Funding Circle US

What Funding Circle US does

Funding Circle US is the United States operating arm of Funding Circle Holdings plc (LSE: FCH), a UK-founded SME finance platform established in 2010 and headquartered in London with a registered US presence in Denver. The entity focuses on originating loans and credit products to small and medium-sized US businesses, structured as a digital-first lending platform with self-serve applications, broker/introducer channels, and an OAuth 2.0 partner API. Core products span term business loans (£10,000-£750,000 at the UK level), the FlexiPay revolving line of credit, and the Cashback Business Credit Card, alongside government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme loans and asset finance up to £5 million. The underlying credit decisioning engine combines proprietary AI-powered machine learning models with human underwriting, trained on 15 years of cumulative SME lending data across 125,000+ businesses and £17bn+ in originated credit. Distribution operates through direct online application, a tiered broker/introducer network (up to 6% commission), a marketplace of 27 partner products, and integrations with Sage accounting, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Revenue is generated from loan interest (from 6.9% per year), transaction fees on FlexiPay (from 1.99% per transaction), credit-card interest and interchange (from 14.9% APR), and institutional funding spreads on forward flow and securitisation programmes with Waterfall Asset Management, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, TPG Angelo Gordon, and Bayview Asset Management. The US business was the subject of an agreement to divest to iBusiness Funding (announced 2023-2024), reflecting a strategic refocus by the parent on the UK market.

Name

Funding Circle US

Legal name

Funding Circle Ltd

Website

https://fundingcircle.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Funding Circle US is the Denver-based US lending arm of UK-listed SME finance platform Funding Circle Holdings plc (LSE: FCH), originating loans and credit products to US small businesses via digital and broker channels; the business is being divested to iBusiness Funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

SME Lending

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153), Asset-Backed Securities (6189), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

SME Term Loans & Growth Capital (FSAKAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI), Middle-Market Lending (FSANADAI)

Keywords

• SME lending
• Business loans
• Online lending platform
• Small business finance
• Credit decisioning

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest Income: Interest income earned on term loans and credit facilities extended to small businesses. Loans range from £10,000 to £750,000 with rates starting from 6.9% per year.
2. Transaction Fees: Fees charged on FlexiPay transactions (1.99% per transaction for cash transfers) and one-off completion fees on business loans.
3. Credit Card Interest and Fees: Interest charges on Cashback Business Credit Card (from 14.9% APR variable) and transaction/fee income from business credit card usage.
4. Institutional Partner Funding: Forward flow agreements and securitization programs with institutional investors (Waterfall Asset Management, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, TPG Angelo Gordon) that provide capital for SME lending.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Funding Circle US, as part of the Funding Circle group, is an online SME lending platform that provides small and medium-sized businesses with access to term loans, revolving lines of credit, business credit cards, and government-backed loan schemes. The platform combines proprietary AI-powered credit models with human underwriting to deliver fast credit decisions (as little as 1 hour) to SMEs underserved by traditional banks.

Product overview

Funding Circle is a multi-product SME finance platform offering a unified ecosystem of lending and payment products. The core offerings include Business Loans (term loans for various business needs), FlexiPay (revolving line of credit with flexible repayment instalments), and the Cashback Business Credit Card (rewards card with cashback). The platform is expanded through government-backed Growth Guarantee Scheme loans, Asset Finance for equipment/vehicles, and marketplace products including Invoice Finance, Merchant Cash Advance, and VAT Finance. Products are designed to work together, allowing SMEs to borrow, pay later, and spend through a single ecosystem. Recent additions include Company Cards for team spending control on the Cashback card, and mobile payment integrations with Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FlexiPay: A flexible line of credit product allowing businesses to pay later by spreading the cost of purchases over 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.
• Cashback Business Credit Card
• Growth Guarantee Scheme

Products and services

• Business Loan

Quantifiable outcome

• 125,000+ UK businesses funded with £17bn+ in credit since 2010
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TNT SportsminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 13 January 2026First official business finance partner of TNT Sports, focusing on backing small businesses to win with rugby-related marketing activations.
• National ParksminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026New partnership with National Parks to champion UK climate and nature resilience.
• Hatch EnterpriseminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 September 2024Launch of 'Get Ready to Start' programme with Hatch Enterprise to empower underrepresented entrepreneurs.
• Modulr FS LimitedcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 April 2024Electronic money institution partner providing FlexiPay account and payment services. Authorised and regulated by FCA (Reference: 900573).
• Monavate LtdcoreTechnology or Integration · 25 April 2024Card issuer for FlexiPay Business Credit Card. Monavate Ltd is authorised by FCA to issue electronic money and provide payment services (Reference: 901097).
• EarthwatchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 April 2023Partnership with Earthwatch to create thriving green spaces in urban places.
• GreenTheUKminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 March 2023Partnership with GreenTheUK to support UK nature and wildlife projects.
• Rainbow EnergyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2023Partnership to support small businesses in taking control of energy costs.
• Thrive Mental WellbeingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 January 2023Partnership to support SMEs' wellbeing nationwide.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Allica Bank: UK SME-focused challenger bank offering term loans, asset finance, and commercial mortgages to established small businesses. Closely comparable product set to FC's term loans and asset finance lines.
• MarketFinance: UK fintech providing SME financing including business loans, invoice finance, and asset finance via a marketplace model. Direct overlap on multiple FC product lines including term loans and invoice finance.
• OnDeck Capital: US-headquartered online small business lender using technology-driven underwriting to originate short-term SME loans. Direct functional comparable to Funding Circle's core model in the US market that FC is exiting.
• Tide: UK challenger business banking platform serving SMEs with integrated lending, credit, and expense products. Comparable target customer base and growing multi-product SME finance model overlapping directly with Funding Circle.
• LendingClub: US online lending marketplace that, like Funding Circle, pioneered technology-driven credit decisioning and institutional loan funding/securitisation. Closest publicly-listed comparable on operating model and capital structure.
• iwoca: UK-based online lender providing flexible short-term loans and revolving credit lines to SMEs (up to £1m). Most direct comparable to Funding Circle on product, customer segment, and underwriting approach — also appears as an FC marketplace partner.
• Fleximize: UK specialist SME alternative lender offering flexible term loans and asset finance to small businesses. Appears as an FC marketplace partner while independently serving a comparable SME borrower profile.

Broad incumbents

• Atom bank: UK challenger bank providing SME lending products and a commercial finance business. Has an existing £300m lending facility partnership with Funding Circle and competes in overlapping SME segments.
• Starling Bank: UK challenger bank with a strong SME lending proposition bundled into business current accounts. Competes with FC for UK SME borrowers but has a broader deposit-funded banking franchise.
• Aldermore: UK challenger bank with a sizeable SME lending franchise across term loans, asset finance, and invoice discounting. Overlaps with FC product set and is listed as an FC marketplace partner, reflecting ecosystem adjacency.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FundingCircle
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/fundingcircle
• Facebookfacebook.com/FundingCircleUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/funding-circle
• Instagraminstagram.com/fundingcircleuk

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Funding Circle US