Bank of Montreal went online with the first digital credit application in 1997. That effort, from its mortgage division, was named to our Fintech Hall of Fame. Not only was it the first mortgage app online, it was the first online credit app of any kind.** Naturally, we were excited about it at the time, naming it the biggest innovation of the year.
Unfortunately, we didn’t track when the first business loan application went online, but it was likely a few years later, let’s call it 2000/2001. So, the capability has existed for 25 years. But as you can see from the chart below, the digital SMB lenders began in earnest during and immediately after the 2007/2008 financial crash. Ten of the 36 largest were started in the 2007 to 2012 period.
Digital Lenders: Year Founded
Prior to 2008 >>> 6 | 2008 to 2011 >>> 7 | 2012 to 2015 >>> 13 | 2016 to 2019 >>> 7 | 2020 or later >>> 4
Resources: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: Small Business (SMB) savings/treasury accounts (7) | SMB online lenders (33) | SMB challenger banks (15) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB credit cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
Digital Small-Business Lenders Ranked by FAB* Score
The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.
| Rank | Was | Company | FAB Score | Founded | HQ | Funding ($M) | Visits (Jan ’25) |
| 1 | 1 | Capchase | 372 | 2020 | NYC | 1060 | 48,000 |
| 2 | 3 | OnDeck | 237 | 2007 | NYC | 1200 | 330,000 |
| Ad* | Clear Inc | 2019 | NYC | INA | 1,700 | ||
| 3 | 7 | CAN Capital | 232 | 1998 | Atlanta | 1177 | 5,400 |
| 4 | 4 | Clearco | 198 | 2015 | Toronto | 859 | 44,000 |
| 5 | 5 | Uncapped | 163 | 2019 | London | 361 | 53,000 |
| 6 | 9 | Lendio | 160 | 2011 | Utah | 109 | 720,000 |
| 7 | 6 | Nav | 131 | 2012 | Utah | 92 | 590,000 |
| 8 | 14 | Pipe | 112 | 2019 | Miami | 423 | 67,000 |
| 9 | 8 | Arc | 108 | 2021 | SF | 181 | 88,000 |
| 10 | 10 | FundBox | 97 | 2013 | SF | 554 | 90,000 |
| 11 | 11 | Lighter Capital | 91 | 2010 | Seattle | 246 | 47,000 |
| 12 | 13 | Biz2Credit | 83 | 2007 | NYC | 387 | 140,000 |
| 13 | 12 | Camino Financial | 81 | 2014 | LA | 170 | 15,000 |
| 14 | 15 | Novel Partners | 66 | 2018 | Overland Park, KS | 115 | 3,600 |
| 15 | 16 | Lendistry | 56 | 2015 | Brea, CA | 100 | 32,000 |
| 17 | 17 | Fundera (NerdWallet) | 29 | 2013 | NYC | 19 | 130,000 |
| 18 | BriteCap | 24 | 2003 | SF | 120 | 32,000 | |
| 19 | 18 | Credibly | 24 | 2010 | Detroit | 82 | 50,000 |
| 20 | 20 | BizFI | 23 | 2005 | NYC | 160 | 260 |
| 21 | 19 | IOU Financial | 20 | 2011 | Atlanta | 132 | 6,600 |
| 22 | 21 | HoneyComb Credit | 16 | 2017 | Pittsburgh | 18 | 41,000 |
| 23 | 23 (t) | Patch Lending | 12 | 2013 | LA | 55 | 23,000 |
| 24 | 23 (t) | SMBX | 10 | 2016 | SF | 15 | 21,000 |
| 24 | 22 | Upright (was Fund that Flip) | 10 | 2014 | NYC | 53 | 10,000 |
| 24 | 27 | SmartBiz Loans | 10 | 2009 | SF | 37 | 25,000 |
| 27 | 23 (t) | SMB Compass | 8 | 2017 | Rye, NY | 0 | 38,000 |
| 27 | 26 | Revenued | 8 | 2015 |
New Jersey
|
41,000 | |
| 27 | 30 (t) | Channel Partners | 8 | 2009 | Minneapolis | 50 | 5,000 |
| 27 | 33 (t) | Rapid Finance | 8 | 2005 | Bethesda, MD | 0 | 38,000 |
| 31 | 30 (t) | P2Binvestor | 5 | 2012 | Denver | 33 | 400 |
| 31 | 32 (t) | Lendr | 5 | 2011 | Chicago | 25 | 6,200 |
| 33 | 28 | Salaryo | 2 | 2017 | NYC | 12 | 400 |
| 34 | 29 | QuickFI | 0 | 2018 |
Fairport, NY
|
2,100 | |
| 34 | 33 (t) | SnapCap (LendingTree) | 0 | 2012 | Charleston, SC | 0 | 2,100 |
| 34 | 33 (t) | Lendinero | 0 | 2014 | Miami | 0.03 | 900 |
Source: Compiled by FintechLabs, 22 April 2025, from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMRush data
“Was” ranking as of 3 Sept 2024, funding includes debt & equity
*(As nerds do) We have developed a proprietary score measuring the adoption of private digital financial services companies that do not release traditional metrics (# customers, loans, orginations, etc). We are calling it the FAB score, standing for Fintech Attention Barometer. It’s a work in progress, so expect changes in the formula.
