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 2008 >>> 6
2008 to 2011 >>> 7
2012 to 2015 >>> 12
2016 to 2019 >>> 6
2020 or later >>> 4
Small Business Lender of the Month*
Easy application: 1 page, 1 minute
Larger Offers | Lower Rates | Longer Terms | Business Line of Credit Funds in 24 Hours.
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 Small-Business Lenders Ranked by FAB* Score
Rank | Was | Company | FAB Score* | Founded | HQ | Funding ($M) | Visits (Oct ’23) |
1 | 1 | Capchase | 490 | 2020 | NYC | $950 | 61,000 |
2 | 2 | Clearco | 390 | 2015 | Toronto | 859 | 36,000 |
3 | 3 | BlueVine | 258 | 2013 | SF | 768 | 750,000 |
4 | 4 | OnDeck | 211 | 2007 | NYC | 1,200 | 240,000 |
5 | 5 | Nav | 210 | 2012 | Utah | 92 | 1,000,000 |
6 | 6 | Pipe | 168 | 2019 | Miami | 323 | 41,000 |
7 | 7 | FundBox | 131 | 2013 | SF | 554 | 89,000 |
8 | 9 | CAN Capital | 128 | 1998 | Atlanta | 1002 | 9,300 |
9 | 8 | Camino Financial | 127 | 2014 | LA | 170 | 250,000 |
10 | 17 | Lighter Capital | 120 | 2010 | Seattle | 246 | 38,000 |
11 | 10 | Lendio | 108 | 2011 | Utah | 109 | 480,000 |
12 | 11 | Arc | 99 | 2021 | SF | 181 | 14,000 |
13 | 12 | Biz2Credit | 77 | 2007 | NYC | 387 | 150,000 |
14 | 16 | Novel Partners | 62 | 2018 | Overland Park, KS | 115 | 7,100 |
15 | 18 | Lendistry | 51 | 2015 | Brea, CA | 94.8 | 22,000 |
16 | 19 | Fundera (NerdWallet) | 43 | 2013 | NYC | 19 | 210,000 |
17 | 23 | Credibly | 28 | 2010 | Detroit | 82 | 97,000 |
18 | 21 | Upright (was Fund that Flip) | 23 | 2014 | NYC | 53 | 48,000 |
19 | 22 | IOU Financial | 16 | 2011 | Atlanta | 132 | 7,200 |
20 | 20 | SmartBiz Loans | 14 | 2009 | SF | 37 | 72,000 |
21 | 24 | BizFI | 13 | 2005 | NYC | 160 | 0 |
22t | 25 | SMBX | 12 | 2016 | SF | 15 | 22,000 |
22t | 26 | HoneyComb Credit | 12 | 2017 | Pittsburgh | 10.5 | 28,000 |
24 | 28 | Patch Lending | 6 | 2013 | LA | 55 | 0 |
25t | 27 | SnapCap (LendingTree) | 5 | 2012 | Charelston, SC | 0 | 38,000 |
25t | 28 | QuickFI | 5 | 2018 |
Fairport, NY
|
9,800 | |
27t | NEW | SMB Compass | 4 | 2017 | Rye, NY | 0 | 9,200 |
27t | 29 | Salaryo | 4 | 2017 | NYC | 12 | 0 |
29 | 29 | P2Binvestor | 2 | 2012 | Denver | 33 | 0 |
30 | 30 | Channel Partners | 1 | 2009 | Minneapolis | 50 | 0 |
31 | 31 | Lendr | 1 | 2011 | Chicago | 25 | 8,300 |
32 | 32 | Lendinero | 0 | 2014 | Miami | 0.03 | 0 |
33 | 33 | Rapid Finance | 0 | 2005 | Bethesda, MD | 0 | 29,000 |
34 | 34 | Brightcap (was Forward Line) | 0 | 2003 | SF | 20 | 4,200 |
Source: Compiled by FintechLabs, 22 Mov 2023, from Crunchbase, SimilarWeb, SEMRush data
(“Was” ranking as of 19 July 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
Rank (by FAB score)
1. Capchase
FAB Score = 490 (up 2 from July 2023)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2020
Traction:
– Raised: $950M (including $945M in 2021 & 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 61,000 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 152 (Pitchbook), up 5 since July, up 9 since May 2023
– Articles: 58 (Crunchbase)
Social:
– Linkedin: 15,000 followers (147 employees, down 4 since July)
– Trustpilot: NA
2. Clearco (formerly Clearbanc; updated 16 June 2022)
FAB Score = 390 (up 76)
– HQ: Toronto
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $859M (including $169M in Oct 2023, $550M in 2021 & $17M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2.0 billion (based on April 2021 round)
– Website visits: 36,000 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 315 (Pitchbook), down 185 from July
– Articles: 120 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 43,000 followers (177 employees, down 35 from July)
– Trustpilot: 3.6 (310 reviews, up 3)
3. Bluevine
FAB Score = 258 (down 12)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2013
