Built by bankers, for bankers who want to be helpful.
Finli gives banks and credit unions a small business back office they can offer in their own brand — invoicing, payments, customer records, the whole day-to-day. It was built by a banker who wanted to bring more to a business owner's table than good intentions, and it is built for every banker who wants the same.
Our name is our mission
Finli is short for financial lift.
The arch in our wordmark is a bridge, and that is deliberate. What separates small businesses from the institutions that want to serve them is an access gap, not a gap in intent. Closing it is the whole job.
Why a banker built this
I became a banker to be helpful. Somewhere along the way I realized I wasn't — not in any way a business owner would notice. There was very little difference between me and the banker at the branch down the street.
Small business owners are the busiest people I know. If I asked one of them for a meeting and couldn't help them save money, save time or make money, I was taking something from them.
Every bank I worked for meant it when they called small businesses the backbone of the economy. The need was real. The intent was real. The solution never quite landed.
So I built Finli for me: the banker who wants to bring more to the table than remembering your kid's name.
Lori Shao, Founder and CEO — formerly bank payments and treasury
Why the math has never worked
No institution has fallen short of small businesses for lack of caring. Small businesses change fast and look nothing like one another, so building in-house either fits none of them or spends a roadmap on a sliver of the book. The roadmap goes where the engineering pays for itself. Meanwhile the day-to-day moves somewhere else, and the visibility goes with it.
and the thread between the two breaks here
Where Finli comes in
We are the small business product team an institution would otherwise have to build — built once, carefully, and offered under your own name.
Owners get invoicing, payments and customer records in one place. The digital payments they collect through Finli settle into their own verified account at their own bank or credit union. The relationship, the deposits and the visibility stay with the institution. Finli is not a bank.
What happens in the business comes back as something the banker can act on
Structured to walk the talk
Finli is a Public Benefit Corporation, a Certified B Corp and a Certified Social Enterprise, so our commitment to small businesses is written into how we are organized rather than only into how we talk. We are woman-led, and our team brings together payments, service and technology experience.
What we believe in
Reliability
We aim to deliver consistent service and products that work, with our customers' best interests at heart.
Innovation
We keep building practical features that help growing businesses keep up with their customers and their fields.
Accessibility
Every small business owner should have access to quality, uncomplicated financial tools that improve their business, livelihood and community.
Elevation
We build tools that give every small business a solid financial foundation to grow from.
Talk to the Finli team
Questions about partnering, sponsoring a program or our security review? We answer every message.