Amplifi Capital will channel finance directly into unsecured loans to small businesses in the UK. The fund will harness the power of the AMP’s technology toolkit in order to enable the supply of transparent and affordable SME credit. The platform itself combines creative credit modeling with daily cash flow data in order to allow for informed decision-making. Amplifi Capital is a wholly owned subsidiary of AMP and holds an interim permission under FCA regulation. The primary function of the newly minted facility will surely be to provide a degree of proof-of-concept as to the efficacy of AMP’s software package.
AMP landed on UK shores in early March with a view to re-energizing the small business lending space amongst traditional providers. Mr. Thomas DeLuca, the company’s CEO, is of the opinion that the successes achieved by the UK’s alternative business funding scene has persuaded the banks and other financial institutions of the value of the risk/reward proposition that is financing small businesses. Mr. DeLuca commented on the launch of Amplifi Capital:
“AMP seeks to transform the small business lending space with a technology-driven approach that benefits small businesses while empowering banks and business service providers to make credit more accessible to their under-served small business customers. We have accumulated strong experience in other markets and have the ability to provide a better business financing option that helps fill the credit gap. We are now expanding this capability to the U.K. market from our European headquarters in London.”
The “strong experience” referenced by the AMP boss relates to the company’s time in Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines – where it has been operating (and lending) since 2010. AMP raised an undisclosed amount of money from Route 66 Ventures in order to ramp up activity. The Amplifi Capital initiative has been established to further boost the profile and usage of the technology platform.
AMP’s priorities serve to formulate an unusual blend of services: direct lending for businesses that are typically unable to access traditional finance, and a product that invites traditional players to lend to a broader range of SMEs. That seemingly paradoxical invitation demonstrates that the platform’s core priority is to showcase the benefits of its technology solution.
Mr. Ian D. Courtnage, President EMEA, AMP Credit Technologies, summarised:
“AMP’s latest research shows that small business owners are looking for a trusted credit provider with a clear and transparent loan offering. We understand the customer needs and now introduce a superior loan product in the U.K. market that provides truly simple and clear business financing. This also provides our valued channel partners the ability to further differentiate their SME business solutions with the addition of an unsecured financing offering for their small business customers.”
To be absolutely clear, I’m told that Amplifi Capital has been financed via the various fundraising rounds that have been staged by AMP. The financial institutions that are already plugged into AMP are not distributing funding through the medium of Amplifi. Instead these partners make use of the AMP technology platform themselves in order to lend directly, un-intermediated, to small businesses.
In keeping with the many strategies of the British Business Bank, if for a very different set of reasons, AMP is trying to drive a greater level of competition within the SME funding space.
