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: $105M | Website traffic: 70,000/mo | Employees: 150 | Linkedin follwers: 6,800 | Trustpilot score: 4.8 (1,500 reviews)
NEW: Looking for digital banks, lenders, payment providers, insurance or digital accounting for small businesses? Check out our latest lists: SMB online lenders (33)Â |Â SMB challenger banks (12) | SMB insurers (15) | SMB charge cards/expense management (16) | Billpay & invoicing (16)| Payment processors (7) | Subscription processors (7)Â | SMB digital accounting/bookkeeping (21)
The FAB Score Ranking (Fintech Attention Barometer) is a proxy for the size of a private fintech company.
Digital Lenders Ranked by our FAB* score (updated 27 Feb 2023)
| Rank | Was | Company | FAB Score* | Founded | HQ | Funding (US$M) | Visits (Dec 22) |
| Ad | National Funding | ***** | 1999 | San Diego | 105 | 54,000 | |
| 1 | 1 | Capchase | 488 | 2020 | NYC | 950 | 49,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Kabbage (AmEx) | 362 | 2008 | Atlanta | 2500 | 50,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Clearco | 309 | 2015 | Toronto | 699 | 35,000 |
| 4 | 4 | BlueVine | 284 | 2013 | SF | 768 | 880,000 |
| 5 | 6 | Pipe | 199 | 2019 | Miami | 323 | 195,000 |
| 6 | 5 | OnDeck | 197 | 2007 | NYC | 1200 | 170,000 |
| 7 | 7 | Nav | 182 | 2012 | Utah | 92 | 860,000 |
| 8 | 8 | Camino Financial | 177 | 2014 | LA | 170 | 500,000 |
| 9 | 9 | FundBox | 145 | 2013 | SF | 554 | 160,000 |
| 10 | 10 | CAN Capital | 128 | 1998 | Atlanta | 1002 | 8,400 |
| 11 | 11 | Lendio | 106 | 2011 | Utah | 109 | 470,000 |
| 12 | 12 | Arc | 101 | 2021 | SF | 181 | 21,000 |
| 13 | 13 | Biz2Credit | 89 | 2007 | NYC | 387 | 210,000 |
| 14 | 14 | Fundera (NerdWallet) | 87 | 2013 | NYC | 19 | 430,000 |
| 15 | 15 | Nuula | 67 | 2021 | Toronto | 120 | 7,100 |
| 16 | 16 | Novel Partners | 62 | 2018 | Overland Park, KS | 115 | 7,100 |
| 17 | 17 | Lighter Capital | 59 | 2010 | Seattle | 116 | 61,000 |
| 18 | 18 | Lendistry | 56 | 2015 | Brea, CA | 94.8 | 45,000 |
| 19 | 19 | Fund that Flip | 41 | 2014 | NYC | 33 | 150,000 |
| 20 | 20 | SmartBiz Loans | 18 | 2009 | SF | 37 | 94,000 |
| 21 | 21 | IOU Financial | 16 | 2011 | Atlanta | 132 | 5,700 |
| 22 | 22 | SMBX | 13 | 2016 | SF | 15 | 30,000 |
| 23 | 23 | BizFI | 13 | 2005 | NYC | 160 | 0 |
| 24t | 24 | Credibly | 10 | 2010 | Detroit | 77 | 22,000 |
| 24t | 25 | HoneyComb Credit | 10 | 2017 | Pittsburgh | 10.5 | 16,000 |
| 26 | 26 | Forward Line | 8 | 2003 | SF | 120 | 15,000 |
| 27t | 27 | Patch Lending | 7 | 2013 | LA | 55 | 5,200 |
| 27t | 27 | Float Financial | 7 | 2021 | Honolulu | 1.3 | 0 |
| 29t | 30 | SnapCap (LendingTree) | 6 | 2012 | Charlston, SC | 0 | 45,000 |
| 29t | 29 | Salaryo | 4 | 2017 | NYC | 12 | 1,800 |
| 31t | 31 | P2Binvestor | 2 | 2012 | Denver | 33 | 0 |
| 31t | 31 | Channel Partners | 2 | 2009 | Minneapolis | 50 | 5,200 |
| 33t | 33 | Lendr | 0 | 2011 | Chicago | 25 | 0 |
| 33t | 33 | Lendinero | 0 | 2014 | Miami | 0.03 | 0 |
| 33t | 33 | Rapid Finance | 0 | 2005 | Bethesda, MD | 0 | 52,000 |
Source: Compiled by FintechLabs, 27 Feb 2023, from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMRush data
*(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 = 488 (unchanged from Jan 2023)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2020
– Raised: $950M (including $945M in 2021 & 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 49,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 140 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 48 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 11,300 followers (141 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
2. Kabbage (acquired by American Express)
FAB Score = 362 (unchanged from Jan 2023)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2008
– Raised: $2.5B (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 50,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 255 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 620 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 40,900 followers (198 employees)
– Trustpilot: 2.8 (6,780 reviews through Jan 2023, new info no longer available)
3. Clearco (formerly Clearbanc; updated 16 June 2022)
FAB Score = 309 (down 1)
– 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: 35,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 500 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 109 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 41,500 followers (271 employees)
– Trustpilot: 3.9 (306 reviews)
4. Bluevine
FAB Score = 284 (up 48)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $769M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $1B+ (estimate)
– Website visits: 880,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 576 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 114 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 52,000 followers (581 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.3 (7,120 reviews)
5. Pipe
FAB Score = 199 (up 19)
– HQ: Miami
– Founded: 2019
– Raised: $323M (including $300M in 2021, $7M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2B (based on March 2022 round)
– Website visits: 195,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 198 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 79 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 18,700 followers (221 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
6. OnDeck (acquired by Enova Oct 2020)
FAB Score = 197 (up 4)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $1.2B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Acquired by Enova in Oct 2020 for $120M
– Website visits: 170,000 (Dec 2022, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook)
– Citations: 592 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 26,600 followers (289 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (3,750 reviews)
7. Nav
FAB Score = 182 (down 4)
– HQ: Utah
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $92M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 860,000 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 199 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 177 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,540 followers (205 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.3 (213 reviews)
8. Camino Financial
FAB Score = 177 (up 14)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $170M including $150M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 500,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 160 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 22 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 12,700 followers (135 employees)
– Trustpilot: 2.7 (84 reviews)
9. FundboxÂ
FAB Score = 145 (up 8)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $554M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 160,000 (Dec 2022, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 275 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 117 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 17,800 followers (263 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (3,620 reviews)
10. CAN Capital
FAB Score = 128 (unchanged)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 1998
– Raised: $1.0B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 8,400 (SEMrush, Jan 2023)
– Employees: 398 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,300 followers (247 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (959 reviews)
11. Lendio
FAB Score = 106 (down 8)
– HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
– Founded: 2011 (originally founded in 2006 as FundingUtah).
