April 25, 2024 | 2 min read
Marqeta partners with OakNorth to offer commercial cards in the UK
![Marqeta OakNorth](https://images.ctfassets.net/wqi8u1luxsv0/3KzJmcGgz5Z4wVqVv1C8ML/194bb39e53e722b3bb808fee2a122a5c/image1.png)
![Marqeta OakNorth](https://images.ctfassets.net/wqi8u1luxsv0/3KzJmcGgz5Z4wVqVv1C8ML/194bb39e53e722b3bb808fee2a122a5c/image1.png)
![Marqeta OakNorth](https://images.ctfassets.net/wqi8u1luxsv0/3KzJmcGgz5Z4wVqVv1C8ML/194bb39e53e722b3bb808fee2a122a5c/image1.png)
Today we announced a partnership with OakNorth, the digital bank for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, to offer a commercial card for OakNorth’s Business Banking customers. With our platform, OakNorth customers will be able to see a more holistic view of their finances and more efficiently track spending and manage cash flow.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) account for 99.9% of businesses in the UK and power the majority of private sector jobs. Despite being a critical part of the economy, UK SMEs are struggling, citing costs £10,000 higher in 2023 than the prior year. In addition, the Bank of England estimates that there is an SME funding gap of £22 billion in the UK. By partnering with us, OakNorth will provide its small and medium-sized business customers the services typically only available to commercial banking customers, including deposit accounts and tools to automate bill payments, helping them plan for rising costs and thrive amid economic uncertainty.
“We’re proud to work closely with our customers to build a highly tailored solution that fits the unique needs of their business,” said Kristjan Kaar, Chief Product Officer, at OakNorth. “We selected Marqeta because of its innovative approach to building a card program that would enable us to create a bespoke experience for our customers and support them in their growth ambitions.”