PayPal Working Capital Steps Into Germany

PayPal is broadening its small business financing offering into the German market, a press release announced on Wednesday (Nov. 7).

PayPal Working Capital will launch in Germany as PayPal Businesskredit, offering small and medium-sized businesses access to working capital financing that is deposited directly into their PayPal accounts. The rollout of its SMB lending offering comes nearly 15 years after PayPal first launched operations in the market, and adds Germany to the list of markets in which PayPal Working Capital is available, including the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

“Since our start in Germany almost 15 years ago, we have supported companies of all sizes in successfully running their online business[es],” said Michael Luhnen, who serves as managing director of PayPal Germany, Austria and Switzerland. “With PayPal Businesskredit, we can now offer our large base of small and medium-sized businesses in Germany a quick and easy funding solution and means to grow their businesses.”

German SMBs can apply for the working capital from PayPal online via their existing PayPal accounts. PayPal assesses data from its payment processing services already provided for the applicant, and then provides the credit decision within minutes. Companies can choose how long they want to take to repay the loan, and, once accepted, funds are placed into their PayPal accounts.

Earlier this year, PayPal released new data on the performance of its U.K. PayPal Working Capital operations, revealing the service had provided more than $847 million in financing for SMBs, up from $542 million as of June 2017. In total, the company said, PayPal Working Capital has provided $5 billion in small business loans across the globe.

At the time, PayPal U.K. Director of Business Financing Norah Coelho emphasized that PayPal Working Capital is not intended to replace traditional financing options for SMBs, but rather augment offerings for small businesses that may need to seek financing outside of a bank’s normal operating hours.