Merchants Bank

What Merchants Bank does

MBVT (operating at mbvt.com) is an online payday loan referral and lead-generation service founded in 2015. It runs a self-serve, 24/7 web application that takes a single borrower submission and routes it simultaneously to a network of licensed payday, installment, and personal loan lenders across all 50 US states plus Washington DC. The company does not underwrite loans or transfer funds; it earns referral/lead-generation fees from lenders when matched borrowers accept offers. Loan products surfaced through the platform range from short-term payday loans ($100-$2,500, 10-31 day terms, APRs commonly 200%-1386% depending on state) to longer-tenor installment loans ($1,000-$5,000, APRs 6.63%-225%) and general-purpose personal loans.

The technology stack is presented as an AI-driven matching engine that the company claims delivers a 37% higher approval rate than traditional methods and a 93% application approval rate. Supporting tools include an online APR calculator and a large library of SEO-optimized state- and city-specific landing pages plus financial-education and lender-review content used as top-of-funnel acquisition channels. No proprietary patents, third-party benchmarked models, or technical leadership are disclosed.

Go-to-market is product-led growth on the demand side (online self-serve application, no in-person sales) and an affiliate/referral model on the supply side (pay-as-you-go payouts to MBVT per accepted lead). Customers are exclusively individual US consumers with short-term financing needs, many with poor or no credit history; there are no enterprise or SMB accounts. Customer testimonials and intake volumes ("millions of applications processed") indicate a high-volume, long-tail business. No revenue, funding, headcount, or ownership data is publicly disclosed, and the company operates as a privately held entity with no parent company identified.

Name

Merchants Bank

Legal name

MBVT

Website

https://mbvt.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

MBVT is an online payday loan referral service founded in 2015 that connects US individual borrowers with a nationwide network of licensed payday, installment, and personal loan lenders via a self-serve web platform, earning referral fees from lenders on matched applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Loan Referral Services

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (52231), Activities Related to Credit Intermediation (5223)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency & Short-Term Installment Personal Loans (Unsecured) (FSAKAAAH)

Keywords

• Online loan referral
• Payday loan matching
• Installment loan referrals
• Personal loan platform
• Borrower lender network

Headquarters

HQ city

South Burlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Referral/Lead Generation Fees: The service acts as a referral platform that connects borrowers with lenders. When a borrower is matched with a lender, MBVT receives compensation. The company is not involved in making lending decisions or transferring funds directly.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MBVT (operating at mbvt.com) runs an online loan referral platform that matches individual borrowers with a network of licensed payday, installment, and personal loan lenders across all 50 US states plus DC. Borrowers complete a short online application; the platform uses an AI-powered approval system and routes the request simultaneously to multiple lenders, who then independently set loan terms. Loan amounts typically range from $100 to $2,500.

Product overview

MBVT operates as an online payday loan referral service that connects borrowers with a network of lenders. The core platform consists of a loan matching service that processes applications against multiple lenders simultaneously. The main products include Payday Loans (short-term, $100-$2,500), Installment Loans (longer-term with monthly payments), and Personal Loans (general-purpose). Supporting the core offerings are an APR Calculator tool and around-the-clock online application availability. The service processes applications and refers approved borrowers to lenders in their network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Payday Loan Referral Service Referral service connecting individual borrowers to licensed payday lenders in their state; borrowers submit a single online application and are matched with lenders offering short-term, unsecured cash loans of roughly $100-$2,500 due on the next paycheck.
• Installment Loan Referral Service Referral service matching individual borrowers with lenders offering installment loans in amounts from several hundred to several thousand dollars, repaid via predetermined monthly payments over multi-month terms.
• Personal Loan Referral Service Referral service connecting borrowers with lenders offering general-purpose personal loans for needs such as debt consolidation, home improvement, and emergency expenses.
• Online Loan Application Platform Self-serve 24/7 online platform at mbvt.com where applicants complete a short form (10-15 minutes) and are instantly matched with multiple lenders in the network; the platform uses an AI-powered approval system and processes applications around the clock with funding typically delivered within 24 hours.
• APR Calculator Free online calculator tool that helps borrowers understand the cost of loans by computing annual percentage rates based on loan amount, term, and other factors.

Quantifiable outcome

• 93% of applications approved
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Multiple Licensed Lenders (Network Model)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMBVT operates as a referral network connecting borrowers with thousands of licensed payday lenders across all 50 states. Lenders in the network include established companies such as Advance America, various credit unions (Blue Federal Credit Union, UniWyo Federal Credit Union), banks (Bank of the West, Wells Fargo), and pawn shops. The platform processes applications and matches borrowers with appropriate lenders based on location and eligibility criteria.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LendingTree: LendingTree operates the largest US online loan marketplace, matching consumer loan demand across multiple lenders and products. Directly comparable to MBVT's referral model, though operating at much larger scale across mortgages, personal, auto, and small business.
• CashNetUSA: CashNetUSA is an online payday and installment loan originator and marketplace. Operates in the same short-term, high-APR consumer credit vertical as MBVT and frequently appears in its lender network and review content.
• MoneyKey: MoneyKey offers online installment loans and lines of credit to subprime consumers and is listed among MBVT's reviewed lender partners. Same target borrower (thin-file, short-term liquidity) and same compliance-heavy product set.
• Even Financial: Even Financial is a loan search and matching API/platform that connects financial institutions with consumer loan demand via embedded finance partners. Closest technology peer to MBVT in lender-aggregation infrastructure and AI-driven matching.
• Lendio: Lendio operates an online small business loan marketplace routing applicants to a network of lenders. Same referral-fee business model and same multi-lender matching workflow as MBVT, but focused on SMB rather than consumer credit.
• Advance America: Advance America is one of the largest US payday and installment lenders and is explicitly named as a partner in MBVT's lender network. Comparable because it both lends directly and relies heavily on online lead funnels for subprime consumer demand.

Broad incumbents

• Credit Karma: Credit Karma (Intuit) is a broad consumer finance platform that originated as a free credit score site and now matches users to credit cards, personal loans, and other products via lender partners. Same lead-generation/affiliate economics as MBVT but at vastly greater scale and brand recognition.
• NerdWallet: NerdWallet is a consumer finance content and comparison platform that earns referral fees when users are matched to credit cards, loans, and banking products. Competes with MBVT for the same SEO-driven, high-intent borrower audience, but with a broader financial product portfolio.

Emerging players

• Earnin: Earnin offers earned-wage access and cash advances as an alternative to payday loans, targeting the same short-term-liquidity consumer. Partial overlap with MBVT's core use cases but positioned as a non-predatory alternative to the products MBVT routes to.
• Dave: Dave is a consumer fintech offering cash advances, budgeting, and side-hustle income tools aimed at subprime and thin-file consumers. Targets the same emergency-cash borrower as MBVT but through an app-based subscription model rather than lender referral.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/merchantsbank
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/merchants-bank

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Merchants Bank