In today’s market, it can be difficult for small businesses to get credit through traditional means. However, as this blog has mentioned previously, there are other options available in the form of peer-to-peer lending.
A recent article on TechCrunch examined one new player in this growing market. Funding Circle, based in the U.K., was founded to help individuals and institutions issue loans. With a recent $37 million round of funding under its belt, the company has said that it plans to move to the U.S. Talks are already underway regarding a merger with Endurance Lending Network, based in San Francisco.
“Like Funding Circle, Endurance Lending Network was created to help the millions of small businesses being starved of the money they need to grow,” Alex Tonelli, the co-founder of Endurance, said in a statement. “As small business owners ourselves, we know how acute the need is for a viable alternative to bank loans.”
The main problem many lenders face, according to the article, is that high capital requirements are making it less feasible to make small loans to businesses.
“But rather [than] losing those businesses as customers altogether it’s good to partner with Funding Circle,” said investor Michel Kotting. “It means they can still serve customers they can’t serve themselves.”
Unless there is a major shift in the market, it is likely that similar startups will continue to offer credit to small businesses. As long as they are using risk management policies to determine who can repay these loans, they should succeed in their endeavors.
Related Peer to Peer Articles
Peer-to-peer lending growing in the U.K.
P2P Companies & Student Loans
U.K. peer-to-peer startup seeks to move to U.S.
What is the future of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending?
Fintech P2P Lending
