Amazon to provide short term lending

In yet another move by Amazon to start diversifying its services, the tech giant has decided to start offering forms of short term lending to merchants, Investor's Business Daily reported. The company has made the move in order to entice other corporations to visit its website and create even more demand for its online marketplace. Amazon said lending will help cash-strapped small businesses that are looking to offer a greater number of goods. The company also claimed that there is a disparity between customer demand and business revenue, creating a shortage of supply that is directly hurting online marketplaces. The move is part of a larger trend in the United States to make short term lending more accessible. Short term and auto-title loans have become more popular in recent years and the competition and legislation have resulted in very attractive forms of lending. Amazon simply wants to tap into the same demand, particularly before the Christmas rush. By providing some much needed funds for small businesses on the condition they sell goods online, there will be a greater diversity of products on Amazon.com, drawing in more customers and self-propelling the corporation.