Luke Trayfoot, Global Head of Strategic Partnerships, YouLend
SMEs demand faster, more contextual access to capital, yet traditional lending continues to lag behind the realities of the digital enterprise. Lengthy applications, old credit models, and slow decisions simply do not match how modern businesses operate. In response, commerce, payments, and SaaS platforms are embedding SME financing directly into their ecosystems, meeting businesses where they already work and trade.
This isn’t just about convenience. When a business receives a funding offer tailored to its seasonal peaks or inventory needs, the friction of seeking finance disappears. Access to capital stops being a hurdle and becomes a proactive growth tool.
The UK business lending market is reportedly worth over £485bn, with SME borrowing estimated at around £62bn. Still for many small businesses, access continues to entail rigid criteria and sluggish processes, only to be denied funding at the finish line. As the sector evolves, platforms are transitioning from simple distribution partners into the primary gateway for SME finance. This shift will redefine how growth capital is delivered, who can access it, and where financial services sit within the SME journey.
SaaS platforms are the new access point for SME finance
Major commerce, payments, and SaaS platforms now treat embedded finance as a core growth lever. The logic is fairly straightforward: SMEs need rapid funding, and these platforms are where commercial intent already exists.
Accessing capital within the tools used to run a business – whether an e-commerce storefront or a payments software – is becoming the expected standard. For many SMEs, stepping outside these platforms to “go and get a loan” already feels like a legacy process.
This represents a structural shift in delivery rather than a zero-sum game. While traditional lenders remain vital for long-term stability and regulatory trust, the delivery mechanism has fundamentally changed. Digital platforms are the commercial layer where SMEs manage operations, and that’s where capital should also be.
Data intelligence will open up new capital for underserved businesses
Real-time data intelligence will soon start to outperform outdated credit scoring by using live trading signals to assess business health. Static models built on historic accounts are no longer fit for purpose, and the market winners will be those who integrate capital natively into existing digital ecosystems.
This approach enables dynamic risk assessment based on live trading performance, rather than a snapshot from filed accounts that may be 18 months out of date. It reflects how a business performs today, not how it looked last year.
Crucially, this also widens the pool of eligible businesses. High-performing companies that lack traditional collateral will no longer be locked out of the market. By analysing live cash flow and transaction volumes, the industry can provide a fairer, more accurate, and more inclusive view of risk.
Embedded capital will no longer be a nice-to-have
By the end of 2026, embedded capital will have transitioned from a “nice-to-have” feature to a non-negotiable component of the SME financial stack. Platforms that fail to offer frictionless, integrated financing risk losing their merchants to competitors who provide a complete lifecycle of support.
The winners in this new landscape will be the platforms that provide deep, value-adding services. And success will be defined by the ability to deliver compliant, real-time funding that scales with the user.
The next phase of growth depends on responsibility. By prioritising transparency and resilience, we ensure that embedded financing provides long-term value for both the digital platform and the merchant. Done right, capital will become an invisible, trusted, and indispensable engine for the modern global economy.
