There are currently 3 coronavirus-related stimulus packages on offer, so which fintechs are helping to dish out the funds?
UPDATE 21-05-2020 - Article was amended to include newly accredited CBILS and Bounce Back Loan providers and companies still awaiting accreditation.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £330bn economic stimulus package to help British businesses survive the coronavirus-related economic turmoil.
These schemes include the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS) and, most recently, the Bounce Back Loans (BBL).
According to the most recent figures, UK lenders have dished out over £22bn in government-backed loans to over 505,000 businesses.
To date, UK lenders have handed out £14.18bn in Bounce Back loans, compared to just £7.25bn in CBILS-backed loans, with loans from the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Scheme (CLBILS) trailing behind on £0.59bn.
Notably absent from our list is any fintechs/non-bank lenders offering the government's larger CLBILS from what we can tell high street banks and specialist lenders are the only ones currently offering these larger loans.
We can’t speak for everyone else, but it’s pretty easy to get muddled up with the growing list of government schemes and accredited lenders, so here is our run-down list of the fintech and non-bank lenders and the government-backed loans they are offering:
Bounce Back Loans (BBL)
Starling Bank
The British Business Bank approved Starling for BBL accreditation on 7 May and its applications opened on 11 May 2020.
In its first day and a half, Starling lent out over £90m to SMEs and committed a total of £120m under the Bounce Back Loan scheme.
Since then, the digital bank has faced several hiccups in its scheme after having received over 18,000 applications and having to stop accepting new sole trader business accounts because of record demand.
Tide
SME business banking platform Tide gained accreditation on Friday last week.
The lending platform has already opened its applications to several customers and said that the lending process would happen slowly with a waiting list and a phased approach for SMEs to apply.
Despite being accredited for less than a week, Tide is reportedly nearing the top end of its lending limit and would be phasing down lending until a higher limit had been approved.
Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS)
Starling Bank
As well as offering Bounce Back Loans, Starling was one of the first fintechs to become CBILS accredited on 11 April 2020 and has
New and existing Starling customers can now apply for CBILS loans from £50,001 up to £250,000.
OakNorth Bank
OakNorth became CBILS accredited on 11 April 2020, having been a vocal critic of the government loan schemes.
The lending platform also revealed it won’t offer loans under the BBL scheme as the minimum it lends is £500,000 and the BBL scheme has a limit of £50,000.
Funding Circle
Funding Circle closely followed Starling and OakNorth gaining CBILS accreditation just shy of a week after its peers.
The alternative lending platform is also offering loans across the pond as part of the US government-backed stimulus package.
A week ago, Starling provided Funding Circle with a £300m funding pot to help provide CBILS-backed loans to smaller UK businesses.
Thincats
Another alternative lender in the mix, Thincats revealed it had gained CBILS accreditation on 27 April 2020.
Following its accreditation, the non-bank lender announced that it would be focussing on lending to businesses already on its books.
Ravi Anand, Thincats’ managing director, said: “Our initial focus will be on those businesses that we know the best and can, therefore, help most quickly, which are existing ThinCats borrowers.”
After the BBL scheme was announced, ThinCats told AltFi it would not be participating in the scheme as it has a ceiling of £50,000 and ThinCats specialises in loans from £1m to £15m.
Paragon Bank
Publicly-listed fintech, Paragon Bank is also offering loans under the CBILS scheme.
The lender gained CBILS accreditation at the same time as Starling and OakNorth but is yet to open applications and when it does it will only be for existing SME customers.
Ultimate Finance
Asset-based lender Ultimate Finance was also added to the list of CBILS accredited lenders on 6 May 2020.
The lending platform will soon be open for applications for loans from £50,001 to £500,000 for new and existing customers.
Ultimate is also offering an invoice finance facility of £200,000 - £5m to businesses with a turnover of £1.5m and above.
Atom Bank
Digital challenger Atom Bank was also in the group of lenders that gained CBILS accreditation on 6 May 2020.
One it’s applications are open, new and existing SME customers will be able to apply for loans from £100,000- £5m.
Investec
Investment and wealth management platform Investec has also become CBILS accredited.
The fintech will soon offer loans from £50,001 to £5m for between 12 months to six years.
Investec will also provide SMEs with asset finance from £5,000 to £5m and invoice finance from £100,000 to £5m.
Ebury
Unlike other lenders on this list, business lending platform Ebury won’t be providing loans, rather it will offer CBILS-backed overdrafts.
The fintech will provide revolving credit facilities from £50,001 to £5m to help SMEs facilitate international trade and supplier payments.
Assetz Capital
Manchester-based lender Assetz Capital gained CBILS accreditation last week.
The peer-to-peer lender will soon be able to offer property-backed from £50,001 for existing customers and from £250,000 for new customers.
Assetz Capital will also be able to offer up to £5m to support small businesses and property developers.
Capital on Tap
Alternative lender Capital on Tap gained its CBILS accreditation on 13 May 2020.
The fintech will offer a CBILS-backed overdraft for SMEs up to £100,000.
Capital on Tap also confirmed to AltFi that it has also begun the process of becoming an accredited Bounce Back Loan lender.
MarketFinance
Newly CBILS accredited fintech MarketFinance can now provide loans from £50,001 up to £150,000.
The alternative lender is also offering invoice finance from £50,001 to £5m to all SMEs with a minimum turnover of £150,000.
Shawbrook Bank
Digital challenger Shawbrook Bank also gained CBILS accreditation on 13 May 2020.
The fintech will now offer CBILS-backed loans from £250,000 up to £5m for existing Shawbrook Bank customers.
Iwoca
Alternative lender iwoca has finally received accreditation from the British Business Bank on 20 May 2020.
The lender can now provide SMEs with CBILS-backed loans and overdrafts from £50,001 up to £250,000 for existing customers with a view to bring on new customers eventually.
Despite being unable to access iwoca’s loans, new customers can currently register their interest in the scheme.
Liberis
Non-bank lender Liberis received its approval at the same time as Tide.
The alternative finance provider will offer SMEs CBILS-backed loans from £50,001 to £150,000 for either 12 or 24 months.
Liberis has not yet opened its application process but when it does it will be available for both new and existing customers.
Triodos Bank
Triodos Bank received accreditation on 20 May 2020 and will soon be able to offer both new and existing SMEs loans and overdrafts from £50,001 up to £5m.
Not Yet Accredited
LendingCrowd
Edinburgh-based SME lender LendingCrowd has also applied for CBILS accreditation but is yet to be approved.
FOLK2FOLK
Cornwall-based peer-to-peer lender Folk2Folk is also waiting to hear the outcome of its CBILS application.
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