Lovey Integrates Funding Circle’s API to Increase Customer Efficiency

WHY THIS MATTERS

Access to capital remains the single biggest hurdle for UK growth, with traditional banks increasingly retreating from the small business sector. According to Lovey’s 2026 SME Finance Outlook, a staggering 81% of SMEs missed growth opportunities last year due to a lack of funding. This partnership matters because it replaces slow, manual application processes with direct API connectivity, allowing businesses to secure decisions in real time rather than waiting days for a bank to review a file.

The economic stakes are massive. New data from Oxford Economics shows that alternative lenders like Funding Circle contributed £7.9 billion to the UK GDP in 2025 alone, sustaining 117,000 jobs. By integrating this institutional-grade lending infrastructure directly into Lovey’s platform, the two firms are effectively shortening the distance between a business opportunity and the capital needed to seize it. For an SME sector that expects to seek significant external funding in 2026, this level of technical integration is no longer a luxury, it is a vital economic engine.

Lovey (formerly Love Finance), one of the UK’s fastest-growing SME lender and broker, has today announced its integration with Funding Circle, the UK’s leading SME finance platform, to create significantly faster application journeys for customers. Funding Circle’s API will be integrated directly into Lovey’s platform to create a more seamless experience and reduce friction through direct API connectivity. 

Small businesses drive Britain forward. They underpin our economy and their ability to drive UK growth is dependent on their access to capital. As traditional high-street banks continue to restrict access to capital, a widening ‘SME finance gap’ threatens to stifle the UK’s economic recovery. According to Lovey’s 2026 SME Finance Outlook, 81% of SMEs missed growth opportunities in 2025 due to a lack of access to finance, while 71% expect to seek external funding in 2026. Faster, more reliable decisioning is becoming essential for businesses looking to act on opportunities in real time. 

New research published by Oxford Economics and Funding Circle reveals that fintechs and alternative lenders are stepping into this void with record-breaking impact. In 2025, Funding Circle’s £3 billion of active loans under management generated a massive £7.9 billion contribution to the UK economy. Beyond GDP, the economic activity unlocked by Funding Circle sustained 117,000 jobs across the country and generated £2.2 billion in tax revenues for the UK Exchequer – equivalent to the annual salaries of roughly 58,000 nurses. 

Funding Circle’s API is a great foundation to Lovey’s lending ecosystem and reflects the quality bar that is set for external integrations. Lovey will now be connected to the leading SME finance platform in the market, helping to deliver a smoother, more reliable journey from application through to lender engagement. 

In practice, the API will ensure eligible SME cases are moved forward quickly and consistently, reducing manual handoffs and creating a more seamless experience for both customers and internal teams. Its maturity, reliability, and partner-ready design make it an ideal integration for scaling modern SME lending operations, while also creating space for continued innovation in how we design and deliver funding journeys. 

Alex O’Malley, Chief Commercial Officer, at Lovey comments: 

“This partnership with Funding Circle reinforces a shared mission: using technology and innovation to improve speed, increase scale, and deliver better outcomes for SMEs by helping more businesses access funding with less friction and greater confidence.” 

Rachael Raymond, Head of Broker at Funding Circle said:

“We are thrilled to launch this API partnership with Lovey and to further support their impressive growth journey. For Funding Circle, our strategic focus is firmly rooted in leveraging technology and automation to streamline lending and deliver a superior experience for our brokers and borrowers. This integration perfectly exemplifies that focus, allowing us to double down on our core mission of helping UK businesses access the funding they need to win.” 

This announcement follows on from Lovey’s iwoca API integration making the company one of the few brokers with both Funding Circle and iwoca API integrations. The combination of these API’s highlights Lovey’s mission to make lending fast and simple to improve the SME experience.

FF NEWS TAKE

The integration of Funding Circle’s API into the Lovey ecosystem signals a broader shift toward a more unified, “invisible” lending experience for UK businesses. Lovey is positioning itself as a high-velocity aggregator, being one of the few brokers to now hold deep API integrations with both Funding Circle and iwoca. This move reflects a reality where the quality of a lender is now measured as much by its “partner-ready” technical maturity as by its interest rates.

However, the “SME finance gap” remains a formidable challenge that technology alone cannot fully solve. While slashing manual handoffs and speeding up journeys will undoubtedly help more firms “get to yes,” the broader economic recovery still depends on sustainable credit appetites and borrower confidence in a volatile market. Overall, this collaboration is a sophisticated step forward in the professionalization of the broker-lender relationship, proving that in the 2026 credit landscape, speed is the ultimate competitive advantage.