Experian and Lendflow Launch Small Business-Focused Lending Pact

Data and tech firm Experian and embedded lending platform Lendflow launched a collaboration.

The partnership is designed to offer small businesses access to “carefully selected and vetted” lenders around the country, according to a Thursday (Nov. 6) press release.

“Powered by Lendflow’s platform and APIs, Experian now offers a lending marketplace that is embedded directly within [its] app, enabling business owners to complete a single, simple funding application,” the release said. “Through Lendflow’s infrastructure and Experian’s integration, the marketplace securely connects users with Lendflow’s network of lenders while ensuring data security and privacy.”

Applicants receive near real-time loan offers based on metrics like cash flow, credit scores, time in business and industry, according to the release. After an offer is selected, these businesses can upload required documents and complete the online process from Experian’s app.

“Small business owners are an important audience for our marketplace platform, and access to growth capital is one of their biggest needs,” Rakesh Patel, executive vice president of the Experian Consumer Services Marketplace, said in the release. “Our partnership with Lendflow has allowed us to create a unique financing experience, in which our customers can focus less on paperwork and more on building their businesses.”

The partnership came as PYMNTS Intelligence’s “SMB Growth Monitor” found that the attitudes of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) toward credit are changing.

For these companies, “credit has evolved from a safety net into a growth engine, and what businesses want from it is changing fast,” PYMNTS wrote Tuesday (Nov. 4).

Confidence among SMBs about credit access has changed competition for issuers.

“With 83% of SMBs believing they would be approved for new credit, lenders are no longer competing on access,” the Tuesday report said. “They’re competing on flexibility.”

SMBs want control, and they are prioritizing credit products that line up with their cash flow cycles and plans for growth.

The average company would pay $126 annually for flexible features such as dynamic spending limits, virtual cards or installment plans, “evidence that customization and usability now outweigh simple access to credit lines,” the report said.

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