
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.