**A defunct Canadian bank, Bayshore Trust, launched the first online loan application in March 1996.
***Several lenders pay Fintech Labs a referral fee for funded loans. Those fees may impact placement on our website.
Top 30 Alt-Lenders (Digital) Lending to Small-to-Medium Businesses (SMB) in the United States
Rank (by FAB score and our picks)
1. Capchase
FAB Score = 375 (up 56 from Jan ’24)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2020
Traction:
– Raised: $1.1B (including $110M in 2024, $480M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 48,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 145 (Pitchbook), down 9 since Sep ’24, down 7 since Nov ’23, up 2 since May ’23
– Articles: 77 (Crunchbase)
Social:
– Linkedin: 20,000 followers (127 employees, down 29 since Nov ’24, up 16 since Jan ’24, down 20 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA
2. Bluevine
FAB Score = 308 (up 34)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2013
Traction:
– Raised: $769M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $1B+ (estimate)
– Website visits: 1.6 million (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 591 (Pitchbook), down 27 since Sep ’24, up 7 since Jan ’24, up 13 since Nov ’23, up 16 since May ’23
– Articles: 133 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 60,000 followers (566 employees, down 24 since Sep ’24, down 42 since Jan ’24, down 16 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (8,380 reviews, up 180 since Sep)
3. OnDeck (acquired by Enova Oct 2020)
FAB Score = 235 (up 18)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $1.2B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Acquired by Enova in Oct 2020 for $120M
– Website visits: 330,000 (Jan 2025, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 746 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Sep ’24
– Citations: 593 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 30,000 followers (387 employees, up 66 since Sep ’24, up 76 since Jan ’24, up 68 from Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (4,490 reviews, up 220 since Sep.)
4. Clearco (formerly Clearbanc; updated 16 June 2022)
FAB Score = 194 (unchanged)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $859M (including $169M in Oct 2023, $17M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2.0 billion (based on April 2021 round)
– Website visits: 44,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 171 (Pitchbook), down 144 since Sep ’24, down 144 since Nov ’24, down 329 from July ’24
– Articles: 121 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 44,000 followers (179 employees, up 7 since Sep ’24, up 11 since Jan ’24, up 2 from Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.5 (342 reviews, up 8 since Sep)
6. Nav
FAB Score = 142 (down 2)
– HQ: Utah
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $92M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 590,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 224 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Nov ’23, up 25 since July ’23
– Articles: NA (too many Net Asset Value citations mixed in)
– Linkedin: 6,000 followers (174 employees, down 8 since Sep ’24, down 47 since Jan ’24, down 41 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (398 reviews, up 48 since Sep)
7. CAN Capital
FAB Score = 127 (unchanged)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 1998
– Raised: $1.2B including $175M in 2024 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 5,400 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 395 (Pitchbook), unchanged since July ’23
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 14,000 followers (240 employees, down 3 since Sep ’24, down 6 since Jan ’24, down 14 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (1,160 reviews, up 30 since Sep ’24)
8. Arc
Fab score = 117 (up 14)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2021
– Raised: $181M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 88,000 (July 2024; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 45 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Nov ’23
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,000 followers (214 employees, down 108 since Sep ’24, up 82 since Jan ’24, up 104 since Nov ’23)
9. Lendio
FAB Score = 110 (down 14)
– HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
– Founded: 2011 (originally founded in 2006 as FundingUtah).
