Small- and medium-sized trucking companies have a big impact on delivering smiles to Amazon’s customers. To help these carriers keep their trucks on the road and grow their businesses, we’re partnering with Lendistry, a community development financial institution. They’ll offer competitive, affordable loans to small- or medium-sized Relay carriers with a revenue-based financing model. This means the amount a carrier pays back each month depends on how much they earn.
Here’s how Relay can get your company one step closer to your financial goals.
How can revenue-based financing help a business?
In the freight industry, revenue ebbs and flows. With revenue-based loans, the amount a carrier repays every month fluctuates, too. Monthly payments are a fixed percentage of monthly revenue, so if revenue is down, payments will be lower as well. Carriers can use the funds to grow or expand their business, or put it to strategic use. Think debt consolidation, working capital, or the purchase of an existing business.
When freight businesses need capital to grow their fleets or maintain their operations, they’re often limited to merchant cash advances. We’re excited to provide them with an innovative and responsible alternative through this partnership.
What’s different about this loan opportunity?
Lendistry’s offer takes a different approach to traditional loans. Traditional loans require a predetermined payment amount. But Lendistry can allow trucking businesses to keep more of their revenue during low-volume months because the payments are based on how much is earned. Eligible carriers referred by Amazon can apply for loans from Lendistry for amounts up to $150,000, with flexible payment terms up to two years. Trucking companies who have been approved for the loan will also have access to financial education webinars and consulting through Lendistry’s partner, The Center by Lendistry.
How is Amazon involved?
We’ll refer small- or medium-sized Relay carriers that consistently book Amazon freight and have a performance grade of C+ and above. You must have been active on Relay for at least a year. Eligible carriers must also have between $100,000-$5,000,000 in revenue year-to-date and made more than $5,000 each month in the past 12 months. Lendistry will take these factors into account when determining a carrier’s creditworthiness, in addition to credit history and other typical factors. Onboarded Relay carriers can learn more about eligibility in the Rewards tab of the Relay portal.
Our company had a couple short-term loans with the highest interest rate, and I requested funds from Lendistry to pay those loans and get cash for operating our company. Lendistry gave me a quick option to cover [my] short-term loan and a friendly process to complete it. We paid our short-term loan and improved our operations with the remaining balance.
What is Lendistry?
Lendistry is a minority-led Community Development Financial Institution, offering loans to support small- and medium-sized businesses. They’re already a friend to the freight industry, having funded over 6,600 trucking businesses with grant and loan capital. Amazon began its relationship with Lendistry through the Amazon Community Lending Program. This new offering is an expansion of our partnership.
Get started
For the opportunity to use this financing, start your Relay application on desktop or our app on iOS or Android. But first, check out Relay’s carrier requirements to make sure hauling for Amazon is the right fit for your business. For more on how Amazon Relay supports small businesses, read about our Supplier Diversity and Inclusion program.
Disclaimer: Amazon does not tender loads through any third-party load boards. Any Amazon loads posted on third-party load boards will only be tendered directly to approved and onboarded carriers via the Relay web portal or Relay mobile app. If you are interested in hauling loads for Amazon, sign up and book directly on relay.amazon.com.
