Did Amazon Casually Become a Bank While You Weren't Paying Attention?

Watch your back Bank of America (BAC) - Get Report , Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Report could disrupt the lending industry next.

While it's easy to get caught up in the headlines as Amazon received FTC approval to buy Whole Foods Market (WFM) and is already slated to make some pretty exciting changes, the grocery industry shouldn't be the only focus of your Amazon watch list. 

Launched in 2011, Amazon Lending has loaned $3 billion to small businesses since its inception. In the last 12 months alone, Amazon has loaned over $1 billion.

Of the 20,000 small businesses that have taken out a loan from Amazon, 50 percent said they would be willing to take out another. 

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This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.