• Beyond Banks
  • Posts
  • Credit Key Gets $90M Barings Capital Backing

Credit Key Gets $90M Barings Capital Backing

Net 30 terms at checkout compete with your advance products

Author

Jordan Hansen
January 24, 2026

Credit Key, a Los Angeles-based B2B payments and financing platform, closed $90 million in growth capital on January 21, 2026, through a strategic partnership with Barings, the $470+ billion global investment manager.¹ The deal positions a well-capitalized competitor directly in your borrower pipeline—offering instant financing at the exact moment your prospects are making purchasing decisions.

  • Deal Structure: Growth capital (likely warehouse facility/credit line) from Barings, a MassMutual subsidiary with extensive private credit and structured finance operations.² No valuation disclosed.

  • Product Focus: B2B "buy now, pay later" offering Net 30 terms and flexible repayment options up to 12 months, embedded directly into merchant checkout and sales workflows.¹

  • Target Verticals: Wholesale distribution, technology & electronics, and restaurant equipment & supply—high-ticket B2B categories traditionally served by factoring and working capital lenders.³

  • Competitive Positioning: Credit Key operates through Lead Bank (NMLS ID: 2162273) and issues cards via Sutton Bank, giving them regulatory cover for business-purpose loans requiring personal guaranty.¹

  • Strategic Backer: Barings manages $470B+ in assets with deep expertise in private credit, direct lending, and asset-based finance—suggesting this is infrastructure-level capital, not venture equity.⁴

  • Stated Use of Funds: Scaling operations, accelerating product development, expanding U.S. merchant base, and deepening partnerships with eCommerce platforms, marketplaces, and fintech providers.¹

The immediate implication: Institutional capital is now actively betting that embedded financing at the point of purchase will capture working capital demand before it ever reaches traditional alternative lenders. If you're originating primarily through direct outreach or broker channels, you're increasingly competing against financing options your borrowers never had to seek out.

What Alternative Business Lenders Need to Know

Why does a B2B BNPL deal matter to working capital lenders?

Credit Key isn't your direct competitor in the traditional sense—they're not chasing the same borrowers through broker networks or buying leads from the same aggregators. They're something potentially more disruptive: they're embedding themselves at the point where working capital need is created, before your prospect ever searches for "business financing."

Consider the mechanics. A wholesale distributor's customer—let's say a restaurant needing $15,000 in equipment—previously had two options: pay upfront with available cash, or seek working capital from an alternative lender to cover the purchase. Now there's a third option at checkout: instant approval for Net 30 or 12-month terms, with Credit Key paying the merchant within 48 hours while the buyer repays over time.¹ The working capital need is satisfied at the transaction level, and the traditional lender never enters the picture.

The embedded B2B finance market is projected to reach $15.6 trillion by 2030, up from approximately $4.1 trillion today—a quadrupling in just five years.⁵ That's not speculative forecasting; that's capital allocation following demonstrated demand. Barings isn't making a $90 million bet on a niche payment tool. They're positioning for a fundamental shift in how SMBs access working capital.

What does the deal structure tell us?

The press release calls this "growth capital" rather than equity, and Barings' involvement makes the structure relatively clear. Barings operates one of the largest private credit platforms globally, with extensive experience in asset-based finance, warehouse facilities, and flow purchase agreements.² Their Global Structured Finance team specifically works with direct originators on whole loan purchases, variable funding facilities, and term securitizations.⁴

This is almost certainly structured as warehouse financing—a credit facility that allows Credit Key to originate and hold receivables before packaging them for sale or securitization. Recent Barings deals in consumer and commercial asset finance have included $500M+ flow purchase programs with minority equity stakes and warrant positions.⁴ The $90 million figure likely represents committed facility capacity rather than equity value.

Why does this matter? Because warehouse-backed fintechs can scale originations rapidly without diluting equity or depending on venture capital cycles. Credit Key now has institutional-grade capital backing to expand merchant relationships and absorb receivables volume. They're not constrained by balance sheet limitations the way many early-stage B2B BNPL players have been.

Who else is playing in this space?

