Fintech Takes x Fundbox presents Engineering the SMB Capital Stack Episode 3: Data & Underwriting with Bernardo Martinez (SoFi)

Nov 25, 2025

Bernardo Martinez, a seasoned small business lending executive at SoFi, dives into the complexities of SMB underwriting. He discusses how outdated operations and data gaps have hindered progress but highlights how digitization is transforming the landscape. The conversation explores the benefits of integrating various transaction data for a comprehensive cash-flow picture, and he touches on the role of non-financial signals and generative AI in enhancing lending strategies. Ultimately, Bernardo emphasizes the need for banks to evolve into supportive CFO partners for SMBs.

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INSIGHT

From Averages To Daily Cash-Flow Signals

Transactional granularity improved from average balances to daily-level and payment-level views that reveal customer counts and patterns.
Bernardo notes deeper feeds let lenders build a richer 360° picture and make decisions with more confidence.

INSIGHT

Sum-of-Parts Beats Single Data Streams

No single data source is decisive; combined signals (banking, payments, ledger) create a stronger view of business health.
Bernardo emphasizes the sum of parts reveals concentration, repeat customers, and operational quality.

INSIGHT

Customer Signals Matter As Much As Money

Non-financial signals (repeat visits, CRM, POS behavior) bring customer satisfaction and retention insights to underwriting.
Bernardo says these signals enable forecasting and understanding long-term business health beyond pure transactions.

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Welcome back to our Engineering the SMB Capital Stack, sponsored by our friends at Fundbox.

In this four-part series, we’re exploring small businesses, small business lending, and the forces shaping how small businesses access capital. I’m joined by Prashant Fuloria, CEO of Fundbox, as cohost.

In Episodes 1 and 2, we explored the state of small business lending and how capital actually reaches small businesses.

In Episode 3, we move to the heart of the SMB lending stack: underwriting (the core of how lenders evaluate and manage risk).

Joining us is longtime SMB lending leader, Bernardo Martinez, currently at SoFi. Bernardo is the executive leading SoFi’s SMB efforts (in addition to other initiatives like SoFi at Work, which is an employer-branded program to help companies support their talent through financial products).

Highlights include:

Why analog ops and missing data have always constrained SMB underwriting, and how overdue digitization and vSaaS are finally changing the picture.

What a true 360 degree view looks like when you blend bank transactions, payment processing, invoicing, and ledger data all together (and even flavor with non-financial signals like repeat visits, foot traffic, and even satellite imagery).

Where machine learning and generative AI actually belong in SMB lending, from stitching together CRM, accounting, banking, and marketing data to delivering CFO-style guidance that saves owners time (and lowers probability of default).

The next decade in small business finance isn’t about originating loans more quickly. The real unlock will be how well you feed the data back into the business itself (the better that business runs, the safer the loan becomes).

That means translating raw signals into value added services that help owners strategize growth, spot risks early, and above all, save time! Our data and tools are finally catching up to the needs of SMBs, which makes this an exciting moment for anyone building products for them.

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This episode was brought to you by Fundbox.

As a leading capital infrastructure provider behind the digital SMB economy, Fundbox is focused on enabling platforms to embed financial tools directly into their user experiences. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4o1cWVG

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