• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 15, 2015

Lending Club, the peer-to-peer network connecting borrowers with lenders, has formed a funding pilot program with Google to support eligible Google partners. The loans will support Google's reseller partners in the United States, per the agreement announced Thursday.

The network of partners includes Google for Work, which has built a network of more than 10,000 partners in recent years, including resellers, consultants and system integrators. They help Google distribute its applications and services.

The company recently launched a new incentive program for partners, boosting the rewards for top performers. The partnership is part of an expanding incentive program.

The pilot program allows eligible Google reseller partners in the U.S. to obtain two-year loans of up to $600,000 to invest in growth initiatives. Lending Club lets qualified buyers borrow up to $35,000, or $50,000. The deal with Google puts the lending amount much higher. The loans are interest-only in the first year before switching to an amortized loan in year two, which means the loan is repaid in equal payments according to a preset schedule.

The program leverages Lending Club's ability to provide access to credit and service the loads, while Google will purchase the loans, investing in own capital in its partner network to drive business growth.

Google made a $125 million equity stake investment in Lending Club in 2013. At the time, the company has funneled about $1.5 billion in loans since its inception in 2007.

Services remain a growing part of the way Google supports its resellers.

The company recently formed a partnership with the insurance comparison shopping site CompareNow.com, which operates like the Kayak travel site, but for auto insurance. The move follows the company's entrance into the U.K. insurance market. Google Compare U.K. rolled out in 2012, per a Forrester Research analyst. The United States will see a U.S. counterpart soon.