The top alternative lenders in the industry use proprietary transaction processing technology to help small businesses to both get and repay working capital. In fact, it is precisely due to this unique transaction processing software that such lenders have managed to all but turn upside down traditional lending structures. To understand the extent to which technology has enabled such a radical shift, a clearer explanation of the ideas behind this shift is in order.

For years, small businesses have gone to tremendous lengths to attempt to qualify for traditional loans that were designed with larger, more stable businesses in mind. Not only were such attempts frequently quixotic, but even when they were successful, such loans often buried their recipients under debt loads which they could not consistently repay. Recognizing this dilemma, a handful of innovative alternative lenders made a decision to tie loan repayment not to a fixed monthly amount, but a fixed percentage of the borrower's monthly income.

The Role of Transaction Processing Technology

If alternative lending structures have changed to more closely resemble partnerships than traditional loans, it is unique transaction processing technology that has provided the mechanism by which this partnership operates. That small businesses are able to repay capital automatically as a percentage of every credit card transaction they process is a tremendous convenience and relief. That this technology also allows owners to monitor their pace of repayment on the Internet is only an additional bonus.

For thousands of small businesses, the replacement of steep monthly bills with consistently manageable automatic payments has already proven a substantial help. Whether you need capital for expansion, to meet unexpected expenses, or for any other reason, it is incumbent upon you to determine the smartest and most secure means of doing so. Now that new technologies are so close at hand, there is no reason to put yourself at greater risk than necessary.