Small and medium-sized businesses want more than a bank account, they want one place to manage payments, get paid, access working capital, and run the back office. Around the world, banks and fintechs are racing to bundle these needs into a single, all-in-one offering, but what actually belongs in that bundle differs sharply from one market to the next. A leading global payments network engaged KoreFusion to map what's working globally and translate those lessons into concrete guidance for issuers across a set of priority markets.

The Challenge

Financial institutions serving small and medium-sized businesses face growing pressure to move beyond stand-alone accounts and cards toward bundled, all-in-one offerings that combine banking with the tools SMEs actually run their businesses on. The payments network needed a clear picture of the leading global examples of these bundles, spanning card issuance and acceptance, invoicing, payroll, accounting integrations, and marketing support, and, critically, needed guidance on which specific components would genuinely resonate with SMEs across a set of priority CEMEA markets, each with its own competitive landscape, regulatory environment, and pattern of SME needs.

The Approach

KoreFusion conducted a global research program profiling leading examples of bundled small-business banking offerings from banks, fintechs, and other providers worldwide, examining the payments, financing, digital experience, and value-added-service components that make these offerings successful, along with the partnership and pricing models providers use to deliver them. This was paired with a market-by-market assessment across several priority countries in the CEMEA region, evaluating existing small-business banking solutions already gaining traction locally and identifying the specific components, from payment issuance and acceptance to marketing and third-party integrations, most likely to resonate with SMEs given each market's distinct needs and challenges.

The Outcome

The research produced a practical framework of the components, delivery models, and pricing approaches that make bundled SME banking offerings successful globally, and translated it into tailored recommendations reflecting the specific competitive and regulatory realities of each priority market studied. The findings gave the payments network's regional and issuer-engagement teams a concise, thought-leadership-ready resource for helping banks across the region design and deploy compelling small-business banking bundles.