Amazon Lending has been live in the UK for around a few months now and this weekend we managed to snag a screen shot of some typical rates on offer.
It would appear that Amazon aren’t waiting for sellers to apply for finance. They’re actively popping up information on loans saying “Based on your Amazon selling performance, you are invited to apply for a loan” and specifying the amount that’s available to you.
The interest rate we’re seeing is 5.9% which from what we’ve heard from multiple sellers who’ve been invited to apply for loans is pretty typical. However as in this case the loan was offered for a six month period the total cost works out to be 2.73%.
There are any number of reasons that you might want to take a loan. It could be to negotiate a higher discount with your supplier or to access unexpected bulk buy deals at knock down prices. Perhaps you want to ramp up your inventory levels in preparation for Black Friday and Christmas or the attractiveness of Amazon’s offer could be something as simple as their rates being more attractive than your existing lending arrangements with your bank or credit card company.
Of course Amazon aren’t the only company to offer loans based on your seller performance. Companies such as Iwoca and Ezbob have made such loans common place and PayPal also offer merchant cash advances. Amazon’s main differentiator is their slick integration with a loan amount agreed and all you have to do is click the button to accept it. With any other company you have to think about it and then go looking for the loan.
Are you in the market for a loan and have Amazon offered you finance at the click of a button?
2 Responses
After reading about Amazon lending on Tamebay a few weeks ago, I got in touch with Amazon to express an interest in taking up a loan. Last week we received an invitation and applied for a loan. The interest rates are really good compared to Iwoca or Paypal Working Capital.
We were offered the same amount by Amazon and Paypal Working Capital and although both systems work differently, Paypal had estimated the repayment term to be about 6 months as well but their charges were 3 times higher than Amazon.
Thank you Tamebay for the great advice once again
Nice one – glad it was useful for you 🙂