Cleaning out some (paper!) files recently, I ran across an Online Banking Report article I wrote in 1997 about Bank of Montreal’s pioneering online mortgage application. It was the first time anyone had put a mortgage app online and one of the first online credit apps of any kind.** Naturally, we were excited about it, 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 20+ 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 2007 >>> 4
2007 to 2011 >>> 10
2012 to 2015 >>> 13
2016 to 2018 >>> 4
2019 to 2021 >>> 5

Small Business Lender of the Month*

National Funding |  HQ: San Diego  |  Founded: 1999  |  Raised: $230M (including $125M Oct 2022)  |  Website traffic: 40,000/mo  |  Employees: 163  |  Linkedin followers: 7,500  |  Trustpilot score: 4.8 (1,700 reviews)

Apply Now

NEW: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: SMB online lenders (33) | SMB challenger banks (12) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB charge cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | Subscription processors (7) | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)

The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.

Digital Lenders Ranked by our FAB* score (updated 16 May 2023)

Rank Was Company FAB Score* Founded HQ Funding ($M) Visits (Apr 23)
Ad National Funding **** 1999 San Diego 230 40,000
1 1 Capchase 485 2020 NYC 950 33,000
2 2 Kabbage (AmEx) 353 2008 Atlanta 2500 5,000
3 3 Clearco 314 2015 Toronto 699 58,000
4 4 BlueVine 252 2013 SF 768 720,000
5 7 Nav 196 2012 Utah 92 930,000
6 6 OnDeck 195 2007 NYC 1200 160,000
7 5 Pipe 172 2019 Miami 323 61,000
8 8 Camino Financial 141 2014 LA 170 320,000
9 9 FundBox 133 2013 SF 554 100,000
10 10 CAN Capital 127 1998 Atlanta 1002 3,700
11 12 Arc 102 2021 SF 181 26,000
12 13 Biz2Credit 93 2007 NYC 387 230,000
13 11 Lendio 84 2011 Utah 109 360,000
14 14 Fundera (NerdWallet) 67 2013 NYC 19 330,000
15 15 Nuula 66 2021 Toronto 120 300
16 16 Novel Partners 64 2018 Overland Park, KS 115 17,000
17 17 Lighter Capital 61 2010 Seattle 116 68,000
18 18 Lendistry 56 2015 Brea, CA 94.8 47,000
19 19 Fund that Flip 32 2014 NYC 33 105,000
20 20 SmartBiz Loans 29 2009 SF 37 150,000
21 21 IOU Financial 19 2011 Atlanta 132 21,000
22 24 Credibly 17 2010 Detroit 77 57,000
23 22 SMBX 14 2016 SF 15 35,000
24 23 BizFI 13 2005 NYC 160 1,400
25 24 HoneyComb Credit 11 2017 Pittsburgh 10.5 20,000
26 27 Float Financial 7 2021 Honolulu 1.3 0
27 26 Forward Line 6 2003 SF 120 4,200
27 27 Patch Lending 6 2013 LA 55 2,000
29 29 Salaryo 4 2017 NYC 12 0
29 29 SnapCap (LendingTree) 3 2012 Charlston, SC 0 32,000
31 31 P2Binvestor 2 2012 Denver 33 0
31 31 Channel Partners 2 2009 Minneapolis 50 4,600
33 33 Lendr 0 2011 Chicago 25 0
33 33 Lendinero 0 2014 Miami 0.03 0
33 33 Rapid Finance 0 2005 Bethesda, MD 0 23,000

Source: Compiled by FintechLabs, 16 May 2023, from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMRush data (Was rank from 27 Feb 2023), 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.
****Not applicable because National Funding is not venture-backed.

