Funding Circle and Atom Bank team up for £300m lending partnership

Two of the most prominent fintechs in the small business banking world have today extended a partnership that could benefit SMEs up and down the country. 

Listed alternative lender Funding Circle and digital bank Atom have joined forces to deploy £300m of new funding to small businesses.

Atom Bank’s additional £300m commitment brings its total lent through Funding Circle to £650m.

The latest pot of cash will be dished out to roughly 4,000 small businesses across the UK, through both the Recovery Loan Scheme and Funding Circle’s existing loan products.

“We are excited that Atom bank has strengthened its commitment to supporting small businesses through our technology platform,” Lisa Jacobs, Europe managing director of Funding Circle, said.

“Alongside a wide range of investors, it’s great to see Funding Circle’s machine learning and distribution capabilities being leveraged as a key solution towards increasing the flow of funding to the real economy, powering the economic recovery.”

Funding Circle will deploy its Instant Decision Lending technology, which enables SMEs to apply for finance in an average of six minutes, to dish out the cash.

“Ever since we started lending to UK SMEs in 2016 we have been committed to supporting business owners, most recently as a leading lender of broker-led secured loans via CBILS,” Edward Twiddy, chief customer officer at Atom bank, added.  

“By the turn of this year, we will have provided over £1bn of lending to UK SMEs alongside what is already £3bn of mortgage lending, making good on our promise to be the bank for those wanting to grow their own business and own their own home.”

Both Funding Circle and Atom Bank are accredited lenders under the government-backed Recovery Loan Scheme, with Atom Bank gaining authorisation earlier this month and Funding Circle joining the list of lenders just yesterday.