Amazon Germany has partnered with HypoVereinsbank, the German subsidiary of UniCredit, and fintech Banxware to offer credit products directly inside Seller Central. The partnership introduces two financing options: Banxware Sofortfinanzierung, a digital loan of €1,000-€250,000 with payouts within 24 hours, and HVB FlexFinancing, a credit line with limits up to €5 million and decisions within three business days. Both products are fully digital. HVB supplements its offering with a concierge service for ongoing personal advice, no branch visit required.
How it works
Banxware plays a dual role in this partnership. They're both a financing partner offering its own Sofortfinanzierung product and a technology provider enabling HVB to integrate with Amazon. Their orchestration layer acts as the bridge between traditional bank financing and the modern digital interface sellers expect. This is exactly what Jens Roehrborn, Banxware's co-founder, described when I spoke with him for the Embedded Finance Review podcast: banks want embedded lending access but struggle to build their own user experience.
Amazon's lending history in Germany
This announcement is particularly interesting when you consider Amazon's previous lending attempts in Germany. In June 2020, Amazon partnered with ING to offer loans to German sellers. That partnership lasted exactly five years before ING cancelled it, unhappy with the volume it was generating. The problem: the ING product was not truly embedded. Amazon acted as a broker, but sellers were directed to ING's website to complete their applications (EFR). Shortly after ING's departure, Youlend appeared as a financing option. With this HVB/Banxware announcement, Amazon now offers multiple lending providers in Germany, covering different seller segments and risk profiles. This validates what Jens told me in our podcast conversation: no single lender can cover the full spectrum of SME risk, but an orchestration layer that connects multiple funding sources can serve every merchant segment.
Amazon Lending beyond Germany
Amazon has been active in embedded lending across multiple markets. In the UK, Amazon partnered with Youlend in 2023 to launch merchant cash advances and the Flexible Financing Line. In the US, Amazon operated its own direct lending programme for over a decade before ending it in March 2024, shifting towards third-party partnerships similar to the European model.
