Amazon teams up with YouLend to offer SME customers revenue-based financing

Amazon has teamed up with embedded financing fintech YouLend on a revenue-based lending programme which could provide UK-based Amazon businesses with funding up to £2m each.

Embedded finance, the idea that any brand can offer financial services to its customers without actually providing the funding or software, is becoming an increasingly popular trend.

Examples are far and wide, including ride-sharing apps and payment processing services.

One of the key players in the market is fintech YouLend, which is partnering with big brands to offer embedded lending services.

Its latest partnership is with Amazon, which itself is a pioneer in embedded finance.

Amazon currently has an existing partnership with Goldman Sachs to provide lines of credit up to $1m to merchants selling on the Amazon platform.

In this latest partnership with YouLend, Amazon is offering loans to its UK-based SME customers, as it moves further into embedded financing.

The funding is linked to the Amazon customer’s sales, so they can “repay as they earn”. YouLend provides the financing in this new venture.

Businesses selling for at least three months on Amazon can apply for funding from £500 to £2m through their existing Amazon UK business accounts.

Businesses are charged a single fixed fee with repayments tied to a percentage of the businesses’ future sales on Amazon.

Repayment is only required when sellers make sales, say Amazon.

Samarth Gogia, GM B2B Payments & Lending, Amazon, said: “In collaboration with YouLend, this new option will allow sellers to increase their cash flow with confidence, allowing them to make repayments based on how their business is performing.”

“Supporting businesses is core to YouLend's mission. That’s why we are pleased to partner with Amazon," said Jakob Pethick, chief commercial officer, YouLend.