Traction:
– Raised: $769M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $1B+ (estimate)
– Website visits: 750,000 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 578 (Pitchbook), down 8 since July, up 3 since May 2023
– Articles: 124 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 53,000 followers (582 employees, down 21 since July)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (7,570 reviews, up 310)
4. OnDeck (acquired by Enova Oct 2020)
FAB Score = 211 (up 2)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $1.2B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Acquired by Enova in Oct 2020 for $120M
– Website visits: 240,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 100 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Citations: 593 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 27,000 followers (319 employees, down 14 from July)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (4,030 reviews, up 140)
5. Nav
FAB Score = 210 (up 2)
– HQ: Utah
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: $92M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 1,000,000 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 224 (Pitchbook), up 25 since July
– Articles: NA (too many Net Asset Value citations mixed in)
– Linkedin: 5,400 followers (215 employees, up 2)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (270 reviews, up 31)
6. Pipe
FAB Score = 168 (down 10)
– HQ: Miami
– Founded: 2019
– Raised: $323M (including $300M in 2021, $7M in 2022) (Crunchbase)
– Valuation: $2B (based on March 2022 round)
– Website visits: 41,000 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 198 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 90 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 21,000 followers (295 employees, up 9 since July, 58 since May)
– Trustpilot: NA
7. FundboxÂ
FAB Score = 131 (down 2)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $554M including $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 89,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 201 (Pitchbook), down 74 from July
– Articles: 117 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 18,000 followers (184 employees, down 23 since July, down 42 since May)
– Trustpilot: 4.4 (3,710 reviews, up 40 since July)
8. CAN Capital
FAB Score = 128 (up 1)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 1998
– Raised: $1.0B prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 9.300 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 395 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 92 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 14,000 followers (251 employees, up 2)
– Trustpilot: 4.9 (1.050 reviews, up 20)
9. Camino Financial
FAB Score = 127 (unchanged)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $170M including $150M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 250,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 124 (Pitchbook), down 10 since July
– Articles: 23 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,000 followers (121 employees, down 10)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (129 reviews, up 21)
10. Lighter Capital
FAB Score = 120 (up 60)
– HQ: Seattle
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $246M including $130M in Aug 2023 & $100M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 38,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 46 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 113 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 17,000 followers (45 employees, unchanged)
– Trustpilot: NA
11. Lendio
FAB Score = 108 (up 4)
– HQ: Salt Lake City, Utah
– Founded: 2011 (originally founded in 2006 as FundingUtah).
