INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fintech companies have been lobbying for weeks to be able to participate in the U.S
government emergency lending program for small businesses
Now those efforts have paid off, as PayPal, Intuit and Square have all been approved to participate in the U.S
Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program, which provides aid in the form of forgivable loans for small businesses
that keep all employees on their payroll for at least eight weeks.
The $350 billion small business loan program is a part of Congress $2
trillion coronavirus stimulus package, and is aimed at those businesses with fewer than 500 employees.
PayPal on Friday announced it had
been approved as one of the first non-bank institutions able to help distribute the loans under the SBA program, after having received its
approval to participate in the program.
The company has already operated as a small business lender before today, it noted
Since 2013, PayPal has provided loans and cash advances to business owners
Those efforts, to date, have provided access to more than $15 billion in funding for over 305,000 small businesses.
&We are eager to deploy
our capital and expertise to do our part in helping small businesses survive this challenging period,& said PayPal President and CEODan
Schulman, in astatement.&The first loans have been applied for and issued
We expect more loans to be issued in the coming days
Thanks to Congressional leaders and the Administration for ensuring the CARES Act allowed companies like PayPal to help distribute funds
quickly to those businesses that are most impacted,& he added.
Meanwhile, Intuit on Monday detailed several of its new programs launched in
response to the COVID-19 crisis and the resulting governmental aid programs
It debuted the latest of these efforts with the launch of Intuit Aid Assist, a free website designed to help small business owners and
self-employed assess how much federal relief they&re eligible for under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act,
administered by the SBA.
And like PayPal, Intuit QuickBooks Capital on Friday received approval as a non-bank lender for the SBA Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP).With QuickBooks Capital, small business owners are able to get assistance with determining their eligibility for
The software simplifies the application process using automation, as well
In coordination with the SBA, it then disburses the PPP funds, making it faster to gain access to the relief.
&Many consumers and small
businesses are struggling to make ends meet and provide for their families
They are facing a loss of income and a lack of savings to weather the storm,& said Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi
government has stepped in with much-needed relief and we&re partnering closely to help
We applied our artificial intelligence and rapid innovation capabilities to help Americans navigate these offerings and get access to the
relief they need quickly,& Goodarzi said.
Intuit had also recently launched Stimulus Registration, a new service from Turbo Tax aimed at
helping consumers register to receive their stimulus checks from the government
In less than two weeks& time, Intuit says more than 165,000 Americans used the service to register for more than $230 million in federal
stimulus money.
Square Capital on Monday joined PayPal and Intuit with its announcement of having received SBA approval as a PPP lender
The company said it would start rolling out its PPP loan applications this week, working in partnership with Celtic Bank.
1/4 Square
Treasury and SBA approval to be a PPP lender, and we will start rolling out our PPP loan applications this week
We continue to work with our partner Celtic Bank as they have existing expertise as a leading SBA lender.
— Jackie Reses (@jackiereses)
April 13, 2020
Square Capital said it would notify sellers through Square Dashboard when their application is available, starting with
employers whose application data can be verified automatically.
Online lenders and fintech companies have been lobbying to become
authorized SBA lenders over the past few weeks.
On Thursday, the U.S
Treasury responded by publishing a form that would allow fintech companies to apply for approval to the SBA lending program
But the lack of approval hadn&t stopped some online fintech firms from soliciting applications from those seeking relief, NBC News recently
Kabbage, for example, initially failed to note on its website it wasn&t yet an approved lender, the report said.
An alliance of fintech
technology leaders known as Financial Innovation Now in March had written a letter to lawmakers that asked to participate alongside banks in
the distribution of funds to small businesses
The alliance — which includes Square, PayPal, Intuit, Stripe and others — argued they had &the reach, relationships, and digital
capabilities to reach those businesses most vulnerable& in a more timely fashion than traditional financial institutions.