– Raised: $109M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 720,000 (Jan 2025, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 418 (Pitchbook), down 2 since Sep ’24. down 97 since Jan ’24, down 160 from May ’23
– Citations: 132 (Crunchbase)
– LinkedIn: 19,000 followers (433 employees, up 12 since Sep ’24, down 8 since Jan ’24, down 70 since Nov ’23)
10. Fundbox
FAB Score = 97 (down 4)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $554M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 90,000 (Jan 2025, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 250 (Pitchbook), up 49 since Jan ’24, up 49 since Nov ’23, down 25 from July ’23
– Articles: 117 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 21,000 followers | 172 employees (was 169 in Sep. 24, 171 Jan ’24, 184 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 | 4,000 reviews (was 3,840 in Sep ’24)
11. Lighter Capital
FAB Score = 85 (up 2)
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $246M including $130M in Aug 2023 & $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 47,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 41 (Pitchbook) | was 46 in Sep ’24 and July ’23
– Articles: 116 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 20,000 followers | 43 employees (was 40 Sep ’24; 44 Jan. ’24; 45 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA
12. Camino Financial
FAB Score = 84 (down 25)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $170M including $150M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 15,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 103 (Pitchbook) | was 103 Sep ’24; 118 Jan ’24; 124 Nov ’23, 134 July ’23
– Articles: 27 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 14,000 followers : 56 employees (was 79 Sep ’24; 115 Jan ’24; 121 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (124 reviews, unchanged since Sep ’24)
13. Biz2Credit
FAB Score = 83 (up 6)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $387M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 140,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 750 (Pitchbook), unchanged since since July ’23
– Citations: 165 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 75,000 followers | 595 employees (was 625 in Sep ’24, 685 Jan ’24, 660 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (15,200 reviews, up 100 since Sep ’24)
14. Pipe
FAB Score = 64 (unchanged)
– HQ: Miami
– Founded: 2019
– Raised: $423M (including $100M in 2024, $300M in 2021, $7M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2B (based on March 2022 round)
– Website visits: 67,000 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 198 (Pitchbook), unchanged since July ’23
– Articles: 90 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 25,000 followers | 385 employees (was 341 in Sep ’24; 378 Jan ’24; 295 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA
15. Novel Partners
FAB Score = 61 (down 2)
– Founded: 2018
– HQ: Overland Park, KS
– Raised: $130M including $15M in 2024, $115M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 3,600 (SimilarWeb, Jan 2025)
– Employees: 72 (Linkedin)
– Article citations: 11 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,000 followers | 48 employees (was 72 in Sep ’24; 37 Jan ’24, 34 Nov ’23)
16. Lendistry
FAB Score = 55 (down 8)
– HQ: Brea, CA
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $99.8M including $5M in 2024; $90M in 2022 & $3.3M in 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 32,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 337 (Linkedin), down 15 since Nov
– Articles: 32 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 15,000 followers | 290 employees (was 309 Sep ’24; 337 Jan ’24, 352 Nov ’23)
– BBB: 4.6 (95 reviews)
17: BHG Financial
FAB Score = 34
– HQ: Fort Lauderdale, FL
– Founded: 2001
Traction:
– Raised: $29M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 87,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2025)
– Employees: 1,095 (Pitchbook)
Social:
– Linkedin: 70,000 followers (1,015 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (4,050 reviews)
18. Fundera (acquired by NerdWallet in Nov 2020)
FAB Score = 37 (down 28)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $18.9M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 130,000 (Jan 2025, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 57 (Pitchbook) (down 30 since Jan ’24, down 30 since Nov. ’23
– Articles: 66 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,000 followers | 59 employees (was 58 in Sep ’24; 57 Jan ’24, 56 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.3 (978 reviews, up 11 since Sep ’24)
19. Credibly
FAB Score = 29 (up 1)
– HQ: Detroit
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $82M including $5M in Aug 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 50,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 171 (Pitchbook), up 4 since Jan ’24, up 8 since Nov. ’23
– Articles: 16 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 15,000 followers | 180 employees (174 in Sep ’24; 166 Jan ’24; 171 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 | 2,140 reviews (up 230 since Sep ’24)
20. IOU Financial
FAB Score = 17 (down 6)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2011
– Raised: $138M (including $200k in 2021) (Crunchbase)
– Market cap: $22M (19 July 2023), up $9M since 16 May 2023 (taken private in Sep 2023)
– $1.5B originated since inception (per company, Feb 2024)
– Website visits: 6,600 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 105 (Pitchbook), up 2 since Jan ’24, up 20 since July ’23
– Articles: 17 (Crunchbase)
– LinkedIn: 4,000 followers | 109 employees (was 106 in Sep ’24; 103 Jan ’24; 103 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (879 reviews, up 87 since Sep)
21. BizFI (acquired by World Business Lenders 2017)
FAB Score = 13 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2005
– Raised: $160M prior to 2017 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 260 (Jan 2025; SEMRush)
– Employees: 28 (Linkedin)
– Citations: 207 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,200 followers | 28 employees (was 28 in Sep ’24; 30 Jan ’24; 31 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 1.1 (442 reviews, up 2 since Sep)