Credit Key isn't operating in a vacuum. The B2B BNPL space has attracted significant capital over the past 18 months:

  • Slope: $127M+ total funding, backed by J.P. Morgan Payments, Union Square Ventures, Y Combinator.⁷ Recently partnered with Alibaba.com and IKEA US. Claims to have built an LLM specifically trained on banking language for underwriting.⁸

  • Balance: Embedded B2B checkout with instant net terms (30/60/90-day), real-time credit checks during checkout, instant seller payout. Focused on digital marketplaces and vertical SaaS platforms.⁷

  • Two (formerly Tillit): €40M+ raised, Oslo-based, operating across Europe and U.S. with Visa and ABN AMRO partnerships. Proprietary AI engines for fraud detection and credit decisioning.⁷

  • Mondu: German B2B BNPL focused on trade accounts, installment plans, and digital trade credit for B2B transactions.⁷

The common thread: every major player is pursuing embedded distribution through existing commerce platforms rather than competing for direct borrower relationships. They're building infrastructure that makes financing invisible to the end user—just another payment option alongside credit card and ACH.

What do we actually know about Credit Key's operations?

Less than we'd like. The company, founded in 2015 as Snap Credit Inc. (NMLS ID: 2162273), has operated relatively quietly compared to venture-backed competitors.³ Key operational details:

  • Banking Partners: Business-purpose loans originated through Lead Bank. Prepaid Mastercard issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC.¹

  • Product Suite: Net 30 terms, flexible repayment up to 12 months, Credit Key Card (prepaid Mastercard for approved credit lines), merchant marketplace, mobile app.¹

  • Underwriting: Real-time credit decisions, described as "seconds" to approval. Personal guaranty may be required. Credit approval required.¹

  • Target Verticals: Wholesale distribution, technology & electronics, restaurant equipment & supply—all high-AOV B2B categories.³

What we don't know: current origination volume, default rates, average ticket size, advance rates to merchants, or pricing structure to borrowers. The company hasn't disclosed portfolio performance metrics publicly, which is standard for privately-held fintechs but limits our ability to assess competitive positioning.

What are the implications for alternative lenders?

Channel Compression: The embedded finance trend isn't eliminating working capital demand—it's rerouting it. SMBs still need cash to make purchases, but increasingly that financing happens within the purchase flow rather than as a separate transaction.⁵ Every merchant integration that Credit Key, Slope, or Balance signs is a distribution channel you're not in.

Segment Differentiation: B2B BNPL works best for transactional needs—specific purchases with clear use-of-proceeds. It's less suited for general working capital (payroll, rent, operating expenses) or larger facilities that require relationship underwriting. If your book skews toward lumpy, non-transactional advances, you're somewhat insulated. If you're funding inventory and equipment purchases for SMBs, you're directly exposed.

Borrower Expectations: The real-time underwriting standard that consumer BNPL established is migrating to B2B.⁹ When a business owner can get approved for $15,000 in seconds at checkout, a 24-48 hour approval process starts feeling slow. Speed and friction reduction become competitive necessities, not differentiators.

Pricing Pressure: B2B BNPL typically prices to the merchant (2-5% of transaction value) rather than charging high factor rates to the borrower.¹¹ If buyers perceive embedded financing as "free" or low-cost, they may resist traditional pricing structures when they do seek standalone financing. This creates potential margin compression across the SMB lending market.

How should alternative lenders respond?

Evaluate Your Exposure: Look at your current portfolio by use-of-proceeds. What percentage of advances are funding specific vendor payments, inventory purchases, or equipment acquisitions? Those are the transactions most susceptible to embedded finance capture. General working capital for payroll, taxes, and operating expenses has more runway.

Consider Distribution Partnerships: Some lenders are exploring embedded models themselves—integrating financing offers into accounting software, invoicing platforms, or vertical SaaS tools.⁶ The infrastructure exists; the question is whether you can originate profitably through these channels given their fee structures.

Focus on Complexity: B2B BNPL players are optimizing for speed and frictionless approval, which means standardized underwriting on relatively clean credits. Deals with complicated collateral structures, weak credit profiles requiring relationship diligence, or bespoke covenant packages aren't targets for automated platforms. The messier the deal, the safer your competitive position.

