YouLend, the leading global embedded financing platform, has partnered with Teya, the financial services provider supporting local businesses across Europe, to expand its credit offering and simplify access to flexible funding for Teya's growing community of more than 30,000 members in the UK, ahead of further launches into Teya's other European markets in 2026.
The partnership introduces Teya Cash Advance, powered by YouLend, a simple funding solution that makes it easy for merchants to apply for, accept, and renew funding. This collaboration represents a significant expansion of Teya's value proposition to its merchant community, providing access to working capital that was previously difficult or expensive for many small and local businesses to obtain through traditional banking channels.
Through this partnership, Teya will offer a streamlined capital solution to more merchants across its network. Eligible merchants can access between £1,000 and £2 million directly through the Teya app or portal, with pre-approved offers generated from anonymised payment data. The seamless application and approval process enables merchants to receive funding in as little as 24 hours, dramatically reducing the time and complexity typically associated with business financing.
Repayments are automatically linked to each merchant's card machine sales, so businesses only repay when they earn revenue. This revenue-based repayment structure helps merchants manage cash flow more easily and grow at their own pace, without the pressure of fixed monthly payments that can strain businesses during slower periods. The flexible repayment model aligns the cost of capital with business performance, making it particularly suitable for businesses with seasonal or variable revenue patterns.
Teya selected YouLend for its scalable, multi-market funding platform and its proven track record of supporting over 370,000 businesses globally with a repeat financing rate exceeding 85%. YouLend's high repeat rate demonstrates strong merchant satisfaction and the effectiveness of its embedded financing model, which integrates capital access directly into the platforms and tools that businesses use daily.
Dan Sinclair-Taylor, Country Head UK and ROI at YouLend, emphasized the strategic fit between the two companies: "Teya was looking for a partner that truly understands the needs of their merchants and sales partners. Our platform helps them reach more eligible merchants, bolster conversion, and deliver a funding experience that feels as intuitive as the rest of Teya's platform."
Sinclair-Taylor highlighted YouLend's ability to integrate seamlessly with partner platforms, noting that the embedded financing solution can be implemented quickly and requires minimal technical resources from partners. This ease of integration has been a key factor in YouLend's rapid growth and its ability to partner with leading technology platforms, payment service providers, and marketplaces across multiple markets.
Sahithya Vemana, Head of Banking at Teya, explained the strategic rationale for the partnership: "Everything we do at Teya is to help make the financial lives of small and local businesses easier so they can focus on serving their communities. That's why we partnered with YouLend. By offering merchants a flexible funding solution that is fair, transparent, and includes features built for their needs, like repayments linked directly to card machine sales, they no longer have to worry about access to finance and can instead focus on what they do best."
Vemana emphasized that the partnership aligns with Teya's broader mission to provide comprehensive financial services to local businesses, going beyond payment processing to address the full range of financial needs that merchants face. Access to working capital has been identified as one of the most significant challenges for small businesses, particularly in the current economic environment where traditional bank lending remains constrained for many smaller enterprises.
The partnership has launched in the UK and will expand across Europe in the coming months, with rollouts planned for Teya's other key markets throughout 2026. Together, YouLend and Teya are working to close the funding gap for small and local businesses and extend funding to as many eligible merchants as possible, addressing a critical need in the small business ecosystem.
The collaboration comes at a time when YouLend has reached significant scale, having funded more than 370,000 businesses worldwide. Since 2022, YouLend has grown revenue at an average annual rate of around 60%, reaching $230 million in FY24/25, while maintaining profitability with $12 million in profit. Credit losses remained stable as the business grew, supported by disciplined investment in data, technology, and credit risk decisioning.
To support continued European expansion, YouLend officially opened a new office in Berlin in January 2026, strengthening local coverage and partner support across key markets. This physical presence in Germany reflects YouLend's commitment to the European market and its strategy of building strong local relationships with partners and regulatory authorities.
For Teya's merchant community, the partnership provides several key benefits beyond simple access to capital. The integration of financing directly into the Teya platform means merchants can access funding without leaving the familiar environment they use to manage their business operations. Pre-approved offers based on payment data eliminate the need for extensive documentation and lengthy application processes, while the revenue-based repayment structure provides flexibility that traditional term loans cannot match.
The partnership also reflects broader trends in the embedded finance market, where financial services are increasingly being integrated directly into the platforms and tools that businesses use daily. Rather than requiring businesses to seek out separate financial institutions for different services, embedded finance enables platform providers like Teya to offer comprehensive solutions that address multiple business needs through a single interface.
For YouLend, the Teya partnership represents another validation of its embedded financing model and its ability to scale across different types of partners and markets. The company's technology platform is designed to integrate with various partner systems and can be customized to meet specific partner requirements while maintaining the core benefits of fast approval, flexible repayment, and high approval rates.
The high repeat financing rate of over 85% that YouLend has achieved demonstrates that merchants find value in the product and return for additional funding as their businesses grow. This repeat usage is critical for both YouLend and its partners, as it indicates strong product-market fit and creates a sustainable revenue stream that grows with the merchant base.
Looking ahead, the expansion of the Teya-YouLend partnership across Europe will provide valuable insights into how embedded financing performs across different markets with varying regulatory environments, business cultures, and competitive dynamics. The success of the UK launch will inform the rollout strategy for other European markets, with adaptations made to address local market conditions and merchant preferences.
The partnership also positions both companies to benefit from the continued growth of the embedded finance market, which is expected to expand significantly over the coming years as more businesses seek integrated financial services and more platforms recognize the value of offering comprehensive solutions to their users. By establishing a strong position in the merchant financing segment, Teya and YouLend are well-positioned to capture a significant share of this growing market.
For the broader fintech ecosystem, the Teya-YouLend partnership demonstrates the power of collaboration between complementary service providers. Rather than attempting to build all capabilities in-house, platforms like Teya can partner with specialized providers like YouLend to quickly offer sophisticated financial products that would take years and significant capital to develop independently. This partnership model enables faster innovation and better serves the needs of small businesses that require comprehensive financial solutions.