Different as they might be, marketplace platforms have something in common: their purpose is to match investors with the right issuers, and vice versa. Regardless of the nature of those transactions, platform operators can ease the sometimes lengthy process that consist in onboarding its different categories of users while meeting regulatory requirements.
Before further describing the onboarding process, we’ll make a distinction between the different categories of users that interact through marketplace platforms:
Now that we have described the different types users that interact through the platform, we’ll mention the different steps that form the basis of user’s onboarding.
Depending on the type (disposable income, nationality, etc.) of investors that the platform operator is aiming to onboard on its platform, different regulatory requirement have to be met. By having 3rd party service providers integrated in its platform to process ID verifications (for instance to meet Know Your Customer and Anti-Money laundering requirements), platform operators can easily approve or reject potential investors before allowing them to open an online-wallet or to invest directly.
- Issuers are the users currently looking for investors to fund a given offering. Issuers can be further divided in two broad categories, based on the type of financing they are seeking: either debt or equity.
- Investors are the users currently looking to invest with the objective of generating risk-adjusted returns higher than the market’s average.
- Platform Operators are the ones that operate and oversee marketplace platforms. They are in charge of configuring the platform, managing user access rights, meeting compliance requirements, etc. Overall, their role consists in easing the meeting of investors and issuers, by performing all preliminary verifications and providing an online marketplace for demand and supply to meet.
Now that we have described the different types users that interact through the platform, we’ll mention the different steps that form the basis of user’s onboarding.
Depending on the type (disposable income, nationality, etc.) of investors that the platform operator is aiming to onboard on its platform, different regulatory requirement have to be met. By having 3rd party service providers integrated in its platform to process ID verifications (for instance to meet Know Your Customer and Anti-Money laundering requirements), platform operators can easily approve or reject potential investors before allowing them to open an online-wallet or to invest directly.
Similar to the investor onboarding process, platform operators need to verify the adequacy of issuers to their platform’s standard. Both personally, and regarding the overall viability of their projects. In order to efficiently achieve this, credit scoring partners can automatically assess the solvability of an issuer and integrated deal rooms are used to gather and validate all relevant information before submitting an offering to potential investors.
In any case, an efficient onboarding process that meets a platform’s users’ needs and expectations, is fundamental in the success of an online platform. Indeed, a robust onboarding process can improve the quantity and the quality of a platform’s investor base and deal-flow. Compared to offline processes, it is now possible to automatize most interactions, meaning that qualified investors will be able to invest in selected offerings within a few minutes of their registration on the platform. Likewise, by centralizing and verifying all the relevant information, platform operators can easily introduce fund-seekers to investors.
Once the platform’s basic workflows are established, it is then easy to adapt its settings to the evolving expectations of its users. To do so, a platform operator can easily set and update ‘triggers’ that automatically notify a user when a given event occurs on the platform. Practically, it means that an investor could be automatically aware of investment opportunities that match his criteria once they’ve been verified by the platform operator. It could also be used to automatically notify an operator once an issuer has provided the required documentation, who could then approve the offering and automatically notify investors that already registered their potential interest for this type of offering.
Once the platform’s basic workflows are established, it is then easy to adapt its settings to the evolving expectations of its users. To do so, a platform operator can easily set and update ‘triggers’ that automatically notify a user when a given event occurs on the platform. Practically, it means that an investor could be automatically aware of investment opportunities that match his criteria once they’ve been verified by the platform operator. It could also be used to automatically notify an operator once an issuer has provided the required documentation, who could then approve the offering and automatically notify investors that already registered their potential interest for this type of offering.
From the onboarding of users to the settlement of transactions, Crowd Valley’s framework enables platform operators to tailor their online finance workflows to the needs of their users. Any interested party shouldn’t hesitate to contact us.
About the author - Enzo Ramos
Enzo grew up in France but also studied in the United States (Philadelphia & Monroe, MI). His work in Fintech began in 2014, at the occasion of regulatory changes that enabled the creation of French equity crowdfunding platforms. Ever since, he’s been interested in the ever-expanding world of online finance platforms. He is currently based in Lyon, where he is involved in the creation of synergies between innovative challengers and established firms.
Enzo grew up in France but also studied in the United States (Philadelphia & Monroe, MI). His work in Fintech began in 2014, at the occasion of regulatory changes that enabled the creation of French equity crowdfunding platforms. Ever since, he’s been interested in the ever-expanding world of online finance platforms. He is currently based in Lyon, where he is involved in the creation of synergies between innovative challengers and established firms.
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