Watch the Regulatory Landscape: B2B BNPL has largely avoided the consumer protection scrutiny hitting Klarna and Affirm because commercial financing falls outside most disclosure requirements. That could change. State-level commercial financing disclosure laws (California, New York, Virginia, Utah) are expanding, and any player making loans requiring personal guaranty faces potential regulatory overlap. Credit Key's bank partnership structure suggests awareness of these risks.

Cobalt Intelligence provides competitive intelligence for alternative business lenders. This analysis is for informational purposes and does not constitute investment, legal, or financial advice..

Our Opinion

Barings doesn't write $90 million checks to experiment with niche payment tools. They're backing Credit Key because embedded B2B financing is capturing working capital demand at the transaction layer—before it ever becomes a 'financing need' that reaches alternative lenders.

The playbook here is familiar from consumer BNPL: integrate financing invisibly into the purchase flow, make approval instant, and let the merchant absorb pricing through higher conversion rates. It works. B2B marketplaces report 15-25% volume increases after embedding financing. That's not market expansion—that's demand capture from traditional channels.

Does this mean MCA, factoring, and working capital lending are obsolete? No. Embedded financing captures transactional demand well but struggles with relationship complexity, larger facilities, and borrowers who don't fit automated credit boxes. If your edge is underwriting nuance, speed on messy deals, or serving segments that algorithmic platforms decline, you have runway.

But if you're originating primarily through commoditized channels—buying leads, competing on approval speed for standardized profiles—recognize that you're increasingly competing against infrastructure that reaches borrowers before they ever search for financing. The question isn't whether to adapt; it's whether your competitive advantages translate to a market where distribution happens inside commerce platforms rather than through broker networks and direct outreach.

1-Minute Video: Automated Judicial & Contractor License Checks by Cobalt API

1West integrated Cobalt Intelligence's SOS API using the three-step knockout waterfall:

(1) Auto-decline on inactive status.
(2) Auto-correct time in business using official filing dates.
(3) Route by confidence score - only flag the 10% that need human review.

1West freed up massive bandwidth and reduced fraud.

Available for automated SOS verification across all 50 states with same-week implementation.

Subscribe to our Beyond Banks Podcast Channels

Headlines You Don’t Want to Miss

Churchill Asset Management, the U.S. private capital affiliate of Nuveen Private Capital, raised over $16 billion in committed capital for its most recent senior lending program—representing the firm's largest capital raise to date—including the fifth vintage of its flagship senior loan strategy across levered, unlevered, and evergreen vehicles plus separately managed accounts. The funds attracted equity commitments from approximately 325 institutional and high-net-worth investors globally, including pension plans, insurance companies, superannuations, and family offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, as Churchill—named "2025 Lender Firm of the Year" by The M&A Advisor—continues providing first lien and unitranche financing to U.S. middle market companies backed by leading private equity sponsors.

Creative Media & Community Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCT) closed its previously announced sale of its lending division, First Western SBLC, to PG FR Holding, LLC—an affiliate of Atlanta-based Peachtree Group—for approximately $44.9 million net of outstanding debt related to its 2023 securitization of certain loan receivables. Yahoo Finance After paying other debt and transaction expenses, the transaction delivered approximately $31.2 million in net cash proceeds to the REIT, which stated the sale furthers its priorities of strengthening its balance sheet, improving liquidity, and growing its premier multifamily portfolio. Stocktitan

Atlanta-based Peachtree Group completed its acquisition of First Western SBLC, LLC, which operates as PMC Commercial Trust—a Dallas-based nationwide direct lender specializing in SBA 7(a) loans and one of only 12 Small Business Lending Companies licensed by the SBA to originate such loans—with the transaction receiving U.S. Small Business Administration approval. Morningstar PMC, founded in 1983 by Dr. Fred Rosemore (grandfather of Peachtree CEO Greg Friedman), holds Preferred Lender Program status enabling expedited closings, and the acquisition expands Peachtree's credit platform to offer SBA 7(a) loans from $50,000 to $5 million for business acquisitions, real estate purchases, equipment, working capital, and refinancing—particularly in the hospitality sector. Asian Hospitality

Get Free Access to our Cobalt Modern Underwriter GPT

Get Free Access to our Alternative Funding Expert GPT

Get Free Access to our AI Credit Risk Tool

Create an account to Get Free Access to our Secretary of State AI Tool

Subscribe on our YouTube Channel here

See us on LinkedIn