On Thursday, Aussie-based small business lender, Kikka Capital, announced it has signed a new deal with Qantas‘ SME rewards program, Acquire. Kikka will reportedly be joining more than 35 existing Acquire partners including telecommunications and hotel firms.
Sharing details about the deal, Kikka Capital CEO Milko Radotic stated:
“We know that Australian SMEs are often time and cash poor and Kikka helps their growing businesses on both these counts giving them more time and greater ability to focus on their core business functions. Fintech has been an emerging force in Australia. With more and more major institutions partnering with fintechs, it is now entering the mainstream. This deal is also indicative of the trend for non-financial institutions world wide partner withfintech to move into the lucrative financial services industry.”
He went on to reveal:
“We see these partnerships as key to the fintech sector’s future in Australia. Though there is much hype around online-only lenders, the model of a direct business to consumer model is difficult to gain traction in, that’s why we believe there will be more and more partnerships like this one that we have brokered with Aquire.”
Qantas Loyalty CEO Lesley Grant added:
“We know our members want to be rewarded for spending on financial services products such as business loans so Kikka will be a welcome addition to our list of partners. Adding Kikka to the mix will provide our members with a new opportunity to invest in the growth of their business and be rewarded with Aquire Points at the same time.”