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ReadersSpeak

Impacts of Goldman-Amazon partnership "This partnership also changes how suppliers access capi-
B randon Spear, president of MSTS, send in a loan. First, through a traditional bank, like their com-
tal. Typically, a business has two options when securing

munity bank. But this is an expensive option for an SMB
the following perspective on the Goldman-
if there are no secured assets. The second option is to le-
Amazon partnership:
Amazon likely has the ability to look at the transaction ac-
"Goldman Sachs' prospective partnership to expand Am- verage receivables, as the injection of cash isn't as costly.
azon's current small and medium-sized business loans tivity on the platform, and Goldman is a banking incum-
indicates that major players in the payment and lending bent that is well-versed in the regulations around lending,
space are looking for new, innovative solutions in an un- making it a great partnership and providing an innovative
derserved market. After all, a lot of the ease and accessibil- solution for SMBs.
ity seen in the B2C sector hasn't quite made it to B2B.
"This is one of those first plays that will shed light on the
"What's significant about the partnership is that market- future of banking. B2B marketplaces continue to gain trac-
places like Amazon have the ability to aggregate transac- tion, as seen with Amazon and Alibaba. In fact, MSTS re-
tion data across their platform, providing a unique per- cently partnered with marketplace builder Arcadier to of-
spective on the economic outlook of companies purchas- fer Net 30 terms for sellers participating in a marketplace
ing on the platform. A classic problem in underwriting is ecosystem. While the Amazon-Goldman Sachs partner-
that you're always looking in the rearview mirror, gath- ship highlights the state of the industry, it likely will not
ering old data and looking at what a company has done be the last partnership of this scale coming to fruition."
historically. The Amazon-Goldman Sachs partnership
disrupts these traditional underwriting processes due to We welcome your thoughts
marketplaces' immediate access to a company's revenue Thank you to Brandon Spear for contributing insider views
streams and overall health without viewing specific bank- to Readers Speak. Do you also have insights to share?
ing information. Send 300 words or fewer to greensheet@greensheet.com. And
please send news for posting to press@greensheet.com.