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 $125M Oct 2022) | Website traffic: 40,000/mo | Employees: 163 | Linkedin followers: 7,500 | Trustpilot score: 4.8 (1,700 reviews)
NEW: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: SMB online lenders (33)Â |Â SMB challenger banks (12) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB charge cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | Subscription processors (7)Â | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.
Digital Lenders Ranked by our FAB* score (updated 16 May 2023)
Rank | Was | Company | FAB Score* | Founded | HQ | Funding ($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. FundboxÂ
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. Biz2CreditÂ
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)Â
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)Â
– 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