Kabbage-Santander programme offers UK SMEs same-day funding

The US online lending firm Kabbage is partnering with Spanish bank Santander to provide same-day funding loans to SMEs in the UK.

A joint announcement by the two collaborators said that the pilot programme will launch in the next two months.

Online platform

SMEs will now be able to apply for working capital loans through Kabbage’s online platform and receive approval within minutes. They will have access to loan amounts ranging from £500 to £100,000 on the very same day as their application.

Kabbage had previously partnered with Dutch bank ING to offer loans to SMEs in Spain, but this is the first time that a leading bank in Britain is giving SMEs swift access to working capital.

Traditionally, SMEs in the UK have had to wait anywhere from two to 12 weeks for access to these loans.

Fast access

Santander UK Chief Executive Officer Nathan Bostock said: “With small and medium enterprises comprising 99 per cent of the UK private sector, having fast and secure access to funds would ensure they can continue to make an important contribution to the UK economy.”

He added that Santander’s collaboration with Kabbage would “provide UK businesses with the ability to draw down funds as and when required, whether this be covering a short-term funding need or enabling them to seize growth opportunities as they arise.”

Santander has said that it will be able to provide fast access to capital to SMEs through Kabbage’s platform. Kabbage hopes to offer customers a better user experience as well as benefitting from Santander’s large customer base.