Amazon to ramp up lending to UK small businesses

On the back of news that it has lent more than $3bn in loans since launching in 2011, Amazon is set to ramp up its finance offering to small firms across the UK, US and Japan.

Amazon Lending provides small business sellers on its e-commerce marketplace with loans ranging from $1,000 to $750,000 for up to 12 months.

With rates ranging from 6% to 17%, the company says it supplies funds from its own balance sheet within 24 hours and automatically deducts payments every two weeks from the customer’s account. If the customer is unable to pay, Amazon can freeze merchandise until they are able to continue.

Of the 20,000 small businesses that have taken out a loan through Amazon Lending to date, more than 50% have gone on to secure a second loan.

Now, the e-commerce giant is hoping to expand its offering to a further two million or so businesses on its marketplace platform. These small sellers across the UK and the world are estimated to account for half of Amazon’s total units sold worldwide.

Peeyush Nahar, vice president for Amazon Marketplace, said: “We created Amazon Lending to make it simple for up-and-coming small businesses to efficiently get a business loan, because we know that an infusion of capital at the right moment can put a small business on the path to even greater success.

“Small businesses are in our DNA. Amazon is providing capital to small businesses to help them expand inventory and operations at a critical period of their growth. We understand that a small loan can go a long way.”

For more information on funding options for start-ups and small businesses, click here.