eBay is getting into lending with a new product tailored to 300,000 UK-based small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that are sellers on its platform. The product, called Capital for eBay Business Sellers (CEBS), is being offered in partnership with YouLend, an embedded finance platform, and will make loans available in figures from £500 ($641.18) to £1 million ($1.3 million). Loan amounts, which will be calculated through a mix of sales volumes and operating longevity, will be repaid through percentages of daily sales; the figure will be anywhere from 5% to 20%. The lending application process is marketed as straightforward and speedy for sellers, usually taking just 5 to 10 minutes.
eBay’s program follows recent SMB-focused lending initiatives from other retail platforms.
SMB lending gives eBay—and partnering financial institutions—the opportunity to improve their stickiness with sellers. By conveniently offering loans to its sellers, eBay is giving them a reason to stay loyal to it. Similarly, banking players like Marcus and YouLend that partner with ecommerce platforms get the chance to expand into ready-made customer bases and position themselves for future cross-selling opportunities. Both players also get access to sales data from participants, which gives them flexibility in crafting lending amounts and repayment figures.