• Quantexa is launching its Q Assist technology suite to augment decision-making among its clients and employees.
• HSBC announced it is an early adopter of Q Assist and will pilot the technology as part of Quantexa’s Lighthouse Program.
• BNY Mellon is also currently evaluating joining the Lighthouse Program.

Decision intelligence solutions company Quantexa announced today that HSBC has selected its newly launched Q Assist, a technology suite to help organizations augment decision-making among frontline and information workers. 

The Q Assist Technology Suite helps clients leverage context aware generative AI without having to invest much in infrastructure, tooling, or add skilled human resources. Specifically, employees can tap into copilots, linked data, Quantexa’s knowledge graph capability, and more to enhance the accuracy and reliability of generative AI models. The Technology Suite is comprised of an integration layer that serves as a framework of tools, connectors, and APIs that link Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence Platform with LLMs and conversational AI systems; a prompt management and sharing capability that integrates with external prompt tools and frameworks; and a copilot that allows users to query large and disparate data via a natural language interface.

Along with the launch of Q Assist, Quantexa also unveiled its Lighthouse Program for early adopters. “Quantexa’s engineering principle of shaping solutions to deliver maximum customer value has allowed our clients to play an integral role in helping to shape the product requirements for Q Assist,” said Quantexa CTO Jamie Hutton. “Through the company’s Lighthouse Program for early adopters, we have the benefit of working with industry leaders that provide valuable feedback throughout our roadmap process.”

HSBC is participating in the Quantexa Lighthouse Program, making the firm an early adopter of Q Assist. The technology suite will help HSBC streamline the processes of analysis, investigation, and reporting for its knowledge workers; reduce the firm’s reliance on data science and operations teams; offer its customer facing teams access to enriched data and insights in order to improve the customer experience; and enable teams to accelerate the decision-making process while improving traceability of decisions. HSBC anticipates that, within the first year of deploying Q Assist, the technology will help democratize analytics and accelerate processes, ultimately leading to productivity gains.

“This new solution has the potential to enhance the efficiency and accuracy of complex tasks such as anti-money laundering investigations and sales strategies by providing trusted data and contextual analytics,” said HSBC Global Chief Operating Officer of Commercial Banking David Rice. “The introduction of contextual analytics and innovation will enable HSBC to concentrate our resources more productively and ultimately help our customers.”

Quantexa noted that BNY Mellon is also currently evaluating joining the Lighthouse Program. “The next phase in our innovation efforts will see us exploring the potential of enabling frontline workers across the bank to use Gen AI to act on the data insights confidently and reach new levels of efficiency in the process,” said BNY Mellon, Cheif Data Officer Eric Hirschhorn.

Quantexa expects to make Q Assist available publicly outside of its Lighthouse program by early 2025.

Photo by Google DeepMind

• The U.S. Small Business Administration plans to issue a new SBA loan option for small businesses.
• The new pilot program will extend lines of credit of up to $5 million and will charge an annual fee and a maximum interest rate that is 3% to 6.5% higher than the prime rate.
• Lenders will receive a 75% guaranty on loans larger than $150,000 and an 85% guaranty on loans smaller than $150,000.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced plans this week to issue a new government-backed SBA loan option for small businesses. SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman unveiled the news in an interview with CNBC, which broke the news.

The new pilot program, which will extend lines of credit of up to $5 million, will allow business owners to either fund specific projects or borrow against their assets. Borrowers will be charged an annual fee and will face maximum interest rates that are 3% to 6.5% higher than the prime rate, topping out at around 12% to 15%.

The new loans aim to bring more compelling offers to both lenders and borrowers than the SBA’s existing 7(a) loan program. The 7(a) loan program incentivized lenders to loan to small business owners by providing guaranties to the lenders. Last year, the program backed 57,000 loans valued at $27.5 billion.

And even though the loan amount represents a 7% increase from 2022 levels, Guzman expressed that the growth is less than ideal. The same is true for two other SBA products, the SBA Express loan, which offers up to a $500,000 line of credit, and the CapLines loan product, which didn’t appeal much to lenders because of its complicated structure.

“This product is our aim to increase access to a simpler working capital line,” Guzman told CNBC. “It basically takes the best of our various options to create a pilot program to see if we can get more borrowers an affordable working capital line, versus just a pure reliance on credit cards.”

Lenders may find the new loans especially appealing, as they limit risk. Lenders receive a 75% guaranty on loans larger than $150,000 and an 85% guaranty on loans smaller than $150,000. “In an environment of higher interest rates, we want to make sure that the SBA is an option for more businesses,” Guzman said in the CNBC interview.

The SBA’s new working capital offering may impact the competitive landscape. Fintechs and traditional banks have provided lines of credit and working capital solutions with varying degrees of accessibility and interest rates for a long time. However, the SBA’s new government-backed line of credit promises accessibility and affordability for the borrower, as well as a 75% to 85% guaranty for the lender. While fintechs often attract small businesses with their quick approval processes and attractive user interfaces, they can come with higher interest rates and less favorable terms compared to traditional banks. Banks, on the other hand, offer more stable and lower interest rates but have rigid credit requirements and slower processing times. The SBA’s new program, which will go live “in the coming months,” will help bridge these gaps.

Photo by Amina Filkins

• Jio Financial Services parent Reliance Group launched its own financial super app, JioFinance.
• JioFinance serves as a single place where users can conduct digital payments, apply for loans, and purchase insurance.
• Jio Financial partnered with Blackrock last year and is expected to enter the wealth management space in the future.

TechCrunch unveiled this morning that Jio Financial Services parent and multi-sector conglomerate Reliance Group launched its own financial super app, JioFinance.

Jio Financial’s new JioFinance app launched today in the Google Play store and aims to serve as a single place where users can conduct digital payments, apply for loans, and purchase insurance. The bank accounts are held with Reliance-owned Jio Payments Bank, which was granted a banking license by the Reserve Bank of India in 2015.

“Introducing JioFinance, for your fast and secure UPI payments, seamless bill payments, and timely reminders,” the app description reads. “Enjoy instant rewards and benefits on all UPI transactions. Instant account opening in a few minutes, with zero balance feature, interest rate as high as 3.5% and a digital passbook, with Jio Payments Bank. Take control of your finances with easy tracking and analysis of your spends in a few clicks. Pay bills, track expenses, and save money with the JioFinance app!”

Today’s launch comes after Jio Financial formed a partnership with Blackrock in 2023 to add wealth management offerings to its existing insurance and lending offerings. Also in 2023, Jio Financial announced it was leveraging alternative data to enhance its personalization efforts.

Unlike the U.S., India has a growing scene of true super apps players. Reliance’s competitors in the space include Tata Group and Paytm. Tata Group’s Tata Neu aims to integrate a range of services from e-commerce and finance to travel and health under one platform. And Paytm, which originally launched as a mobile wallet and payment app, has expanded into a super app by adding banking, financial services, and e-commerce functionalities.