Square Capital Pulls eBay Into SMB Lending Space

When eBay announced that it would be accepting Apple Pay, it wasn’t the only new development for the online marketplace.

The company also revealed a partnership with Square to offer financing to companies selling on eBay, heating up competition with its rival, Amazon.

Bloomberg reported Tuesday (July 24) that eBay will begin offering merchants up to $100,000 in financing through Square Capital. The report also highlighted how eBay is working with PayPal rivals, Square and Apple Pay, following its split from PayPal in 2015. Earlier this year, eBay announced it would be shifting its payment processing needs from PayPal to Adyen.

Square Capital is likely to see a significant boost to its financing volumes. Reports said Square Capital facilitated 50,000 business loans in the first quarter of this year — a 35 percent year-over-year increase.

eBay’s entrance into small business lending follows the company’s recent push into B2B services. In 2016, eBay launched its B2B platform, Business Supply, though it has mostly continued to focus on its B2C commerce operations.

More recently, the company introduced Always Open, an initiative that focuses on smaller sellers, with eBay Stores subscriptions, that also operate a physical storefront. Businesses receive support from eBay staff, as well as enhanced brand visibility on eBay’s Always Open landing page.

On the SMB finance front, eBay rival Amazon has also been ramping up lending services to its online merchants. Amazon rolled out small business lending services in several markets in 2015. Reports from last month said the service has now facilitated more than $3 billion worth of short-term financing for SMBs.

Amazon may soon introduce its lending service in China, CNBC reported in June, citing a job opening listed on Amazon’s careers website.