Altbanq
“Can a direct alternative lender bundle merchant acquiring with capital to lock in SMB borrowers and lower customer acquisition cost?”
HQUnited States
IndustryFintech / Lending
The story
Altbanq (formerly SOS Capital) is a US-based alternative small business lender with nearly a decade of operating history. It rebranded in 2024 to altbanq to reflect an expansion from pure term lending into payment processing — bundling merchant acquiring with capital access, including a zero-interest loan promotion when merchants switch to altbanq Payments. It operates as a direct lender under a California Financing Law License, not as a chartered bank, despite the 'banq' branding.
Product timeline
2024
Rebranded from SOS Capital to altbanq, expanding offerings to include payment processing· pivot
Regulated entities
1
regulatory licence held by Altbanq
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
1 layer disclosed in Altbanq’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
altbanq Payments (self-operated)
Accounting gap: significant