Defacto
Defacto is an ACPR-licensed Paris-based fintech that provides instant, API-driven short-term working capital financing — invoice, stock, supply chain and treasury — to European SMBs, with embedded lending via 20+ partner platforms and a Lending-as-a-Service offering for banks.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Defacto does
Defacto SAS is a Paris-based, ACPR-licensed (No. 734364) fintech founded in 2021 by Jordane Giuly, Morgan O'Hana and Marco Gires that provides instant short-term working capital financing to European small and medium businesses. Its product suite is organised around four lines: Defacto Direct (a self-serve, 100% digital offering for invoice financing, stock/inventory financing, supplier discounts, treasury advances and a corporate credit card), Defacto Connect (a white-label REST API for platforms and B2B marketplaces to embed financing under their own brand), Defacto Liquid (a no-code referral programme) and Defacto Core (a modular Lending-as-a-Service infrastructure sold to banks and factors, with Société Générale Factoring and GIFEN as reference customers). The technology stack is cloud-native on AWS, ISO 27001:2022 certified, DSP2-compliant for open-banking data ingestion, and centred on an AI-based scoring engine that analyses 97–153 indicators in 27 seconds; the company reports 99.11% of financings executed via instant transfer and 99.995% platform uptime. The business model is multi-stream: usage-based interest/fees on direct SME lending, per-financing commissions on Connect/Liquid partner integrations, and managed-services revenue from Core LaaS contracts with banks and factors. Active markets span France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium, with a focused Defence Technological and Industrial Base (DTIB) vertical scaled to €1.8Bn of annual financing capacity as of March 2025. Defacto reports having financed 20,000–25,000+ SMEs with 240,000+ loans deployed and 75M+ transactions processed, and has raised €40M+ in equity plus €167M in securitisation debt facilities (Citi, Viola Credit).
Defacto firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Defacto
- Legal name
- defacto, SAS
- Website
- https://getdefacto.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Defacto is an ACPR-licensed Paris-based fintech that provides instant, API-driven short-term working capital financing — invoice, stock, supply chain and treasury — to European SMBs, with embedded lending via 20+ partner platforms and a Lending-as-a-Service offering for banks.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Defacto industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Embedded SME Lending
- NAICS
- Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)
- SIC
- Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Institutional DeFi & On-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure (Permissioned DeFi, Lending) (FSAGAMAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Borrowing/Lending Risk & Credit Infrastructure (on-chain credit scoring, risk engines, insurance wrappers) (FSAPAEAI), Liquidity Provision & Market Making Protocols (AMMs, concentrated liquidity, LP tooling) (FSAPAEAF), Money Markets & Collateralized Debt Positions (CDPs) (FSADAMAM)
Keywords
Where Defacto is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Defacto business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Interest/fees on direct SME lending: Daily pricing calculated automatically at activation on financed amounts (e.g., starting from 0.038% per month); revenue scales with loan volume across direct lending products (invoice financing, stock financing, supplier financing, treasury advances, credit card).
- Embedded lending commissions (Defacto Connect): Commission earned on each financing activated via partner integrations (marketplaces, fintechs, e-invoicing platforms); defined upfront per partnership; real-time tracking available.
- No-code referral commissions (Defacto Liquid): Commission on each financing initiated through partner referral links (no-code programme); partners earn revenue share without engineering integration.
- Lending-as-a-Service (Defacto Core): Infrastructure services to banks and factors: ACPR licence, scoring engine, risk management under their brand; recurring/managed services revenue model.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Daily pricing on financed amounts (Defacto Direct) |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Starting from 0.038% per month for SME direct lending |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Embedded partner commission per financing (Defacto Connect) |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Referral commissions per financing (Defacto Liquid) |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Lending-as-a-Service for banks (Defacto Core) |
Go-to-market motion5 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Defacto product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Defacto is an ACPR-licensed French fintech that provides instant short-term working capital financing to European SMBs through an API-first, embedded lending platform. Its offerings span direct digital lending to SMBs (invoice financing, stock/inventory financing, supplier discounts, treasury advances, corporate credit card), white-label embedded lending APIs for B2B marketplaces and fintech platforms, a no-code referral program for partners, and a modular Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) infrastructure for banks and factors. Credit decisions are generated in 27 seconds by an AI-native scoring engine using real-time open-banking data.