– Raised: $109M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 480,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 515 (Pitchbook), up 1 from July, down 63 from May
– Citations: 130 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 18,000 followers (503 employees, down 9 from July)
12. Arc
Fab score = 99 (down 1)
– HQ: San Francisco
– Founded: 2021
– Raised: $181M (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 14,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 45 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 8,500 followers (110 employees, up 26 since July, up 43 since May)
13. Biz2CreditÂ
FAB Score = 77 (down 4)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2007
– Raised: $387M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 150,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 550 (Pitchbook), down 200 since July
– Citations: 153 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 54,000 followers (660 employees, up 55 since July)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (14,800 reviews, unchanged)
14. Novel Partners
FAB Score = 62 (down 1)
– Founded: 2018
– HQ: Overland Park, KS
– Raised: $115M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website traffic: 7,100 (SimilarWeb, Oct 2023)
– Employees: 34 (Linkedin), up 6 since July
– Article citations: 11 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,800 followers (34 employees, up 6 since July)
15. Lendistry
FAB Score = 51 (down 6)
– HQ: Brea, CA
– Founded: 2015
– Raised: $94.8M including $90M in 2022 & $3.3M in 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 22,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 352 (Linkedin), down 3 since July
– Articles: 32 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 13,000 followers (352 employees, down 3)
– BBB: 4.7 (1,300 reviews, unchanged)
16. Fundera (acquired by NerdWallet in Nov 2020)Â
FAB Score = 51 (up 4)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $18.9M prior to 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 210,000 (Oct 2023, SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 87 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 66 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 7,000 followers (56 employees, up 4 from July)
– Trustpilot: 4.2 (919 reviews, up 14)
17. Credibly
FAB Score = 28 (up 12)
– HQ: Detroit
– Founded: 2010
– Raised: $82M including $5M in Aug 2023 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 97,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 167 (Pitchbook), up 4
– Articles: 5 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 10,000 followers (171 employees, up 7 since July)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (1,570 reviews, up 120)
18. Upright (was Fund that Flip)
FAB Score = 23 (up 2)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2014
– Raised: $53M including $20M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 48,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 207 (Pitchbook), up 1 since July, up 7 since May
– Articles: 15 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 5,100 followers (194 employees, down 13 since July, down 4 since May)
– Trustpilot: NA (2 reviews)
19. IOU Financial
FAB Score = 16 (down 3)
– HQ: Atlanta
– Founded: 2011
– Raised: $132M (including $200k in 2021) (Crunchbase)
– Market cap: $22M (19 July 2023), up $9M since 16 May 2023 (taken private in Sep 2023)
– Website visits: 7,200 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 103 (Pitchbook), up 18 since July
– Articles: 17 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,400 followers (103 employees, up 5)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (766 reviews, up 40)
20. SmartBiz Loans (formerly BillFloat)
FAB Score = 14 (down 13)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2009 (originally as BillFloat)
– Raised: $37M prior to 2014 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 72,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 226 (Pitchbook), unchanged since March
– Articles: 15 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 6,700 followers (251 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (16,400 reviews, unchanged)
21. BizFI (acquired by World Business Lenders 2017)
FAB Score = 13 (unchanged)
– HQ: NYC
– Founded: 2005
– Raised: $160M prior to 2017 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (June 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 31 (Linkedin)
– Citations: 207 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,200 followers (31 employees, up 1 since July, up 3 since May)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (440 reviews, unchanged)
22 (tie). SMBX
FAB Score = 12 (unchanged)
– HQ: SF
– Founded: 2016
– Raised: $15.2M including $11.5M in 2021 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 22,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 35 (Linkedin)
– Articles: 13 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,100 followers (35 employees, up 4)
– Trustpilot: NA
22 (tie). Honeycomb Credit
FAB Score = 12 (up 2)
– HQ: Pittsburgh
– Founded: 2017
– Raised: $10.4M including $1.9M in 2021 & $7.3M in 2022 (Crunchbase)
– Website visitors: 28,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 33 (Pitchbook), down 1 since July
– Articles: 25 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,000 followers (35 employees)
– Trustpilot: 4.7 (79 reviews, up 7)
24. Patch Lending (formerly Patch of Land; acquired by Cloverhill July 2021)
FAB Score = 6 (unchanged)
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2013
– Raised: $54.9M prior to 2018 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (404 page, Nov 2023, SEMRush)
– Employees: 46 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 36 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 4,200 followers (22 employees, down 3)
– Trustpilot: 4.1 (29 reviews, unchanged)
25. SnapCap (division of LendingTree)
FAB Score = 5 (up 1)
– HQ: Charleston, SC
– Founded: 2012
– Raised: INA (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: 38,000 (Oct 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 23 (Pitchbook), down 3 since July
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 2,700 followers (21 employees, down 2)
– Trustpilot: 4.8 (715 reviews, up 26)
28. 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 (Oct 2023; SEMRush)
– Employees: 11 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 20 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 1,400 followers (11 employees, up 1 since July)
– Trustpilot: NA
34. BrightCap (was ForwardLine)
FAB Score = 0 (down 6)Â
– HQ: LA
– Founded: 2003
– Raised: $20M prior to 2020 (Crunchbase)
– Website visits: INA (Nov 2023; SimilarWeb)
– Employees: 65 (Pitchbook), down 2
– Articles: 2 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 3,300 followers (69 employees, up 4)
– Trustpilot: 4.6 (368 reviews, up 107)
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 2023)
– Employees: 255 (Pitchbook), unchanged
– Articles: 614 (Crunchbase)
– Linkedin: 41,000 followers (172 employees, down 4 since May)
– 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