Embedded lender YouLend boosts SME approval rates by 90% with Plaid’s help

Since partnering with open banking provider Plaid in 2020, embedded lender YouLend has seen its approval rates nearly double thanks to the use of applicant’s banking data.

Additionally YouLend has been able to reduce its prices by an average of 20 per cent also thanks to the extra data.

“The real-time data we receive from Plaid results in applications being completed 3x faster and more businesses receiving funding,” Andy Quach, head of commercial at YouLend said.

“YouLend's partnership with Plaid has enabled us to deliver a streamlined customer experience and expand access to flexible financing amongst small-to-medium businesses that are typically under-served by traditional credit institutions.”

Before open banking, many of YouLend’s borrowers had limited access to their financial data which meant they might not have been granted approval for finance.

Today YouLend can assess creditworthiness by taking into account all of a borrower’s income streams by directly accessing its open banking data.

YouLend powers lending on some of the world’s biggest eCommerce platforms including Amazon and eBay, and its ambition is to help close the €400bn funding gap that European SMEs face when accessing credit.