Ant International’s Bettr Launches Small Business Financing Solution in Brazil

Ant International’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven lending business, Bettr, has officially launched in Brazil and will work with local partners to expand lending to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The company’s first partnership in Brazil is with eCommerce marketplace AliExpress, the companies said in a Monday (March 17) press release.

Together, the companies are rolling out a new financing solution called Bettr Working Capital that will focus on local merchants operating on AliExpress, according to the release.

“Our partnership with AliExpress marks a meaningful first step in broadening financial access for local businesses, and Bettr looks forward to expanding this impact to more regions,” Quan Yu, general manager of Ant International’s Global Credit Tech, said in the release.

Bettr’s use of AI and collaborations with local partners enable the company to offer financial access to SMBs that often struggle to secure funding, according to the release.

Its partnership with AliExpress enables Bettr to integrate its lending technology into the AliExpress platform, analyze merchants’ sales records and other unstructured business information from the platform, and provide loan options that are tailored to the merchant, the release said.

Merchants can apply for the tailored credit product through the AliExpress merchant portal, see real-time approval tracking and get rapid fund disbursement when approved, per the release.

“This collaboration reinforces our commitment to helping small and medium-sized businesses thrive by providing accessible and efficient financial tools that can take their operations to the next level,” Briza Bueno, LatAm director of AliExpress, said in the release.

Embedded finance is reshaping what it means for banks, businesses and FinTechs to interact, in real time, with customers, generating new revenue and giving end users a broad range of payments options, according to the PYMNTS Intelligence report commissioned by Visa, “Embedded Lending: From the Lender’s Perspective.”

The report found that embedded lending has particular appeal for lenders because they are able to reach new customers and expand financial inclusion, while leveraging data to help tailor offers that boost sales.

AliExpress offers an extensive marketplace with more than 100 million products, connects buyers with sellers worldwide, offers global shipping and provides a buyer protection program. The company is ranked No. 3 on PYMNTS’ Provider Ranking of Shopping Apps.

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