San Francisco-based payment company Square had made $1 billion in loans to small businesses, with 92 percent of those Square Capital loans for amounts under $50,000, the company told the Business Times Monday.
The 170,000 lending plans made by Square went to more than 100,000 businesses, with the top threes industries receiving funding being food and drink, beauty and personal care and retail. All loans are issued by Celtic Bank in Salt Lake City, Utah
“Over the past two years, over $1 billion has been extended to more than 100,000 sellers through Square Capital, giving them quick access to funding to meet their business needs — whether to purchase inventory, open a new location, launch a new product, or buy equipment,” Square (NYSE: SQ) said in a statement.
In addition to those numbers, many businesses are coming back for multiple rounds of funding, Square said. “It’s something we didn’t foresee when we started,” Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said on the company’s earnings call last week.
Here’s how those loans break out nationally, according to Square:
Southeast: 31.8%
West: 19.2%
Southwest: 17.5%
Midwest: 17%
Northeast: 14.5%
Some Square Capital customers have turned to the company because the comparative ease of use and speed of approvals when compared to traditional lenders like banks.
“For our business, Square Capital came at the perfect time and enabled us to really expand, grow and become the salon we envisioned we could be. The funds allowed us to grow our staff across the business and in turn greatly increase the volume of customers, nearly doubling our number of appointments,” said Jovanny Yu, owner of Taylor/Monroe Salon in a statement.
“Every aspect of Square Capital is seamless and smooth. As a business owner, we often need a very quick turnaround – sometimes unreasonably fast – and we get that with Square and Square Capital.”