Top 30 Alt-Lenders (Digital) Lending to Small-to-Medium Businesses (SMB) in the United States (as of 27 Feb 2023)

Rank (by FAB score)

1. Capchase

FAB Score = 485 (down 3 from Feb 2023)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2020
– Raised: $950M (including $945M in 2021 & 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 33,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 143 (Pitchbook), up 3 since Feb 2023
– Articles: 52 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 12,500 followers (147 employees, up 6 since Feb)
– Trustpilot: NA

2. Kabbage (acquired by American Express)
FAB Score = 353 (down 9)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2008
– Raised: $2.5B (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 5,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 255 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 622 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 41,200 followers (176 employees, down 22 since Feb)
– Trustpilot: 2.8 (6,780 reviews through Jan 2023, new info no longer available)

3. Clearco (formerly Clearbanc; updated 16 June 2022)

FAB Score = 314 (up 5)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $699M (including $550M in 2021 & $17M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2.0 billion (based on April 2021 round)
– Website visits: 58,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 500 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 110 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 42,000 followers (233 employees, down 38 since March 2023)
– Trustpilot: 3.9 (307 reviews)

4. Bluevine
FAB Score = 252 (down 32)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $769M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $1B+ (estimate)
– Website visits: 720,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 585 (Pitchbook), up 9 since March 2023
– Articles: 118 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 52,600 followers (596 employees, up 15 since March)
– Trustpilot:  4.2 (7,200 reviews)

5. Nav
FAB Score = 196 (up 14)
– HQ: Utah
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $92M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 930,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 199 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: NA (too many Net Asset Value citations mixed in)
– Linkedin: 4,800 followers (214 employees, up 9 since Feb))
– Trustpilot: 4.3 (213 reviews)

6. OnDeck (acquired by Enova Oct 2020)
FAB Score = 195 (down 2)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $1.2B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Acquired by Enova in Oct 2020 for $120M
– Website visits: 160,000 (April 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook), unchanged since Feb 2023
– Citations: 592 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 27,100 followers (284 employees, down 5 since Feb)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (3,800 reviews)

7. Pipe
FAB Score = 172 (down 27)
– HQ: Miami
– Founded: 2019
– Raised: $323M (including $300M in 2021, $7M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2B (based on March 2022 round)
– Website visits: 61,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 198 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 81 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 19,600 followers (237 employees, up 16 since March)
– Trustpilot:  NA

8. Camino Financial
FAB Score = 141 (down 36)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $170M including $150M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 320,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 134 (Pitchbook), down 24 since March
– Articles: 22 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,100 followers (129 employees, down 6 since March)
– Trustpilot: 2.4 (87 reviews)

9. Fundbox 
FAB Score = 133 (down 12)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $554M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 100,000 (April 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 275 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 117 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 18,100 followers (226 employees, down 37 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (3,700 reviews)

10. CAN Capital
FAB Score = 127 (down 1)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 1998
– Raised: $1.0B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 3,700 (SEMrush, April 2023)
– Employees: 395 (Pitchbook), down 4 since March
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,500 followers (246 employees, down 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (998 reviews)

11. Arc
Fab score = 102 (up 1)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2021
– Raised: $181M (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 26,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 45 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,500 followers (67 employees, up 26 since March)

12. Biz2Credit 
FAB Score = 93 (up 4)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $387M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 230,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 750 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Citations: 153 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 38,300 followers (576 employees, up 29 since March)
– Trustpilot:  4.6 (14,700 reviews)

13. Lendio
FAB Score = 84 (down 22)
– HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
– Founded: 2011 (originally founded in 2006 as FundingUtah).
– Raised: $109M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 360,000 (April 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 578 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Citations: 127 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 17,600 followers (543 employees, down 18 since March)

14. Fundera (acquired by NerdWallet in Nov 2020) 
FAB Score = 67 (down 20)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $18.9M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 330,000 (April 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 87 (Pitchbook), down 113 since March
– Articles: 66 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,000 followers (53 employees, down 3 since March)
– Trustpilot:  4.5 (895 reviews)

