Kabbage to launch payment services by the end of 2018

Branching out into payments will help it diversify and compete more directly with industry leaders like PayPal and Square.

The company plans to offer tools that will enable brick-and-mortar businesses to accept card payments in-store and online, President Kathryn Petralia saidin an interview.

“The monoline businesses have a hard time succeeding long term,” Petralia said, adding that Kabbage hopes the move would deepen its relationship with customers.

“We have seen a huge pain point around cash flow management,” she added, citing high monthly fees and lengthy contracts of payment services by other providers.

Launched in 2009, Kabbage is among a group of startups that use digital technologies to lower lending costs and offer credit faster than large banks.