Dublin-based Wayflyer, which finances e-commerce startups in exchange for future revenue, raised $1B from Neuberger Berman via an “off-balance sheet program”
Context & Ripple Effects
Wayflyer had previously raised a $150M Series B to expand its data-led merchant financing model. This new capital program shifts the story from venture backing for the company itself toward larger-scale funding for the financing it provides.
The development matters because access to dedicated capital can determine how broadly a revenue-based financier can serve e-commerce merchants, beyond what its corporate balance sheet alone supports.
First-order effects
- Wayflyer gains $1B of financing capacity through Neuberger Berman’s off-balance-sheet program, supporting its ability to fund e-commerce startups against future revenue.
- Neuberger Berman becomes a capital provider to Wayflyer’s financing activity rather than simply an equity backer, tying its exposure to the program’s underlying merchant advances.
Second-order effects
- Wayflyer can compete more aggressively for merchants seeking non-dilutive growth funding, increasing pressure on other revenue-based finance providers to secure comparable funding sources.
- The program places greater importance on Wayflyer’s data and underwriting: larger deployment capacity makes merchant selection and repayment performance more consequential.
Third-order effects
- If replicated, the model would further separate fintechs’ software and underwriting operations from the institutional capital that funds customer advances, making scalable funding partnerships a core competitive asset.
- E-commerce financing could become more shaped by institutional investors’ appetite for revenue-linked exposure, with availability likely varying alongside perceived merchant risk.
The trend: This is part of the broader institutionalization of fintech lending, in which specialist platforms pair proprietary underwriting with third-party capital rather than relying solely on equity funding.