iwoca

Iwoca acquires borrowers exclusively through direct digital channels, including its website, partnerships with accounting platforms and payment providers, and word-of-mouth referrals. The firm's loan book is not intermediated by brokers, allowing it to control the credit funnel from application to funding while maintaining uniform underwriting standards.

Iwoca is not a bank. It is a privately held, technology-first lender that originates and services loans from its own balance sheet. This structure allows the firm to make credit decisions on unsecured small-business loans using automated cash-flow analysis rather than traditional collateral-based underwriting.

Standard business loans range from £1,000 to £1,000,000 with terms of 1 day to 24 months. Iwoca's Flexi-Loan product provides a revolving credit facility with terms up to 5 years. Both structures charge interest daily on the outstanding balance, with no penalty for early repayment or overpayment.

Iwoca lends exclusively to limited companies and partnerships registered in the United Kingdom and, through its subsidiary iwoca GmbH, to businesses in Germany. The firm has no retail lending operations and does not serve sole traders.

Iwoca funds its loan book through a combination of equity capital and senior debt facilities from institutional investors. Named funding partners have included Barclays, Värde Partners, Pollen Street Capital, and NIBC Bank (per AltFi, 2022). The firm does not take deposits from the public.

Yes. Iwoca requires a personal guarantee from at least one company director. If the borrowing company defaults, the named guarantor becomes personally liable for the outstanding balance.

Iwoca's automated underwriting ingests real-time bank transaction data via Open Banking APIs instead of relying solely on company financial statements or credit-bureau scores. This gives the firm a daily view of cash flow and trading activity, enabling faster credit decisions compared to traditional lenders anchored to annual accounts.