The Peak Daily 📈 No more side quests — Shopify wants to lend you money, OpenAI shuts down side quests
Mar 18, 2026
A look at how a major e-commerce platform is becoming a lender by using merchant data to offer invite-only loans. A deep dive into AI labs shifting focus to selling tools to businesses and the race between Anthropic and OpenAI for enterprise dominance. Discussion of how enterprise AI pushes could reshape white-collar work. Brief news bites on international conflict fallout and a retail labeling fine.
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Shopify Turned Merchant Data Into A $1.8B Lender
- Shopify is building a $1.8B lending arm that uses merchant data to preemptively offer invite-only loans.
- Loans charge high fees and short terms (example: ~$13,000 fee on a $100,000 loan) and Shopify took in $250M in interest last year.
Data Gives Shopify A Unique Credit Edge
- Shopify leverages transaction and platform data to predict merchant creditworthiness without traditional credit checks.
- That data edge lets it offer invite-only funding repaid as a slice of daily sales, and the company reports no major loan losses so far.
Consider Platform Loans But Read The Fine Print
- Small e-commerce businesses that struggle to get bank credit can consider platform lending as a practical alternative.
- Study repayment terms and fees carefully since Shopify loans have short terms and relatively high charges compared with traditional loans.