Product overview
Defacto operates as a platform-plus-modules architecture offering four main product lines that together form a connected short-term financing infrastructure for European SMBs. The core direct lending offering, Defacto Direct, provides 100% digital instant credit to SMEs across five modules: Accounts Receivable Financing, Stock/Inventory Financing, Supplier Discounts (supply chain financing), Treasury Flex (cash flow financing), and a corporate Credit Card. For partner enablement, Defacto Connect offers a white-label embedded REST API that lets B2B marketplaces, fintech platforms, and e-invoicing platforms (such as Pennylane) integrate Defacto's lending under their own brand, while Defacto Liquid provides a no-code referral program for partners wanting zero-development activation. For financial institutions, Defacto Core delivers a modular Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) infrastructure including instant onboarding, AI-native scoring, risk monitoring, programmatic origination, composable funding, and repayments. A vertical specialization, Defacto DTIB, addresses the Defense Technological and Industrial Base sector. Defacto Insights, a custom GPT, sits as an AI-driven add-on for SMB financing education. Across all products, the platform is ACPR-licensed, ISO 27001-certified, and PSD2-compliant, with credit decisions issued in 27 seconds based on real-time banking and accounting data analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Defacto Direct: 100% digital and instant direct lending product for SMEs (Defacto's core SME financing offer).
- Defacto Connect
- Defacto Liquid
- Defacto Core
Quantifiable outcome
- +20% revenue growth for Upway via stock financing with Defacto.
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Defacto
Customer profileNamed customers22 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Defacto technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration16 records
AI capability10 records
Feature7 records
Defacto partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major integration partner, flagship sector partner (dtib), flagship integration partner, flagship distribution partner, flagship reference partner (embedded financing), major reference partner (embedded financing), flagship reference partner (bank/factor) and standard integration partner.
- Mooncardmajor integration partnerIntegrated Defacto to automate financing accompanying Mooncard's corporate expense management and payment offering, allowing Mooncard customers to access short-term financing on top of payment-card spend.
- GIFENflagship sector partner (dtib)Defacto is a financing partner of GIFEN (Groupement des Industries Françaises de l'Énergie Nucléaire and broader French industrial base ecosystem); referenced as a key partner in serving Defense Technological and Industrial Base (DTIB) SMBs with €1.8 Bn deployed by March 2025.
- Pennylaneflagship integration partnerDeep strategic partnership: Pennylane, certified as a Partner Dematerialization Platform (PDP) in September 2024, integrated Defacto's real-time lending decision engine into its accounting/electronic-invoicing tool. Defacto financed €30m of working-capital needs for Pennylane clients in the first 11 months of 2024 and is the first PDP integrated financing use case.
- Qontoflagship distribution partnerIntegrated Defacto Liquid into Qonto's B2B banking flow with minimal engineering, giving Qonto's 600,000+ SMB customers one-click access to short-term financing under Qonto's brand.
- Maltflagship reference partner (embedded financing)Added Defacto Liquid so freelancers can be paid instantly at the end of each mission while Malt waits on client payments. Highlighted as a flagship reference partner for embedded B2B financing.
- Kactusmajor reference partner (embedded financing)Integrated Defacto Connect into its booking/event-services flow to offer embedded financing directly to clients, increasing the average contract value of its customers.
- Société Générale Factoringflagship reference partner (bank/factor)Listed as a reference partner for banks and factors, leveraging Defacto's Core infrastructure to enhance SME credit offerings.
- Sellsystandard integration partnerIntegrated invoicing/accounting tool in Defacto's partner ecosystem: SMB users can connect Sellsy to feed invoices and accounting data into Defacto's scoring and financing flow.
- Sage 100standard integration partnerAccounting software integration enabling SMB customers to share accounting data with Defacto for real-time eligibility and financing.
- Quickbooksstandard integration partnerAccounting integration allowing Quickbooks users to share financial data with Defacto for instant credit decisioning.
- Odoostandard integration partner
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Defacto competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- October: Paris-based SMB lending platform offering direct and marketplace-style B2B financing across Europe. Most directly comparable French-headquartered competitor to Defacto, with overlapping products (invoice financing, embedded credit) and a similar Europe-first focus.
