Small Business News

Amazon and Goldman Sachs Reportedly Partnering for Small Business Loans

For any small business to be successful, it needs one thing: capital. While different types of businesses require varying amounts of upfront investment, there are plenty of cases where entrepreneurs need the assistance of small business loans in order get their operations off the ground or take them to the next level. This is especially true of businesses that utilize online platforms such as Amazon where they’ll need to invest in creating their products and have them ready to ship as soon as they’re sold. That’s likely why Goldman Sachs is reportedly eyeing a deal to offer loans to the online retail giant’s business customers.

With Amazon already offering small business lending options, the potential partnership would reportedly allow Goldman to include their loan services as part of that platform. According to sources who spoke to Financial Times, the bank has begun building software to facilitate listing their loans with Amazon. These sources also suggested that this change could come as soon as March. Both Amazon and Goldman Sachs declined Financial Times’ request for comment. However the former did note that lending was one of the services provided to their sellers, who are “mostly small and medium-sized businesses, who account for more than half of everything sold in Amazon’s stores.”

For Amazon, the potential partnership would be the latest in a series of moves meant to put an emphasis on small business. This includes the introduction of their Small Business Academy late last year. That education initiative features webinars and in-person seminars meant to help entrepreneurs leverage online outlets in order to build their brands. Last year the retailer also hosted their inaugural Amazon Small Business Awards, naming winners for Small Business of the Year, Women-Owned Small Business of the Year, and Small Business Owner Under 30 of the Year.

As for Goldman Sachs, they’ve also had an interesting few months as they’ve expanded their reach with new offerings. The most high profile of these products is of course the Apple Card, which it launched in partnership with the famed Cupertino-based company. Meanwhile Goldman has also continued to grow its Millennial-focused consumer banking brand Marcus and is reportedly planning to launch a roboadvisor service sometime this year.

While details for this potential Goldman Sachs-Amazon team-up are sparse for now, it does seem like a win-win-win. First it further allows Goldman to diversify their efforts while hopefully also servicing small business owners in need of capital. As for Amazon, there’s surely some sort of financial benefit in the deal for them as well. Perhaps we’ll be seeing more about this reported deal in the coming weeks.