{"id":569123,"date":"2025-07-15T08:25:24","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T07:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/?post_type=ibsi_news&#038;p=569123"},"modified":"2025-07-15T08:26:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T07:26:11","slug":"uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind","status":"publish","type":"ibsi_news","link":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/","title":{"rendered":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-555583 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\" alt=\"SMEs, UAE\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Umazi report exposes how outdated verification systems are strangling small business survival in a worsening economy.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report from digital identity platform\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-style: inherit\" href=\"https:\/\/nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure-web.cisco.com%2F1nH1eKTohKJli-Xrps7GfuOsJgzCB0f6TLiF-Zl3Ezf5PT9tbihGVoT3LnHeuHcFkEC4WWzaFAUxsdDz_yJW0ptx0K5N5V1cBWK2f4TivKKHs_IMZvrf2NdeuwpCWpEYAEFLqkFKAtwhtVjQdV4QxJ3eu9LTljtZMi5r3H5kUEAMWt7-ifkr-zOuA-TNOI0hkEeY52niaeCfgyp70dV3gnQpata2F099-nACJ1UFL0ldC1Ju5Vxe93uJtsjbRheEg3C17sM_rr3KdRXTe1hGDKPYvIhcRXDwOad9qt8ZeQtLEQ39Jf-qxAeukYE45MrARG8GBgeBh3jmFSj7p1WDmACd8pRtTbUwbEM7fOZF6KUV4LnmrKr4kCwX2tef25GIB%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252F74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me%252FL0%252Fhttps%253A%25252F%25252Fwww.umazi.io%25252F%252F2%252F010201980cde0b09-6923d379-4062-48f0-828a-da4bfa27610b-000000%252Fu0Qgf4GYLcFgLH3wyPC9Rd2P-Yc%253D434&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpujas%40ibsintelligence.com%7C3c6410a5633e41db05dc08ddc36c9f10%7C0cdba5fc7bed462c895fb775bcc3b06b%7C0%7C0%7C638881593515746178%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=%2F0kf2796SBwJ6k0NhU%2BwCRNd2Tf3ZqCTR6Af2usQzFA%3D&amp;reserved=0\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"3\"><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Umazi<\/span><\/a>\u00a0,\u00a0<span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">reveals a compounding, largely overlooked threat: the country\u2019s outdated and inefficient business verification systems.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">The report,\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"font-style: inherit\" href=\"https:\/\/nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure-web.cisco.com%2F1O48jovOElvcGsvJgKPlILw5KDRxA1feB6gbQZjRrZnk3f4GzsRaxs3_NFWJGiu9lhd6qeNJadGW5ufGrwHGlNvgc0RJ0SOyOqCynm3bsKx8dMOn5IvoGpvQ0gNrSoNAYvLEPdS1p2FqhYqWrKSjGjv4M0BkPrlLNEB9gwREUK7pfrKnT7BbXzlBl-TiKVnEBiuG_BPv7CAp2RmjG0PnMJliC0FWPcDtvHuTDnZ7vGQVbANPSE4oPp-HWHdM5E_wIw3MBtzU_mjJADpH3zwjjr6xMVLXAWKFduBLIc1IJj4VJU3QFJ_5LwvDtsbV9VA9h3xPmHXlFXmxyNoqUrgH18ellMITJ0gNQOAhUtVtRfcHW-12k5fLJPeu0hVlmCcI_%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252F74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me%252FL0%252Fhttps%253A%25252F%25252Fwww.umazi.io%25252Fwhitepaper%252F2%252F010201980cde0b09-6923d379-4062-48f0-828a-da4bfa27610b-000000%252FCQDqsXL4BlYeS1q5ayBNiuJQGCY%253D434&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpujas%40ibsintelligence.com%7C3c6410a5633e41db05dc08ddc36c9f10%7C0cdba5fc7bed462c895fb775bcc3b06b%7C0%7C0%7C638881593515770867%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=OHowaXzxV9JnSR67k5pWC4QoqBYO6g7pJlXyOEMWQWQ%3D&amp;reserved=0\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"4\"><em><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Broken ID, Broken Growth:<\/span><\/em><\/a><em><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\"> The UK\u2019s Verification Chokehold<\/span><\/em><a style=\"font-style: inherit\" href=\"https:\/\/nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure-web.cisco.com%2F1O48jovOElvcGsvJgKPlILw5KDRxA1feB6gbQZjRrZnk3f4GzsRaxs3_NFWJGiu9lhd6qeNJadGW5ufGrwHGlNvgc0RJ0SOyOqCynm3bsKx8dMOn5IvoGpvQ0gNrSoNAYvLEPdS1p2FqhYqWrKSjGjv4M0BkPrlLNEB9gwREUK7pfrKnT7BbXzlBl-TiKVnEBiuG_BPv7CAp2RmjG0PnMJliC0FWPcDtvHuTDnZ7vGQVbANPSE4oPp-HWHdM5E_wIw3MBtzU_mjJADpH3zwjjr6xMVLXAWKFduBLIc1IJj4VJU3QFJ_5LwvDtsbV9VA9h3xPmHXlFXmxyNoqUrgH18ellMITJ0gNQOAhUtVtRfcHW-12k5fLJPeu0hVlmCcI_%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252F74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me%252FL0%252Fhttps%253A%25252F%25252Fwww.umazi.io%25252Fwhitepaper%252F2%252F010201980cde0b09-6923d379-4062-48f0-828a-da4bfa27610b-000000%252FCQDqsXL4BlYeS1q5ayBNiuJQGCY%253D434&amp;data=05%7C02%7Cpujas%40ibsintelligence.com%7C3c6410a5633e41db05dc08ddc36c9f10%7C0cdba5fc7bed462c895fb775bcc3b06b%7C0%7C0%7C638881593515770867%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=OHowaXzxV9JnSR67k5pWC4QoqBYO6g7pJlXyOEMWQWQ%3D&amp;reserved=0\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"4\"><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">\u00a0exposes how legacy, paper-based processes are not only wasting time and resources but are actively preventing SMEs from accessing vital services, crippling their ability to grow, operate efficiently, or even get off the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">With the UK government&#8217;s focus on SME growth and now the newly launched industrial strategy, the ability to ride the opportunity