Affiniti, a fintech company reimagining how credit works for small businesses, has announced a $17 million Series A round led by SignalFire, with participation from Contrarian Thinking Capital, Yahya Mokhtarzada, Austin Rief, Indicator Ventures, LightShed Ventures, and RiverPark Ventures.

The raise marks a pivotal moment for the startup, which is building industry-specific credit card solutions to empower America’s underserved small business sectors  -  from local gyms to dental clinics, trucking fleets to franchise operators.

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Rethinking Credit Access for the Backbone of the Economy

While big banks and generic fintechs continue offering one-size-fits-all solutions, Affiniti is flipping the model. Instead of trying to get small businesses to adapt to traditional credit systems, it’s tailoring credit to fit the unique financial rhythms and purchase behaviors of different industries.

Their secret sauce? Affinity-driven underwriting.

By collaborating directly with industry groups, associations, and vertical SaaS platforms, Affiniti can underwrite risk based on non-traditional signals like customer retention rates, recurring service contracts, or payment velocity  -  not just personal credit scores and outdated FICO models.

This model unlocks access to credit for tens of thousands of businesses that banks overlook, even though many have strong cash flow, loyal customers, and a proven business model.

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A Wave of Fintech Verticalization

The broader shift is clear: fintech is moving from generalist platforms to vertical-specific infrastructure.

Just as Toast redefined point-of-sale systems for restaurants and Vetcove did for veterinary clinics, Affiniti is doing the same for credit cards. This verticalization wave isn’t just cosmetic  -  it changes the economics of customer acquisition, risk assessment, and product retention.

And founders are taking note.

“Horizontal solutions work until you hit the wall of customer nuance. That’s where vertical fintech wins  -  by going deeper, not broader,” said Affiniti CEO and co-founder Aaron Bai.

By embedding into affinity groups, trade associations, and software platforms that already serve niche verticals, Affiniti gains instant trust and lowers CAC dramatically. But more importantly, it can build features  -  like vendor-specific cashback rewards or seasonal limit adjustments  -  that feel purpose-built for each business type.

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Why This Round Matters

This Series A isn’t just capital  -  it’s momentum.

Affiniti plans to use the $17M to:

• Expand into more verticals including auto repair, cosmetic clinics, and construction services
  
• Hire aggressively across data science, risk modeling, and embedded finance ops
  
• Scale their embedded credit infrastructure for third-party platforms to offer co-branded cards
  
• Invest in AI-powered underwriting tools and real-time credit analytics dashboards
  

The team is already powering cards across a variety of niche markets, and with this capital, they're positioned to go from card issuer to category-defining infrastructure.

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The Hidden Growth Unlock Most Founders Miss

Here’s something founders building in embedded fintech often miss: Credit isn’t just a product  -  it’s a channel.

For years, companies have obsessed over CAC-to-LTV ratios using traditional SaaS logic. But with embedded credit, the economics change. Offering the right credit product doesn’t just boost margin  -  it increases product stickiness, lowers churn, and drives user engagement.

Founders who understand this start to build fintech-enabled layers into their software not as an afterthought, but as a core growth vector. In Affiniti’s case, verticalized credit cards don't just serve a financial need  -  they become the central tool businesses use to transact, manage spend, and engage with their community.

This shift  -  from product to platform  -  is where enduring fintech businesses are born.

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The Underserved SMB Credit Market Is Massive

Small businesses in the U.S. represent over 99% of all businesses and employ nearly half of the American workforce, yet they face persistent barriers to accessing affordable credit.

According to the Federal Reserve’s 2024 Small Business Credit Survey:

• 37% of small businesses were denied at least part of their requested credit.
  
• Minority-owned businesses were 2x as likely to be denied as white-owned businesses.
  
• Over 60% of small businesses said they relied on personal credit cards or alternative lenders with high fees.
  

What does this mean? A massive market opportunity  -  and a critical gap to fill.

Industry estimates value the U.S. SMB credit market at $1.4 trillion, yet much of it remains trapped in outdated underwriting models, misaligned incentives, and clunky bank workflows. Affiniti’s industry-first model is poised to unlock this latent demand by meeting small businesses where they are.

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The Bigger Picture: Infrastructure for Trust

Affiniti isn’t just building credit cards  -  they’re building trust infrastructure.

For vertical platforms serving SMBs (think: scheduling tools, CRM systems, or supply chain software), offering financial products has historically been difficult. Compliance, licensing, fraud, and underwriting risks make it a heavy lift.

Affiniti abstracts all of that complexity and offers modular APIs, allowing these platforms to launch co-branded or white-labeled credit products fast  -  without needing to become a bank. That’s how embedded fintech scales.

And with fintech regulation tightening, the value of a partner who understands compliance, fraud detection, and consumer protection can’t be overstated.

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What’s Next for Affiniti?

With this raise, Affiniti is doubling down on becoming the “Stripe for Affinity Credit.” The goal? To enable any vertical software platform, trade group, or influencer-led business network to launch their own tailored credit solution  -  complete with risk management, rewards design, and back-office support.

This isn’t just a card company. It’s a credit-as-a-service platform for the new generation of vertical business ecosystems.

And with backers like SignalFire and Contrarian Thinking Capital in its corner, Affiniti has the network, capital, and go-to-market muscle to reshape how America’s small businesses finance growth.

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The Rise of Purpose-Built Credit

Affiniti is leading a new chapter in the story of embedded fintech  -  one where credit isn’t generic, but context-aware, tailored, and deeply integrated into the tools small businesses already use.

As fintech continues to fragment and specialize, Affiniti’s vertical-first model positions it not just to win in cards, but to become the financial backbone of underserved industries for years to come.

If you're building for SMBs and not yet thinking about embedded credit, now’s the time to start  -  before your competitors offer a better way to pay.