– Raised: $109M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 470,000 (Dec 2022, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 578 (Pitchbook)
– Citations: 127 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 17,300 followers (561 employees)
12. Arc
Fab score = 101 (up 2)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2021
– Raised: $181M (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 21,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 45 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,360 followers (41 employees)
13. Biz2CreditÂ
FAB Score = 89 (up 2)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $387M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 210,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 750 (Pitchbook)
– Citations: 153 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 33,800 followers (547 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (14,600 reviews)
14. Fundera (acquired by NerdWallet in Nov 2020)Â
FAB Score = 87 (up 20)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $18.9M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 430,000 (Dec 2022, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 200 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 66 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,000 followers (56 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.5 (879 reviews)
15. Nuula
FAB Score = 67 (up 1)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2020
– Raised: $120M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 7,100 (Dec 2022; Similarweb)
– Employees: 26 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 23 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,000 followers (15 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
16. Novel Partners
FAB Score = 62 (up 1)
– Founded: 2018
– HQ: Overland Park, KS
– Raised: $115M (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 7,100 (SimilarWeb, Dec 2022)
– Employees: 27 Linkedin
– Linkedin: 2,270 followers (27 employees)
17. Lighter Capital
FAB Score = 59 (up 1)
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $116M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 61,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 42 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 117 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 16,300 followers (43 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
18. Lendistry
FAB Score = 56 (up 1)
– HQ: Brea, CA
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $94.8M including $90M in 2022 & $3.3M in 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 45,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 323 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 28 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 12,100 followers (323 employees)
– BBB: 4.7 (1,300 reviews)
19. Fund that Flip
FAB Score = 41 (down 8)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $53M including $20M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 150,000 (Nov 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 200 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,600 followers (208 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA (1 review)
20. SmartBiz Loans (formerly BillFloat)
FAB Score = 18 (down 1)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2009 (originally as BillFloat)
– Raised: $37M prior to 2014 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 94,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 226 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 15 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 6,500 followers (247 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (16,400 reviews)
21. IOU Financial
FAB Score = 16 (unchanged)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2011
– Raised: $132M (including $200k in 2021) (Crunchbase)
– Public: TSXV:IOU
– Market cap: $19M (27 Feb 2023)
– Website visits: 5,700 (Jan 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 81 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 14 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,200 followers (97 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (696 reviews)
22. SMBX
FAB Score = 13 (down 1)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $15.2M including $11.5M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 30,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 51 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 12 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,900 followers (44 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
23. BizFI (acquired by World Business Lenders 2017)
FAB Score = 13 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2005
– Raised: $160M prior to 2017 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (Jan 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 30 (Linkedin)
– Citations: 207 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,200 followers (29 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (440 reviews)
24. Credibly
FAB Score = 10 (down 1)
– HQ: Detroit
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $77M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 22,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 163 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 4 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,200 followers (154 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (1,300 reviews)
25. Honeycomb Credit
FAB Score = 10 (unchanged)
– HQ: Pittsburgh
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $10.5M including $1.9M in 2021 & $7.3M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 16,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 31 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,400 followers (33 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (54 reviews)
26. ForwardLine
FAB Score = 8 (unchanged)Â
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2003
– Raised: $120M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 15,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 63 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,200 followers (65 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (235 reviews)
27. Patch Lending (formerly Patch of Land; acquired by Cloverhill July 2021)
FAB Score = 7 (unchanged)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $54.9M prior to 2018 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 5,200 (Dec 2022; (SEMRush)
– Employees: 46 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 36 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,200 followers (30 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (29 reviews)
29(t). Salaryo
FAB Score = 4 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $12.1M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 1,800 (Jan 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 10 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 20 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,300 followers (12 employees)
– Trustpilot: NA
29(t). SnapCap (division of LendingTree)
FAB Score = 6 (up 3)
– HQ: Charleston, SC
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: INA (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 45,000 (Dec 2022; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 26 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,900 followers (24 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (656 reviews)
31. P2Binvestor (acquired by Aion)
FAB Score = 2 (unchanged)
– HQ: Denver
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $33.3M prior to 2019 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (Dec 2022; SEMRush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook)
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 910 followers (1 employee)
– 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
