Credit decisions through banks and traditional lenders can move slowly. After you fill out a long application and upload stacks of paperwork, you can wait for weeks for multiple departments to manually review your file. This model requires lots of time and energy from you and the lender.
Modern fintech lenders use technology, automation, data analytics, and in some cases machine learning, to evaluate businesses on real performance rather than paperwork. The result is faster approvals and funding decisions that reflect how your business actually operates.
For you, that can mean a shorter application and faster approvals. It also opens the door for funding options that better match your business profile. A smart credit model can recognize your potential even if you have limited time in business or fluctuating cash flow and use data-driven tools to adjust your funding. It’s a credit experience that moves more naturally with your business.
Fintech Lenders Using Technology to Rethink Credit
When comparing your options among business line of credit providers1 and other fintech lenders, leading lenders offer simple applications, easy-to-understand products, transparent terms, and support alongside their automated underwriting. The following lenders use technology and data analytics to evaluate businesses and deliver funding faster than traditional credit models.
Pipe
Designed for subscription-based services, Pipe evaluates businesses based on their recurring revenue performance.1 They use a data-sharing process to access information about past transactions and payment amounts. Then their automated data analysis and API integrations evaluate the predictability and health of your recurring income streams in real time.
Pipe’s primary product is a merchant cash advance (MCA), where your loan amount and repayments depend on your revenue.1 But by continually evaluating your income and adjusting your available capital, Pipe’s MCAs work like revenue-based credit lines. You can secure just the funds you need, repay as a portion of your sales, and claim another financing offer when you need it.
Unlike many digital lenders that simply automate conventional underwriting, Pipe uses technology to support a different funding structure. Businesses with recurring revenue can quickly connect with the capital they need through Pipe.
Clearco
Clearco built its AI-underwriting process specifically around e-commerce growth and real-time business performance.2 They integrate with your company’s sales and bank accounts to analyze eligibility factors like sales history, advertising performance, platform data, and revenue trends.
For short-term funding, Clearco offers maximum flexibility. You design your capital by choosing between a fixed or rolling funding structure, directing funds to your account or your suppliers, and making monthly payments for four, five, or six months.3 The rolling funding structure acts a lot like a revolving line of credit.
Clearco’s technology-driven scoring system also adapts as your business evolves, opening the possibility of different funding amounts and repayment terms over time.3 It’s a modern take on responsive financing specifically for online, direct-to-consumer (DTC) businesses.2
Bluevine
As an online business banking program, Bluevine built working capital options into its streamlined digital platform to help owners access funds quickly.4 You complete a simple application and connect your bank account for a digital evaluation in 24 hours, with no impact on your credit score.5
Bluevine directly funds business lines of credit that support ongoing cash flow needs for businesses across any industry. Their funding partners can also provide a one-time lump sum through a term or Small Business Administration (SBA) loan.5 You access all your financing offers through one application.
Using automation and data tools to improve the borrower experience, Bluevine keeps the funding process clear and fast for businesses of all kinds.
Capchase
Capchase focuses on revenue-based financing for hardware and software at business-to-business (B2B) companies,6 and uses machine learning to integrate funding into the sales process. With only a business’s name, address, and website, their underwriting technology can quickly determine eligibility behind the scenes.7
Eligibility through Capchase depends mostly on revenue. You must have at least three months of runway and $100K or more in annual recurring revenue (ARR) to qualify.8 Once approved, Capchase AI can automatically generate payment links based on quotes or purchase orders.7
With options for flexible, credit line-style products and predictable payment products, Capchase can support software as a service (SaaS) companies or subscription-based services for other businesses.8
OnDeck
By leveraging technology to process applications quickly, OnDeck blends automation with practical small-business lending products. They offer simple lines of credit and term loans with easy-to-understand requirements and repayment schedules.9 And with their proprietary data models and automated underwriting, OnDeck can transfer funds the same day you apply.
When you want to quickly cover payroll, manage inventory, bridge a cash flow gap, or seize an opportunity, OnDeck’s technology-driven underwriting is a competitive option for all types of small businesses.
Cardiff
Cardiff leans on machine learning and data processing for a performance-based underwriting. Rather than looking at traditional credit markers, they analyze your bank information via a secure connection to see the bigger picture.10 Cardiff makes financing available to businesses with less-than-perfect credit, limited operational history, and fluctuating revenue.11
Leveraging technology to make financing accessible for small businesses also makes Cardiff a fast and responsive lender. A dedicated loan advisor will get back to you about your application in less than five minutes, and they can often transfer funds that same day.11
Cardiff uses your performance data and a wide product range to customize your financing to your needs. They might set fixed monthly payments on a business line of credit,12 put a percentage of your daily card sales toward your MCA,13 defer payment for a few months on a seven-year equipment loan,14 or charge a one-time fee for invoice financing.15
Cardiff understands that small businesses do not always fit cleanly into standard underwriting boxes. Technology gives them a way to quickly evaluate real-world performance and offer credit options that work for all kinds of businesses.
Focus on What You Need
These companies reflect a larger movement in business lending. AI and data tools continue to change the business credit process. It’s an exciting time in financing, but don’t let the new technology distract you from what you need.
When comparing technology-driven credit options from the best commercial lenders, focus on what they can do for you. Decide whether you need to save time, access performance-based underwriting, simplify your path to financing, or customize your borrowing terms. Then you can find the fintech lender that makes technology most useful for your business.
1 https://pipe.com/products/capital
2 https://www.clear.co/
3 https://www.clear.co/ecommerce-funding
4 https://www.bluevine.com/
5 https://www.bluevine.com/business-loans
6 https://www.capchase.com/
7 https://www.capchase.com/features
8 https://www.capchase.com/blog/revenue-based-financing#capchase-grow-a-flexible-funding-solution-for-saas-companies
9 https://www.ondeck.com/
10 https://cardiff.co/learn/faq/
11 https://cardiff.co/
12 https://cardiff.co/business-loans/products/line-of-credit/
13 https://cardiff.co/business-loans/products/merchant-cash-advance/
14 https://cardiff.co/business-loans/products/equipment-leasing/
15 https://cardiff.co/business-loans/products/business-invoice-financing/