EXCLUSIVE— The number of businesses that are now conducting their banking via mobile is increasing by the year, according to global financial provider Kabbage, which noted that mobile lending saw a more than 360% increase across a four-year span.
Businesses are not only increasing their mobile lending activity, but also the amount of money they’re sending, Kabbage noted in a study on the subject published earlier this week. The service saw a 1,220% increase in the amount of money sent by businesses via mobile between 2014 and 2018.
Kabbage did not include the amount of money sent in the study, which surveyed almost 150,000 small businesses, according to the company. However, while businesses are clearly becoming more comfortable with mobile banking, that doesn’t mean companies should expect them to rely fully on the smartphone just yet, according to Victoria Treyger, chief revenue officer for Kabbage.
Treyger told Bank Innovation in an emailed statement:
Many business owner[s] are out during the day with clients, on the construction site, managing their business on the go from their mobile device. Mobile access to funding allows them to draw funds wherever they are. It’s also the forward progress of technology adoption.
Kabbage makes mobile lending available for its small business owners, and they’re increasingly taking advantage of the simplicity of mobile access to working capital. While we expect mobile lending to increase, it’s too soon to say it will reach the majority of lending.
The company expects mobile lending on its platform to increase, with nearly 15% of “total dollars accessed” on the platform coming from mobile, according to the Kabbage study.
Kabbage provides small businesses with loans—available via both Android and Apple apps—as well as to lines of credit up to $250,000, according to company statements. The company currently has “1.7 million live, persistent data connections with our customers,” Treyger told Bank Innovation.
Calling all startups: the deadline for admission to our sister accelerator, INV Fintech, is approaching. Apply here.






