Becoming an SBFE Member
Membership Benefits
Unlock 20 Years of Small Business Lending Data
Gain insights into small business payment performance with a comprehensive dataset designed to support more accurate and informed credit decisions.
With a single data feed to SBFE, simplify your reporting process across four major credit bureaus. Reduce administrative burdens while gaining broader market access.
Gain insider access to SBFE's annual meeting. Stay ahead of industry trends with expert-led sessions on credit risk innovation and build valuable connections with top-tier industry peers. Elevate your knowledge while expanding your professional network.
Your data is safeguarded by rigorous usage restrictions, ensuring it is used exclusively for SBFE-aligned purposes and never for marketing or targeting.
SBFE Data. Manage Risk. Drive Growth.
Join a trusted, reciprocal data exchange that safeguards your small business data. Open to all U.S. small business lenders, SBFE membership boosts your productivity and provides strong data protection through stringent information security, risk, and governance controls. By contributing to SBFE, you gain access to uniquely powerful risk management products, enhancing your decision-making capabilities.
How the SBFE Model Works
SBFE gathers and protects the largest aggregation of small business payment data in the U.S. and leverages the power of that data to help the small business lending industry build a true and accurate picture of small business credit.
SBFE MEMBERS
As SBFE members, lenders gain access to credit risk decisioning products and services powered by SBFE data, exclusively available through our commercial credit bureau partners.
Credit Bureau Partners
Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions are SBFE's exclusive commercial credit bureau partners. Leveraging SBFE data alongside their resources, they provide SBFE members with credit risk solutions, including commercial credit reports and scores—empowering businesses to make confident, data-driven decisions.
SBFE MEMBERS
Small business lenders and merchant acquirers become members and contribute their customers' commercial credit performance data to SBFE.
SBFE
SBFE normalizes data received from members and governs both contribution quality and compliance.
SBFE MEMBERS
Small business lenders and merchant acquirers become members and contribute their customers' commercial credit performance data to SBFE.
SBFE
SBFE normalizes data received from members and governs both contribution quality and compliance.
Credit Bureau Partners
Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, Experian, and LexisNexis Risk Solutions are SBFE's exclusive commercial credit bureau partners. Leveraging SBFE data alongside their resources, they provide SBFE members with credit risk solutions, including commercial credit reports and scores—empowering businesses to make confident, data-driven decisions.
SBFE MEMBERS
As SBFE members, lenders gain access to credit risk decisioning products and services powered by SBFE data, exclusively available through our commercial credit bureau partners.
Membership Requirements
Learn what's required to become an SBFE member
To be eligible for SBFE membership, organizations must either originate or process credit for small businesses, own related credit assets, be an SBA-licensed Certified Development Company, or a licensed Business Development Company (BDC). Companies that offer trade credit do not qualify for SBFE membership.
To maintain SBFE membership, you must submit your small business credit payment performance data on a monthly basis and pay annual dues, which are based on the number of accounts you contribute. Only business units that actively submit their portfolio data to SBFE are eligible to access products containing SBFE data.
Contribution Requirements
Format, frequency and minimum data requirments
For optimal efficiency and data quality, SBFE prefers that members submit data in our proprietary SBFE format. However, after consulting with our operations team, other formats may be accepted. All files must be contributed at least once per month to ensure consistent and accurate data reporting.
SBFE requires key business and account information. This includes business name, primary address, and account details such as account identifiers, payment performance, credit limits, balances, past due amounts, and aging. Data must also include information on collateral, charge-offs, and payment ratings. These fields help maintain the accuracy and quality of SBFE's data, supporting better insights and decision-making for all members.
