BOSTON, Jan. 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Daylit, an embedded AI lending company, and CSG Forte, a CSG® (NASDAQ: CSGS) company and a leader in complete and customizable digital payments, announce a strategic partnership to deliver an embedded business credit solution to small and medium sized US companies.

Daylit and CSG Forte's offering, called the iBranch, is an embedded financing service that enables SMBs to borrow money from their software vendors instead of traditional financial institutions.

Embedded lending, popularized by software companies such as Amazon, Shopify, and Square, has become a growing source of credit made available to small businesses. It is estimated that embedded business loan origination is growing at roughly 125% year over year and will hit an annual $500bn origination by 2030.

CSG Forte is partnering with Daylit, a leader in embedded lending solutions, to bring the solution to its Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners and their merchants.

"Traditional small business credit is very expensive with the average borrower paying 61% APR." shares Jared Shulman, CFA, Daylit's CEO/Co-founder. "Our embedded lending programs, when implemented effectively, dramatically lowers rates to our customers by leveraging private datasets for more effective underwriting and better sales channels to cut customer acquisition costs."

Jerry Shu, the company's CTO/Co-founder, adds that the power of AI-driven credit underwriting shines with rich, embedded datasets that banks and non-bank lenders struggle to process.

The benefits of embedding lending extend beyond happier and healthier borrowers. ISVs benefit as well, earning a portion of the fee revenue generated from their embedded lending program and experience enhanced customer loyalty.

Through this partnership, CSG Forte's diverse range of ISV partners and their merchants, including those in industries like field services and property management, can benefit from an innovative, embedded lending experience. For example, property management merchants may leverage this easy-to-use solution to access capital for building repairs and needed supplies or to engage in professional services to promote their business. The easy access to affordable capital empowers merchants and elevates their potential for future growth.