Amount Snaps Up Linear to Power Loan Origination Programs

Banking tech provider Amount is acquiring small business and account origination platform Linear Financial Technologies for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced on Tuesday (Feb. 1).

Linear’s suite of solutions serves as a complement to Amount’s retail banking and buy now pay later (BNPL) solutions for consumer lending. Linear’s platform makes the borrowing and account opening process easier for small business operators. It also streamlines loan and deposit origination workflows for a number of SMB services — business credit cards, loans, lines of credit and SBA loans.

Under the acquisition deal, Linear will begin operating under a new brand name: Amount Small Business. Linear CEO Sam Graziano will join Amount’s executive team as head of Amount small business.

See also: Report: 70% of BNPL Users Would Use Bank Installment Options, if Available

“In Linear, we saw an opportunity to pair Amount’s consumer banking solution and buy now, pay later technology with Linear’s small business banking solutions to help financial institutions simplify and streamline business processes to create new business opportunities and increase value for our clients,” said Adam Hughes, CEO of Amount.

“We admire what Sam and his team have built at Linear, especially as we share many of the same values when it comes to developing technology, with a heavy focus on bringing data and insights to the forefront, to improve customer experiences, business processes and risk management,” Hughes added.

Read more: Small Business Lenders Find New Paths To A Funding Bounce Back

As a combined entity, Amount’s workforce will total close to 600 people across offices in New York; Reston, Virginia; Chicago; and Los Angeles. The company has plans to expand its capabilities across retail banking, B2C and B2B point of sale solutions, fraud detection solutions, embedded finance and more.

“The foundational items necessary for success in SMB lending are akin to those in consumer lending — namely modern digital customer experiences, data aggregation, process automation and risk-based analytics,” said Graziano.