15. Nuula
FAB Score = 66 (down 1)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2020
– Raised: $120M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 300 (April 2023; Similarweb)
– Employees: 26 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 23 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,100 followers (12 employees, down 3 since March)
– Trustpilot:  NA

16. Novel Partners
FAB Score = 64 (up 2)
– Founded: 2018
– HQ: Overland Park, KS
– Raised: $115M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 17,000 (SimilarWeb, April 2023)
– Employees: 28 (Linkedin), up 1 since March
– Article citations: 12 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,500 followers (28 employees)

17. Lighter Capital
FAB Score = 61 (up 2)
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $116M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 68,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 42 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles:  115 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 16,600 followers (43 employees, unchanged since March)
– Trustpilot:  NA

18. Lendistry
FAB Score = 56 (unchanged)
– HQ: Brea, CA
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $94.8M including $90M in 2022 & $3.3M in 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 47,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 340 (Linkedin), up 17 since March
– Articles: 29 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 12,300 followers (340 employees, up 17 since March)
– BBB: 4.7 (1,300 reviews)

19. Fund that Flip
FAB Score = 32 (down 9)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $53M including $20M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 105,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 200 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,800 followers (198 employees, down 10 since March)
– Trustpilot: NA (1 review)

20. SmartBiz Loans (formerly BillFloat)
FAB Score = 29 (up 11)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2009 (originally as BillFloat)
– Raised: $37M prior to 2014 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 150,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 226 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 15 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 6,600 followers (252 employees, up 5 since March)
– Trustpilot:  4.6 (16,400 reviews)

21. IOU Financial
FAB Score = 19 (up 3)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2011
– Raised: $132M (including $200k in 2021) (Crunchbase)
– Public: TSXV:IOU
– Market cap: $13M (16 May 2023), down $6M since 27 Feb 2023
– Website visits: 21,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 81 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,200 followers (98 employees, up 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (712 reviews)

22. Credibly
FAB Score = 17 (up 7)
– HQ: Detroit
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $77M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 57,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 163 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 4 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 9,100 followers (163 employees, up 9 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (1,380 reviews)

23. SMBX
FAB Score = 14 (up 1)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $15.2M including $11.5M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 35,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 32 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 12 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,000 followers (32 employees, down 12 since March)
– Trustpilot: NA

24. BizFI (acquired by World Business Lenders 2017)
FAB Score = 13 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2005
– Raised: $160M prior to 2017 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 1,400 (April 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 28 (Linkedin)
– Citations:  207 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,200 followers (28 employees, down 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (440 reviews)

25. Honeycomb Credit
FAB Score = 11 (up 1)
– HQ: Pittsburgh
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $10.5M including $1.9M in 2021 & $7.3M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 20,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 36 (Pitchbook), up 5 since March
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,600 followers (37 employees, up 4 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (54 reviews)

27(t). ForwardLine
FAB Score = 6 (down 2) 
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2003
– Raised: $120M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 4,200 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 63 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,200 followers (67 employees, up 2 from March)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (239 reviews)

27(t). Patch Lending (formerly Patch of Land; acquired by Cloverhill July 2021)
FAB Score = 6 (down 1)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $54.9M prior to 2018 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 2,000 (April 2023; (SEMRush)
– Employees: 46 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 36 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,200 followers (24 employees, down 6 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (29 reviews)

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: INA (April 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook), up 1 since March
– Articles: 20 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,300 followers (11 employees, down 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: NA

30. SnapCap (division of LendingTree)
FAB Score = 3 (down 3)
– HQ: Charleston, SC
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: INA (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 32,000 (April 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 26 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,900 followers (23 employees, down 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (674 reviews)

31(t). P2Binvestor (acquired by Aion)
FAB Score = 2 (unchanged)
– HQ: Denver
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $33.3M prior to 2019 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (March 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 910 followers (2 employees, up 1 since March)
– Trustpilot: NA

Defunct

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