SMB fintech Nav this week launched Nav Prime, along with a credit-building card for small businesses. They believe it’s the latest tool to help small businesses improve their financial health.
Nav helps small businesses transparently understand all of their financing options and know what they can qualify before they apply. By aggregating the credit and financial data from a small business, the company aligns their financing qualifications to its network of more than 160 different products and providers. In 2023, they helped more than 100,000 small businesses access financing and funding.
Nav Prime is a fully connected financial management platform designed to serve modern small businesses. From cash flow monitoring to business credit reporting, deposits, banking, and business card solutions, businesses can streamline how they manage and actively improve their finances in one place.
The announcement also includes an SMB-focused business credit-building charge card. The Nav Prime Card has no annual fee and does not require a personal guarantee. It reports spending to the three major commercial credit bureaus. Its cardholders may link any existing business checking account to their card.
“Small businesses have largely been ignored by the fintech industry, or only catered to in convenient, low-interest rate environments,” the company said in a statement. “With recent rate hikes, we’ve seen multiple fintechs pull out of the small business space, often on short notice, putting small business owners at risk of survival. Many of these Main Street businesses are also highly credit-worthy, with strong revenue or cash on hand.”
According to the Federal Reserve Banks’ Small Business Credit Survey, 59% of small businesses reported being in fair or poor financial condition, and governments are beginning to act. The SBA recently revised lending parameters for SBA loans to “address persistent capital access gaps.”
Nav gives small business borrowers the ability to see what lenders see before seeking out financing opportunities, improving loan approval odds and decreasing risk to their business credit ratings with the major business credit bureaus, such as Experian and Equifax.
“Nav has always used proprietary data and insights that allow us to help each of our unique small business customers navigate to their best options,” VP of Engineering Gian Perrone said. “With the introduction of Nav Prime, we’re excited to put this data to work offering them a personalized journey towards financial health for their business.”
