What business leaders need from their bank in 2026 – and how we’re responding

At the start of the year, business leaders tend to ask the same questions:

What needs to change? Where are the inefficiencies? And what’s getting in the way of growth?

From our conversations with SMEs and mid-sized businesses across the UK, one thing is clear: traditional business banking still creates too much friction. Too many silos? Too many processes. Too much time spent managing money rather than using it to grow the business.

Here’s what business leaders are telling us they need from their bank, and how we’re responding by evolving our business banking offering.

Less fragmentation in business banking, more financial control

For many SMEs, business banking doesn’t exist in one place.

Accounts Payable in one system. Accounts Receivable in another. Spend management somewhere else entirely.

As businesses grow, so does complexity. A typical mid-sized UK trading business can process thousands of invoices each month, involving multiple finance team members and approvers. To manage this, many rely on third-party AP/AR software, often paying hundreds of pounds each month, simply to keep core finance workflows running.

What we consistently hear from customers is a desire for simpler business banking:

• Fewer disconnected tools
• Clearer visibility over cashflow
• Less duplication between banking and finance operations

Reducing fragmentation has become a key priority for modern business banking.

Business banking should reflect how finance teams actually work

Business leaders don’t think about banking in isolation. They think in terms of workflows.

• Who approves payments?
• How are receivables tracked?
• Where do delays appear?
• What information is visible, and when?
• What is the team spending most time on?
• Where is the most admin?

Historically, banks have treated these operational questions as “outside scope”. But for finance teams, they’re central to running an efficient business.

That’s why business banking needs to move beyond simply holding money and executing transactions, and toward optimising the financial processes businesses rely on every day.

In response to customer feedback, we’ve been investing in expanding our business banking capabilities to better support these real-world workflows. This includes bringing proven Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable technology in-house, alongside experienced product and engineering specialists who have built extensively in this space.

The goal is to align business banking more closely with how SMEs already operate and respond intentionally to customer feedback.

Solutions fit for purpose, without adding complexity

Most growing businesses accept that managing payables and receivables means having to use and pay for additional tools. But acceptance doesn’t equal satisfaction.

What SMEs are asking for instead is solutions that fit the way their business works, delivered through:

• Integrated business banking tools
• Reduced reliance on third-party platforms
• Less operational overhead for finance teams

By embedding core AP/AR capabilities directly into business banking, we’re working towards a more streamlined experience. One that reduces tool sprawl while maintaining control, security and flexibility.

For finance teams, this means:

• Fewer systems to manage
• Improved cashflow visibility
• Approval workflows that reflect how teams actually work

For business leaders, it means clearer oversight and less operational drag.

Building business banking around SME needs, not assumptions

Everything we’re building in business banking starts with customer feedback.

We don’t begin with technology and look for problems to solve. We start by listening to SMEs and mid-sized businesses, understanding where friction exists, where costs add up, and where banking can play a more supportive role.

That customer-led approach is shaping how our business banking offering evolves in 2025 and beyond. From deeper integration to more intelligent workflows, the focus is on practical outcomes rather than surface-level innovation.

When business banking works properly, it fades into the background, giving finance teams the tools they need without adding complexity, and giving business leaders the confidence to plan for what’s next.