Amazon taps JPMorgan-backed startup for loans to online sellers

Amazon.com Inc. is partnering with a JPMorgan Chase & Co.-backed startup to provide financing for small online businesses, many of which need immediate capital to replenish depleted holiday inventories.

Slope, a San Francisco-based finance technology firm, will offer pre-screened loans of up to $5 million to merchants that sell on Amazon’s web store, the company announced Tuesday. Amazon gives Slope access to sales data so it can find candidates. Slope often charges about 2.5% on a 60-day loan, which translates to an annualized rate of about 15%.

Tariff-related uncertainty made many small businesses skittish about placing large orders heading into the holidays, Slope co-founder Alice Deng said. But consumers have been spending, with Adobe Inc. projecting that US online sales in November and December will grow 5.3% this year to top $253 billion. That’s left small businesses scrambling for short-term loans to replenish stock in the final days before Christmas, pushing loan demand deeper into the season than previous years, she said.

Passaic, New Jersey, businessman Zisha Katz, who sells electronics and other products on Amazon, recently borrowed $100,000 from Slope, which he must pay off in 60 days plus 2.65%. The terms appealed to Katz because he’d otherwise replenish his inventory with a credit card at higher rates and he didn’t have time to secure a lower-interest bank loan. Slope can approve loans in minutes with funds available the next day.

“I ran out of stock of certain items and I had to pay vendors to get more,” said Katz, who has been selling products on Amazon for more than a decade. “If you’re about to pay a vendor with a credit card, this is a much better option.”

JPMorgan last year led a $65 million funding round for Slope, which has raised about $250 million in debt and equity since it debuted in 2021. Slope has been offering loans on Amazon in a beta test over the past few weeks and is now rolling out the program more broadly. The company was among other lending startups to report a surge in tariff-related demand earlier this year.

Independent merchants sell about 60% of the products on Amazon, giving the online retailer a financial interest in helping them maintain adequate stock through peak selling periods. The company previously offered loans to sellers itself, but discontinued the program last year in favor of partnering with other lenders.