Under this agreement, Visa will partner with Uplinq by introducing them to key financial institutions to deliver Uplinq’s breakthrough API technology, that can help lenders mitigate risk while expanding access to fair credit to small business owners throughout the U.S. and Canada.

“Having fast access to working capital is important for businesses of all sizes, but especially vital to small businesses who serve as the backbone of our global economy,” said Matt Baker, Head of Small Business, Visa Commercial Solutions. “Through this strategic collaboration, we look forward to introducing Uplinq’s advanced credit decisioning technology to our financial institution clients across the U.S. and Canada to ultimately help more small businesses in both countries.”

Uplinq helps small business lenders look beyond traditional company financials and credit scores in order to better understand the entire ecosystem of a business before making a lending decision. Through its cutting-edge technology platform, Uplinq leverages billions of alternative data sets spanning more than 150 countries, incorporating factors like market, community, and environmental conditions into the credit assessment and loan adjudication process. Already, Uplinq’s technology has served as a foundation for more than $1.4 trillion in underwritten loans worldwide.

“We are thrilled to be working with an industry leader like Visa as we advance our efforts to help more small businesses secure the financing they need to succeed in today’s challenging lending climate,” said Ron Benegbi, CEO and founder of Uplinq. “This engagement is a testament to the promise of our technology in bridging the vast and persistent gaps that small businesses still grapple with when trying to access fair credit, especially as related to minority and all protected class segments.”