will be hampered by outdated verification processes,\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">said\u00a0<\/span><strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Cindy van Niekerk,<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\"><strong>\u00a0CEO and Founder of<\/strong><\/span><strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">\u00a0Umazi<\/span><\/strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\"><strong>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">\u201cWe\u2019ve spoken to business owners who\u2019ve had to submit the same documents repeatedly just to get through basic onboarding. Some are waiting weeks just to open a business bank account. Others are denied finance not because of poor performance, but because they haven\u2019t been operating long enough to satisfy outdated paper-trail requirements. It\u2019s not just frustrating\u2014it\u2019s actively sabotaging our economy from the inside out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Broken systems, broken growth<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">According to the report, over one-third of SMEs (35%) identify duplicative verification requirements and endless paperwork as one of their biggest operational challenges in 2025 so far. These aren\u2019t minor inefficiencies\u2014they are blocking businesses at some of the most critical points in their development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">A staggering 90% of respondents said they have had to resubmit the same documents multiple times during registration or funding applications. In some of the worst cases, the same forms and credentials were requested up to ten times, creating weeks, sometimes months, of avoidable delays before a business can even begin trading.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">\u201cThese kinds of delays aren\u2019t just red tape\u2014they\u2019re growth traps,\u201d van Niekerk explained. \u201cThey stall innovation, deter investment, and exhaust entrepreneurs before they\u2019ve even had a chance to build momentum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">A catch-22 of verification<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">While these inefficiencies waste precious time, their most damaging effect lies in the restriction of business finance. The report found that 30% of SMEs have been unable to access the funding they need to grow or sustain operations. Of those rejected, half were told the reason was a lack of trading history or insufficient documentation, despite often providing extensive paperwork.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">\u201cThis is the absurd reality SMEs face,\u201d van Niekerk continued. \u201cThey\u2019re denied the opportunity to grow because they haven\u2019t already grown. It\u2019s a catch-22 built on paper-based and manual processes \u2014and it\u2019s holding back some of the most innovative, job-creating companies in the country.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">An urgent need for reform<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">While the UK government continues to tout its so-called digital transformation agenda, SMEs remain stuck in a system built on paperwork and repetition, highlighting a glaring contradiction between policy promises and practical progress.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Umazi argues that a secure, reusable digital business identity could revolutionise how SMEs verify themselves, removing duplication, enabling instant authentication, and dramatically reducing fraud risk. Businesses would be able to \u201cverify once, share many\u201d\u2014freeing them from the current maze of bureaucracy and repetitive documentation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-style: inherit;font-weight: inherit\">Van Niekerk concluded: \u201cWe already have the tools to fix this, what\u2019s missing is urgency and leadership. Until we replace paper-based systems with digital trust infrastructure, we\u2019ll continue to choke the very businesses we rely on to create jobs, deliver services, and power our communities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35621,"featured_media":555583,"parent":0,"template":"","categories":[11395,19264],"tags":[12663,39230,11409,11549,21391,11406,24193,22842],"class_list":["post-569123","ibsi_news","type-ibsi_news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-analytics","category-ibsi-flagship-offerings","tag-ai","tag-biometric-verification","tag-digital-transformation","tag-financial-services","tag-fintech-news","tag-uk","tag-uk-smes","tag-umazi"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"IBS Intelligence (IBSi) is the world\u2019s only pure-play Financial Technology focused research, advisory, and fintech news analysis firm, with a 30-year track record and clients globally. We take pride in covering 400+ technology vendors globally \u2013 the largest by any analyst firm in this space.