Gustav Reyes, owner of Chicago-based Simply Wood Rings, is an artist who found a way to turn his passion into a successful business. He started selling his handcrafted wooden wedding rings through his website in 2005, and has processed payments with PayPal from the beginning. While his business grew steadily over the years, his sales began to drop in 2014.
To secure funding to update his website, he turned to PayPal Working Capital, knowing from past experience how hard it is to get a loan.
[Related: PayPal Offers Small Business Loans Up To $60,000]
“PayPal knew I generated the revenue and our business was viable. Traditional banks just didn’t see that,†he said, according to PayPal‘s website. Not to mention the paperwork for applying for a loan is daunting.
PayPal CEO Dan Schulman recently announced that PayPal Working Capital has provided more than $1 billion in funding in the U.S., UK, and Australia to help more than
60,000 small business owners like Gustav grow their businesses and realize their dreams.  “Since late 2013 we’ve been providing access to working capital to small businesses through PayPal Working Capital.  PayPal is now lending $100 million per month to businesses.”PayPal loans have proven to be beneficial to small business owners who have had trouble being approved for loans by traditional commercial banks. Because the program uses a company’s total sales and history using PayPal’s payment system, there is no credit check or extensive documentation required. According Schulman, “daily issuance now exceeds $3 million; we’ve more than tripled the pace from a year ago. More than 60,000 unique merchants have used this program to date — an increase of 150% year over year.â€
[Related Story: 7 Sources of Alternative Capital For Entrepreneurs]
When PayPal Working Capital customers were asked to rate how likely they would be to recommend the PPWC program to others (on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest), between 85-90% responded with a 9 or 10.
Financing continues to be a stumbling block for entrepreneurs, particularly African American owned businesses, with uncertain income and nonexistent or blemished credit. However, increasingly, alternative sources of startup financing and working capital like PayPal Working Capital’s loan program are out there for business owners in need of investing in inventory, facilities, and staff to establish a solid market presence and generate a profitable revenue stream.