- Hokodo: London/Paris-based B2B trade credit and embedded financing provider for marketplaces and SMBs. Directly comparable to Defacto Connect — offers API-first B2B credit embedded into partner platforms, sharing the same 'embedded invoice financing' proposition.
- iwoca: London-based fintech providing flexible short-term lending (up to £1m) to European SMBs via both direct and embedded channels (including accounting/ERP integrations). Comparable business model: API-driven SMB working capital lending with embedded distribution, although UK-anchored.
- Billie: Berlin-based B2B BNPL and embedded invoice financing provider for SMBs and platforms. Directly comparable in product (B2B BNPL, invoice financing), distribution model (embedded into SaaS/marketplaces), and target market (European SMBs, particularly DACH).
- Uncapped: London-based revenue-based and working capital lender for European SMBs and e-commerce businesses. Comparable in offering non-dilutive, short-term working capital to growth-stage SMBs via a digital-first underwriting process.
- Wayflyer: Dublin-based revenue-based financing platform for e-commerce and DTC SMBs. Comparable in funding inventory/working capital for SMBs through fast, data-driven underwriting — overlapping with Defacto's stock financing and e-commerce segment (e.g., Upway).
- Capital On Tap: London-based SMB credit card and working capital provider with a digital onboarding flow. Comparable in delivering revolving SMB credit via an instant, data-driven decision engine — overlapping with Defacto's corporate credit card product.
Broad incumbents
- Funding Circle: London-listed (LSE) SMB lending marketplace with broad European footprint. Comparable in B2B SMB lending product set, but operates as a broad public-market incumbent across multiple geographies rather than an embedded, API-first specialist.
- Tide: London-based SMB neobank offering integrated business accounts, invoicing, and increasingly embedded financing products. Comparable in serving European SMBs with a digital-first, multi-product platform that includes credit and embedded partner integrations.
Emerging players
- Karmen: Paris-based revenue-based financing and embedded lending startup for French SMBs and SaaS companies. Closely comparable emerging French competitor in the embedded SMB financing space, with overlap in revenue-based and short-term working capital offerings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Defacto social profiles
Digital presenceDefacto financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Defacto leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Defacto funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Defacto M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Defacto
What does Defacto do?
Defacto is an ACPR-licensed French fintech that provides instant short-term working capital financing to European SMBs through an API-first, embedded lending platform. Its offerings span direct digital lending to SMBs (invoice financing, stock/inventory financing, supplier discounts, treasury advances, corporate credit card), white-label embedded lending APIs for B2B marketplaces and fintech platforms, a no-code referral program for partners, and a modular Lending-as-a-Service (LaaS) infrastructure for banks and factors. Credit decisions are generated in 27 seconds by an AI-native scoring engine using real-time open-banking data.
Is Defacto a public or private company?
Defacto is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Defacto founded?
Defacto was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Defacto based?
Defacto is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Defacto make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Interest/fees on direct SME lending is the primary driver. The others are embedded lending commissions (Defacto Connect), no-code referral commissions (Defacto Liquid) and lending-as-a-Service (Defacto Core).
Who are Defacto's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are October, Hokodo, iwoca, Billie, Uncapped, Wayflyer and Capital On Tap. Broad incumbents are Funding Circle and Tide. Karmen is listed as an emerging player.
Does Defacto have an API?
Yes. Defacto offers a documented REST API for embedding financing into partner platforms, available in a sandbox environment and live in less than 10 business days. The API supports real-time eligibility checks (27 seconds, 97-153 indicators analyzed), creation and management of financing requests, repayment and maturity tracking, webhooks for real-time notifications, data exports for internal reporting, and SSO for team access. Two integration models are offered: Connect (white-label embedded API) and Liquid (no-code referral program). Partners include fintechs, B2B marketplaces, e-invoicing platforms, and banks/factors. Available to partners and enterprise clients via Defacto Connect and Defacto Core products. Developer documentation is at developers.getdefacto.com.
What industry is Defacto in?
Defacto's product category is Embedded SME Lending. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAMAG, Institutional DeFi & On-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure (Permissioned DeFi, Lending), with a secondary code of FSAPAEAI, Borrowing/Lending Risk & Credit Infrastructure (on-chain credit scoring, risk engines, insurance wrappers). Its NAICS code is 522 and its SIC code is 6159.