Liberis, an Embedded Finance provider, has launched its Impact Report, showing that access to fast, flexible funding remains one of the biggest challenges facing SMBs.
According to the study, one in five SMBs would have dipped into personal savings to keep operating if timely funding had not been available. The research surveyed more than 1,700 merchants across the UK and US who received funding through Liberis, with 73% reporting a meaningful business impact from accessing capital when they needed it most.
Traditional lenders continue to be a major barrier for many SMBs. Strict eligibility criteria, slow decision-making, and heavy paperwork mean funding often arrives too late to be useful. The research found that 76% of respondents had been rejected by banks or traditional lenders at least once before turning to Embedded Finance. For many businesses, this rejection cycle limits early momentum and long-term resilience.
Embedded Finance is increasingly filling this gap. More than half of UK respondents and nearly two-thirds of US respondents accessed their first-ever funding through Liberis, signalling a structural shift in how SMBs engage with capital.
Timely funding protects jobs and enables growth
The data shows that access to alternative funding directly impacts business survival and employment. Over one-third of UK businesses and more than a quarter of US businesses avoided closure due to timely capital. In practical terms, 42% of funded businesses created or protected at least one job, while 29% preserved or added between two and five roles.
Beyond survival, capital access plays a major role in revenue growth. The broader SMB funding gap continues to create uneven outcomes. Without access to alternative finance, 47% of respondents said they would have missed growth opportunities, 27% would have survived but struggled, and 17% would have turned down large orders due to cash flow constraints.
This challenge is playing out at scale. In the UK alone, there are approximately 5.5 million small businesses, accounting for nearly 60% of private-sector employment. Globally, SMBs represent around 90% of businesses and more than half of all jobs, yet they remain underserved by traditional finance systems. Delays in funding disproportionately affect businesses outside major cities, reinforcing regional inequality and slowing local economic growth.
The research also highlights strong demand for more integrated financial services. Most businesses expect their financial needs to evolve, want personalised funding recommendations, and anticipate needing additional capital in the future. Platforms that embed finance benefit from higher loyalty, with 68% of businesses more likely to stay if additional financial products are offered.
Overall, the findings point to Embedded Finance as a structural solution to the SMB funding gap, enabling faster access to capital, supporting job creation, and unlocking growth that would otherwise be constrained by outdated lending models.
