NatWest and Validis have partnered to automate borrower financial data collection within NatWest's Invoice Finance business.
Under the arrangement, NatWest's Invoice Finance team can access structured accounting data directly from borrowers' accounting systems, removing the need for borrowers to manually compile and submit spreadsheets, exports, or PDF documents. Borrowers authorise data access securely through the Validis platform, which connects to a range of accounting software providers including QuickBooks, Sage, FreeAgent, Xero, Microsoft Dynamics, and NetSuite.
From document submission to system-to-system data flows
The Validis platform standardises the financial data it retrieves and delivers structured datasets directly into NatWest's lending workflows. The integration is designed to provide more consistent financial information from the outset of a lending relationship, reducing manual processing at the onboarding stage.
In addition, NatWest noted that the partnership is intended to accelerate the time it takes for customers to establish an invoice finance facility, while also improving the consistency of financial information available to the bank.
The announcement reflects a wider transition under way in commercial lending, where financial institutions are moving away from periodic, document-based credit assessment processes towards automated, system-to-system data flows. Accessing structured borrower financial data at the point of onboarding represents a meaningful step in that shift, reducing the opportunity for error or delay associated with manual document handling.
NatWest is described as joining a broader group of commercial lenders that use Validis for automated financial data extraction and standardisation across lending verticals. The UK-based bank is one of the larger commercial lenders operating in the market, and its adoption of this approach signals growing institutional appetite for data automation at the lending front end.
Invoice finance, which allows businesses to unlock capital tied up in outstanding invoices, is particularly reliant on timely and accurate financial data. Automating the data collection process at onboarding has the potential to shorten the time between application and facility approval, which may be a meaningful competitive consideration for lenders operating in this segment.