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"IBS Intelligence\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ibsintelligence.cmc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@IBSIntelligence\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Puja Sharma\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ab658b4f7162e060853216737c46557\"},\"headline\":\"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-15T07:25:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\"},\"wordCount\":593,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"AI\",\"biometric verification\",\"Digital Transformation\",\"Financial Services\",\"Fintech news\",\"UK\",\"UK SMEs\",\"Umazi\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analytics\",\"IBSi Flagship Offerings\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\",\"name\":\"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-15T07:25:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00\",\"description\":\"As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300,\"caption\":\"SMEs, UAE\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/\",\"name\":\"IBS Intelligence\",\"description\":\"Financial Technology News &amp; FinTech Research\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"IBS Intelligence\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo.png\",\"width\":299,\"height\":80,\"caption\":\"IBS Intelligence\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ibsintelligence.cmc\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/IBSIntelligence\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ibsintelligence\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ibs-intelligence\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCLkzPazySerR8DzKFeFFGmw\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ab658b4f7162e060853216737c46557\",\"name\":\"Puja Sharma\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52cc919920005c5ef0aa20181fc9da98bc61a14c67ff7fc6884d1fee1ef66ce7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52cc919920005c5ef0aa20181fc9da98bc61a14c67ff7fc6884d1fee1ef66ce7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Puja Sharma\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind","description":"As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind","og_description":"IBS Intelligence (IBSi) is the world\u2019s only pure-play Financial Technology focused research, advisory, and fintech news analysis firm, with a 30-year track record and clients globally. We take pride in covering 400+ technology vendors globally \u2013 the largest by any analyst firm in this space.","og_url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/","og_site_name":"IBS Intelligence","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ibsintelligence.cmc\/","article_modified_time":"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@IBSIntelligence","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/"},"author":{"name":"Puja Sharma","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ab658b4f7162e060853216737c46557"},"headline":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind","datePublished":"2025-07-15T07:25:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/"},"wordCount":593,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg","keywords":["AI","biometric verification","Digital Transformation","Financial Services","Fintech news","UK","UK SMEs","Umazi"],"articleSection":["Analytics","IBSi Flagship Offerings"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/","url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/","name":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-15T07:25:24+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-15T07:26:11+00:00","description":"As UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) wrestle with inflation, rising taxes, and an escalating cost-of-living crisis, a new report","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/SMEs.jpg","width":300,"height":300,"caption":"SMEs, UAE"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/ibsi-news\/uk-smes-stuck-in-verification-gridlock-as-fintech-lags-behind\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"UK SMEs stuck in verification gridlock as FinTech lags behind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/","name":"IBS Intelligence","description":"Financial Technology News &amp; FinTech Research","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#organization","name":"IBS Intelligence","url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/logo.png","width":299,"height":80,"caption":"IBS Intelligence"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ibsintelligence.cmc\/","https:\/\/x.com\/IBSIntelligence","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ibsintelligence\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ibs-intelligence\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCLkzPazySerR8DzKFeFFGmw"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0ab658b4f7162e060853216737c46557","name":"Puja Sharma","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52cc919920005c5ef0aa20181fc9da98bc61a14c67ff7fc6884d1fee1ef66ce7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52cc919920005c5ef0aa20181fc9da98bc61a14c67ff7fc6884d1fee1ef66ce7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Puja Sharma"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ibsi_news\/569123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ibsi_news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ibsi_news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/555583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibsintelligence.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}