Xero rewires Asia’s small-business economy
‘Xero allows small-business owners to access their financial information anywhere, anytime’
Small businesses are the backbone of Asia’s economies, and increasingly new technologies are being embraced to support their growth and success. One technology platform leading the charge is Xero, a pioneer and global leader in cloud-based accounting software for small businesses.
“Xero rewires Asia’s small-business economy by giving control back to small-business owners,” says Alex Campbell, managing director for Xero in Asia. “Xero allows small-business owners to access their financial information anywhere, anytime – giving them a real-time view of their cash flow, revenue and expenses.”
Xero has built an ecosystem of more than 500 add-on partners, which help small businesses access and integrate technology applications relevant to their individual business needs – regardless of their location, sector or scale.
Xero’s ecosystem also includes partnerships with major banks to allow transaction data to flow from small-business bank accounts straight to their Xero platform automatically every day. This gives business owners real-time visibility of their cash flow, and makes it easier and faster for them to get access to loans.
“Small businesses can choose to share their up-to-the-moment Xero data with banks when applying for loans, and using this data, banks can make easier, faster credit lending decisions,” Campbell says. Xero has partnerships with leading local banks including HSBC, UOB, DBS Bank and CIMB.
The Xero platform runs on Amazon Web Services, which is also used by some of world’s leading financial institutions and corporations. To ensure the highest level of security, Xero uses a two-step authentication similar to ones used for internet banking.
Xero has been active in Asia since 2008, and launched its Singapore regional head office last year. Its Asian clients are primarily based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines. Established in 2006, Xero is listed on the New Zealand Exchange and the Australian Securities Exchange, with an operating revenue of US$207 million last year. It has more than 1 million subscribers in more than 180 countries worldwide.
