London’s Santander Innoventures has joined the $135m Series E round in Atlanta’s small business lending platform Kabbage.
The company uses sources like eBay and Paypal data, rather than traditional credit checks, to give fast decisions on small business lending.
Kabbage, which was founded in 2013, also makes consumer loans through its Karrot platform.
The round was led by Santander InnoVentures, along with Reverence Capital Partners, ING and Scotiabank.
Kabbage believes that the range of banks investing in its technology demonstrates the demand for innovation from established players.
“We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Reverence Capital Partners, ING, Santander InnoVentures, and Scotiabank, global leaders with deep expertise across financial services and technology,” said Rob Frohwein, Kabbage cofounder and CEO.
“It is particularly gratifying to welcome three of the top fifty global banks to our shareholder base as we continue to expand our reach internationally, delivering an unparalleled experience to small businesses and consumers worldwide.”
The round was also joined by China’s Yuan Capital and Japan’s Recruit Strategic Partners, plus existing investors including BlueRun Ventures, UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund and Thomvest Ventures.
This is the second international fintech investment for Santander Innoventures in as many weeks.
The company, which was set up last year to support the growth of startups whose technology could be deployed to future-proof the Spanish bank, just revealed it joined digital currency firm Ripple’s $32m Series A round.
Kabbage was one of KPMG’s 50 Best Fintech Innovators of 2014 and now provides $1bn each year to small businesses.
The company’s total equity raised to date has now reached more than $240m.