iZettle is launching iZettle Advance. This will be a lending and financing service for European SMEs along the line of services already offered by iwoca, PayPal and Amazon. The development is made possible by a recent €60 million investment.
iZettle users eligible for iZettle Advance will be pre-assessed for financing, so there are no forms to fill out. Upon approval, users will see funds deposited within days, and payback occurs automatically as a fraction of card sales. So when sales vary, payback varies with it.
Carl-Richard Häggman of iZettle says: “We have aimed to build a financing service that’s completely tailored to the needs of small businesses. The service allows for small businesses to make the necessary investments in their operations, on their own terms and with minimal administration.”
iZettle Advance marks a first foray into a business beyond card payments, and is a milestone in the company’s ambition to broaden its product and service offering.
Jacob de Geer CEO and co-founder of iZettle says of the development: “Small companies have persistently been underserved by the traditional finance industry. We want small companies to thrive, and with iZettle Advance we’re applying the exact same logic as when we started iZettle five years ago, and completely overhauled card payments acceptance for small businesses.”
So the SME lending based on marketplace performance/sales is hotting up. iZettle is joining the ranks of iwoca, EZBob, Kabbage, PayPal and Amazon. The crux of these companies will lie with the details. What are the terms? What are they offering? At what rate? How quickly do you get the cash?
And as it stands I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Amazon service which is fantastically fast and offers money on very attractive terms.
