5 Reasons Why Technology Partners Should Integrate Data And Analytics Into Their Commercial Lending Solutions

Highlights: 

• Technology partners can help lenders succeed in the evolving small business lending market by integrating data and analytics into their solutions.

• Key benefits of integration include faster business validation, improved risk assessment and approval rates, and enhanced understanding of cash flow.

• By leveraging comprehensive data, technology providers can automate processes, accelerate access to capital, and facilitate smart growth for lenders.

The economy is in flux, which provides an opportunity for companies that provide technology to lenders to shine as their trusted partner. 

As a trusted technology partner to small business lenders, this is your moment.

For technology providers, it’s your chance to stand out by offering lenders the tools and insights they need to better service a fast growing segment in small business lending, and stay relevant amidst these fast-changing economic conditions. Not only is small business lending a growth opportunity, but it is also notoriously difficult  to assess the evolving risks, especially when it comes to new or expanding businesses

Right now is the right time to expand your offerings. 

On the surface, small business lending was up 17.2 percent in April and year-over-year by 3.4 percent, according to the June 2025 Equifax Main Street Lending Report. 

Yet, a more stable three-month moving average reveals that lending is down 5% from just a year ago. Likewise, small business delinquencies and defaults are all up year-over-year. This doesn’t account for changes in market conditions or the potential for near-term rate cuts. 

In short, the commercial lending outlook is uncertain. But, lenders want the certainty and confidence that comes with having clarity around opportunities and risks. Investing in small business lending is one way to do that, by taking advantage of the growing number of small businesses and demand for capital.  At the same time, this is only possible when lenders have greater visibility and more predictive insights into those small businesses, without bringing on more risk or potential fraud.   

This is your moment, as a trusted technology partner, to step up and deliver “more” of what lenders want by supercharging your platform offerings with differentiated data and small business analytics from Equifax. Here are five key benefits of integrating our solutions. 

1. Enable faster validation of more businesses. Few sectors are as fluid as the small business market. According to early 2025 data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the number of small business births (applications) is higher than it’s ever been, but business closures are also on the rise. This tidal shift of new and sunsetting businesses makes it difficult to validate smaller firms, creating a bottleneck that slows down underwriting and origination processes.  

With our Business Verification Solution, you can ease that burden by offering lenders a robust verification process, as well as a view into potential fraudulent activity. They’ll receive a thorough and inclusive verification report that helps preserve their time, money, and resources, enabling them to make faster, better-informed decisions about more businesses. This in-depth report includes: 

• Business verification index 

• Fraud alert index 

• Company profile 

• Principal owner 

• Public records 

• Associated businesses 

• Credit inquiry report (summarizes recent credit inquiries) 

• Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) screening 

• TIN match 

• Secretary of State review

2. Promote the scoring (and approval) of more businesses without increasing risk. Today’s volatile economy is putting stress on many smaller firms. Last year, 41 percent of small businesses that were denied all or some financing were turned down due to their high debt load (up from 22 percent in 2021), according to a recent Small Business Credit Survey from the Federal Reserve. Likewise, small businesses were more likely to report that their revenues decreased compared to the prior year.

To help lenders better understand this shifting landscape of risk and opportunity, you can enable expanded views of small businesses by leveraging our unique, high-performing data and analytics. Some of these options include:

• OneScore for Commercial. Lenders can score as many as 50 percent more applications and recognize as much as 20 percent more approvals by harnessing the power of the Equifax commercial credit database and the innovative Equifax Cloud.¹ Equifax’s Commercial Financial Network, trended data, public records, firmographic, and non-financial information, combined with consumer data and next-generation AI provide one of the best modeling capabilities in the market. 

• Alternative data. Help lenders score and serve a wider audience of individuals who operate as sole proprietors by using our alternative data, ideal for small start-ups. This includes account payment data for cable, cell phones, utilities, and security services, as well as specialty finance data, which has been proven to help companies score up to 21 percent more consumer applicants without increasing risk levels.²

3. Boost lenders’ ability to understand a company's cash flows. Acquiring financial data on private companies is difficult and can pose a significant challenge for lenders who are looking to determine if a business can afford a new line of credit and sustain the business. Bank statements, balance sheets, and so on—all are helpful in understanding the financial status of the business, but paying back a loan or even paying the bills requires a look into active cash flow.  

Integrating alternative data, like Commercial Merchant Data, can offer lenders a fresh, “source-of-truth” that helps provide insight into a businesses’ actual cash flow. Merchant transaction data helps determine if a company can pay back its debts, as well as help determine the potential size of the credit line.   

4. Speed access to capital and enhance the borrower experience. Manual processes are the enemy of efficiency. The Federal Reserve's Small Business Credit Survey revealed that 59 percent of firms sought financing in the 12 months preceding the survey. Yet, net satisfaction with lenders among small business applicants during that same timeframe declined. 

By integrating our diverse, far-reaching data into your platform offerings, you can further automate key steps in the loan origination and underwriting process, significantly reducing manual effort and errors. This can enable lenders to offer a better overall customer experience—one that’s both swift and seamless. 

• Lenders can accelerate approvals, enabling faster access to crucial business capital. 

• Automated underwriting systems, powered by comprehensive, up-to-date data sources, can more accurately assess creditworthiness, speeding up decision-making and improving outcomes for lenders and borrowers.

5. Facilitate smart growth, beyond new account opening. Lending doesn't stop at approval. After new accounts are approved and onboarded, unforeseen economic shocks can arise, sparking new risk within a lender’s portfolio. 

Integrating our solutions into your offerings can empower lenders to monitor the financial health of their borrowers throughout the loan lifecycle. They can identify emerging risks, such as late payments or cash flow deficits, allowing for earlier intervention and more effective risk mitigation strategies. They can also identify opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, fostering organic growth and stronger client relationships.  

• Lenders can analyze their commercial portfolio by allowing Equifax to conduct a risk assessment of existing customers and key segments within its existing book of business. 

Enhancing your integrations to include expanded commercial data and analytics solutions is no longer a “nice to have” option; it’s imperative to distinguish your company as a preferred technology partner and deliver unparalleled value and services to small business lenders. Let's connect and explore how we can integrate seamlessly to drive more efficient, secure, and profitable outcomes for small business lenders and their customers.  

Sources: 

1. Equifax, OneScore for Commercial Product Sheet

2. Equifax, Expanding Access to Credit with Alternative Data Infographic