22. Honeycomb Credit
FAB Score = 12 (unchanged)
– HQ: Pittsburgh
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $17.9M including $6M in 2024; $1.9M in 2021 & $8.8M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 41,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 45 (Pitchbook), up 12 since Jan ’24, up 11 since July ’23
– Articles: 33 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,000 followers | 45 employees (45 in Sep ’24; 37 Jan ’24; 35 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (95 reviews, up 10 since Sep)
23. Upright (was Fund that Flip)
FAB Score = 11 (down 4)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $53M including $20M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 10,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 101 (Pitchbook) | 101 Sep ’24; 207 Jan ’24; 206 July ’23
– Articles: 19 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,400 followers | 90 employees (was 104 in Sep ’24; 150 in Jan ’24; 204 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA (2 reviews)
24 (tie). SMBX
FAB Score = 10 (down 3)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $15.2M including $11.5M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 21,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 35 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 16 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,100 followers | 24 employees (was 31 in Sep ’24; 35 Jan ’24; 35 Nov. ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA
24 (tie). Patch Lending (formerly Patch of Land; acquired by Cloverhill July 2021; appears shut down as of 27 Feb. 2025)
FAB Score = 10 (up 4)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $54.9M prior to 2018 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 23,000 (Jan 2025, SEMRush)
– Employees: 46 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 36 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: NA (in Sep ’24 was 4,200 followers with 18 employees, down 3 since Jan ’24, down 4 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (29 reviews, unchanged since Nov ’23)
27. Revenued
Fab Score = 9 (up 1)
– HQ: New Jersey
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: Unkown (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 41,000 (Jan 2025, SEMrush)
– Employees:
– Articles: 7 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,000 followers | 28 employees (was 27 Sep ’24; 29 in Jan. ’24)
– TrustPilot: 4.7 | 899 reviews (up 124 since Jan ’24)
28. SmartBiz Loans (formerly BillFloat)
FAB Score = 5 (unchanged)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2009 (originally as BillFloat)
– Raised: $37M prior to 2014 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 25,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 226 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March ’24
– Articles: 15 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,000 followers | 199 employees (was 208 in Sep ’24; 251 in Jan ’24; 251 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 | 16,400 reviews (unchanged since Sep ’24)
29. Salaryo (acquired by Meitav Investment House in 2022)
FAB Score = 4 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $12.1M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 400 (Jan 2025; SEMrush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Nov ’23
– Articles: 20 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,400 followers | 9 employees (unchanged since Jan ’24, down 2 since Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: NA
34 (tie). SnapCap (division of LendingTree)
FAB Score = 0 (down 1)
– HQ: Charleston, SC
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: INA (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 2,100 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 24 (Pitchbook) | was 23 in Sep ’24; 23 in Nov. ’23; 26 July ’23
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,000 followers | 24 employees (was 25 in Sep ’24; 22 Jan ’24, 21 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 | 807 (up 35 since Sep ’24)
34 (tie). BriteCap (was ForwardLine)
FAB Score = 0 (unchanged)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2003
– Raised: $120M before 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 32,000 (Jan 2025; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 86 (Pitchbook) | was 75 Sep ’24; 65 Jan ’24; 67 Nov. ’23
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,000 followers | 90 employees (was 75 Sep ’24; 70 in Jan ’24, 69 Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 | 646 reviews (was 561 Sep ’24; 459 Jan ’24)
Defunct
Kabbage (acquired by American Express)
No longer operated as a separate brand (June 2023)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2008
– Raised: $2.5B (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 3,000 (SimilarWeb, May ’23)
– Employees: 255 (Pitchbook, Nov ’23)
– Articles: 614 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 41,000 followers (172 employees, Nov ’23)
– Trustpilot: 2.8 (6,780 reviews through Jan 2023, new info no longer available)
Lendvo (taken off list Feb 2023)
FAB Score = 0 (down 1)
– HQ: Washington DC
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $1.3M prior to 2016 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: INA (Dec 2022; SEMRush)
– Employees: 2 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 0 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 59 followers (no employees linked)
– Trustpilot: NA
P2Binvestor (acquired by Aion, no website update since 2020, removed from list Nov 2023)
FAB Score = 2 (unchanged)
– HQ: Denver
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $33.3M prior to 2019 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (Oct 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 910 followers (2 employees, unchanged)
– Trustpilot: NA
Nuula (acquired by NAV Jan 2023), removed from list Nov 2023)
FAB Score = 66 (unchanged)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2020
– Raised: $120M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (redirects to NAV)
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook), up 76 since July
– Articles: 23 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,900 followers (8 employees, down 3)
– Trustpilot: NA
