Xero and Plaid Partnership to Advance Sustainable Development Goals for Small Businesses

Strategic Objectives and Alignment with Global Goals

A strategic partnership has been formed between the small business platform Xero and the financial data network Plaid. This collaboration is a direct contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals, by leveraging joint capabilities to foster economic development.

• The primary objective is to triple the number of high-quality bank feed connections available to small business customers in the United States.
• The partnership will integrate Plaid’s network of over a thousand U.S. financial institutions into the Xero platform.
• Beginning this year, Plaid will power an increasing portion of Xero’s U.S. bank feed sources, ensuring more robust and dependable data connections.

Empowering SMEs for Inclusive Economic Growth (SDG 8 & SDG 10)

This initiative is designed to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which are crucial for local economies, thereby advancing SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. By improving access to financial data, the partnership also addresses SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, by leveling the playing field for smaller businesses.

• Enhanced Financial Access: The partnership significantly improves SME access to reliable bank connections, including those with smaller community-focused banks and credit unions.
• Informed Decision-Making: Providing a clearer, real-time view of finances empowers business owners to make strategic decisions that support growth, employee retention, and community investment.
• Operational Efficiency: The integration is expected to make financial management smoother and more precise, saving valuable time for business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers.

Enhancing Financial Infrastructure and Innovation (SDG 9)

The collaboration represents a significant enhancement of the financial infrastructure available to small businesses, a key target of SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. The technological integration provides a more resilient and sophisticated framework for financial data management.

1. Robust Integrations: The use of Plaid’s technology will create stronger and more reliable integrations between businesses and their financial institutions.
2. High-Quality Information: Businesses will receive higher-quality financial data, leading to more accurate accounting and financial reporting.
3. Expanded Network: Access to a wider range of financial institutions ensures that more businesses, regardless of their banking provider, can benefit from this technological advancement.

Addressing Economic Challenges in the SME Sector

The partnership is timely, as it addresses significant economic headwinds faced by Main Street businesses in the U.S. These businesses are a vital part of the economy, contributing to 25% of the country’s wages.

• Economic Slowdown: Recent data indicates a slowdown in growth for Main Street businesses, which grew at only 2.4% in the year ending Q1 2025, compared to a 3.6% rise in the overall U.S. business index.
• Sector-Specific Struggles: The slowdown is attributed to fewer new establishments and slower wage growth, with restaurant and retail sectors being particularly affected.
• The Role of Partnerships: This initiative demonstrates how strategic partnerships can provide essential tools and support to help SMEs overcome economic challenges, ensuring their survival and ability to contribute to sustainable economic growth.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

• The article focuses extensively on the economic health and growth of small businesses, referred to as “Main Street businesses.” It highlights their importance as “the backbone of local economies” and a significant source of employment, paying “25% of the country’s wages.” The partnership between Xero and Plaid is presented as a solution to support these businesses, empowering them to “make more informed decisions, supporting their growth, their employees, and the communities they serve.” This directly aligns with SDG 8’s goal of promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

• The core of the article is a technological partnership aimed at improving financial infrastructure for small businesses. The collaboration between Xero and Plaid provides “more robust integrations and higher-quality information from a wide range of financial institutions.” This initiative to “supercharge bank connections” and provide “more dependable connections to their financial data” is a clear example of upgrading infrastructure and promoting innovation to increase the access of small-scale enterprises to financial services, which is a key aspect of SDG 9.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

1. Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
   • The article discusses how the partnership provides a technological upgrade (“supercharge bank connections,” “more robust integrations”) to small businesses. This is intended to give them a “clearer, real-time view of their finances,” which will “empower them to make more informed decisions, supporting their growth.” This directly supports the goal of increasing economic productivity through technological innovation.
2. Target 8.3: Promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
   • This target is central to the article. The partnership’s explicit goal is to support “the many small businesses that form the backbone of local economies.” It aims to improve their “access to reliable bank connections,” which is a form of access to financial services. The desired outcome is to support their growth, which in turn supports job creation (“their employees”) and local economies (“the communities they serve”).

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

1. Target 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.
   • The article directly addresses the access of small enterprises to financial services. The partnership aims to “significantly improve these business owners’ access to reliable bank connections.” By providing a “clearer, real-time view of their finances,” the service makes it easier for small businesses to manage their money, which is a critical step for integration into the broader market and for accessing other financial services like credit. The initiative is designed to help them “make managing the finances a lot smoother, more precise and successful.”

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Indicators for SDG 8 Targets

• For Target 8.2: The article provides a direct metric related to economic productivity and growth, which aligns with Indicator 8.2.1 (Annual growth rate of real GDP per employed person). The article states, “across the four quarters ending in Q1 2025, Main Street businesses grew at a markedly slower pace than the overall U.S. business index. That metric rose 3.6% while Main Street businesses managed only 2.4% growth.” This “business growth index” serves as a specific, measurable indicator of the economic performance of small businesses.
• For Target 8.3: While not a formal UN indicator, the article provides clear, quantifiable metrics to measure progress in access to financial services. It states the partnership aims to “ultimately tripling the number of high-quality bank feeds” and that customers will “gain access to more than a thousand bank connections through Plaid’s network.” These numbers can be used as direct indicators of increased access to financial data services for small businesses.

Indicators for SDG 9 Targets

• For Target 9.3: The indicator is the “proportion of small-scale industries… with access to financial services.” The article provides proxy indicators for this. The key deliverable of the partnership is to increase the number of available bank connections for small businesses. The specific metrics mentioned—”tripling the number of high-quality bank feeds” and providing “access to more than a thousand bank connections”—directly measure the increase in access to these foundational financial services for small enterprises.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: pymnts.com