NEW YORK & WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – Biz2Credit, a leading fintech company and parent company of an SBA-approved Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan processor, has welcomed the reforms to the PPP that the Biden Harris Administration announced on Monday, February 22nd, 2021, it should be implemented soon.

Biz2Credit’s financing subsidiary is reportedly the largest provider of approved PPP loans data published by the SBA As of February 21, 2021. The company has risen to the top of the PPP provider ranking with 139,559 SBA-approved PPP loans, serving the smallest businesses, especially self-employed and minority and women-owned businesses, at over 98 % of approved loan applications come from companies with fewer than 20 employees.

“The improved access to capital we are providing to the hardest-hit and underserved small businesses is clear evidence of the importance of digital lending,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit. “The fact that we have received almost twice as many approvals as compared to the two largest banks in the country shows that a digital platform is the best strategy for serving a wide range of small business customers, especially for such a much-needed program like the PPP. “

Biz2Credit is now proud to announce that it is supporting the Biden Harris government’s efforts to increase the flow of capital to these tiny businesses. In detail, the administration will:

1. Institute for 14 days from Wednesday, February 24th, where only companies with fewer than 20 employees can apply for a PPP relief. About 98% of small businesses have fewer than 20 employees and are Main Street businesses that anchor neighborhoods and create jobs.
2. Help sole proprietorships, independent contractors, and the self-employed get more financial assistance. Firms like home improvement, beauticians, and small independent retailers make up a clear majority of all businesses. Among them, 70% of companies without employees are owned by women and people of color. However, many have been structurally excluded from the PPP due to the way the credits are calculated. To address this issue, the government will allocate $ 1 billion to low and middle-income areas (LMI) without employees and revise the credit calculation formula for these applicants to provide more relief.
3. Eliminate a restriction preventing small business owners with previous non-fraud convictions from getting PPP funding. Currently, a business is ineligible if at least 20% owned by someone who has either: (1) been arrested or convicted of a grant fraud crime in the past five years; or (2) any other crime within the previous year. To expand access to PPP, the administration will adopt bipartisan reforms included in the Second Chance PPP Act that would remove the second limitation (the year-long review), unless the applicant or owner is detained at the time of the application.
4. Eliminate an exclusion restriction preventing small business owners who are behind on their federal student loans from getting PPP relief. Currently, the PPP is not available to any company that is at least 20% owned by an individual who is currently defaulting or has defaulted on a federal debt, including a student loan, within the last seven years. Millions of Americans are behind on student loans, including a disproportionate number of black borrowers. Working with the Treasury Department and the Department of Education, the SBA will lift restrictions on student loan defaults to expand access to the PPP.
5. Ensure access for non-citizenship small business owners legally resident in the United States by allowing them to use individual tax identification numbers (ITINs) to apply for PPP funding. All legitimate US citizens can access the PPP, but access for ITIN holders, such as green card holders or people residing in the US on a visa, has been inconsistent. The SBA will address this by issuing clear guidelines in the coming days that otherwise eligible applicants cannot be denied access to the PPP for using ITINs to pay their taxes.

“Companies with fewer than 20 employees often have more trouble collecting and submitting the required documents and getting relief from a lender than larger companies. It’s a bit tricky and just one mistake in submitting forms can significantly delay funding, ”added Arora, whose SBA-approved subsidiary has processed more PPP loans than any other lender.

“The 14-day exclusive application period will allow lenders to focus on serving these smallest businesses, which is an ongoing commitment from Biz2Credit throughout this process,” said Arora. “A lot of these really small businesses are women-owned and minority-owned. They are the backbone of the local economy. “

Since PPP reopened in January, 98% of Biz2Credit’s approvals have gone to companies with fewer than 20 employees. Sole proprietorships, independent contractors and eligible self-employed account for 72.5% of the permits, more than 100,000 in total, the SBA published on February 22nd.

Additionally, the Biden-Harris government announced its ongoing commitment to improving the PPP application process to ensure accountability by:

• Combating waste, fraud and abuse in all federal programs. Unlike the previous round of PPP, approval of loan guarantees is now conditional on passing SBA’s fraud checks, Treasury Department’s Do Not Pay database and public records. The SBA is now also carrying out manual credit checks for the largest loans in the PPP portfolio and a random sample for other loans.
• Promote transparency and accountability. The SBA is working on improving the PPP loan application to streamline the process. In order to encourage self-reporting of demographic data and to better illustrate the effects of PPP on different population groups, the administration is revising the application.
• Improvement of the digital emergency front door. The SBA is updating key areas of its websites to help more applicants find, understand resources, understand relief options, and complete applications.
• Continue extensive contact with stakeholders to learn more about the challenges and opportunities in implementing current emergency programs. The President has spoken with small business owners for the past few weeks to understand their concerns about the aid programs.
• Improving the current lender engagement model. The SBA is starting a new initiative to deepen its relationships with lenders. This model gives lenders more opportunities to make recommendations and ask questions about the PPP, and to be more efficient at resolving open questions and concerns.

“Small businesses account for 44% of US GDP, create two-thirds of all private sector jobs in the economy, and employ nearly half of America’s workforce. Millions of these small businesses are owned by women, immigrants, African Americans and other people of color, ”said Arora. “Many of them are struggling to make ends meet in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis.”

“At Biz2Credit, we fully support the Biden Harris government’s commitment to providing equitable relief to hard-hit small businesses, which is a top priority,” added Arora. “The latest round of PPP funding provides significant relief to business owners who struggled to secure funding in the first round of the program last year.”

According to the government:

• The share of funds going to small businesses with fewer than ten employees has increased by almost 60%;
• The proportion of funds distributed through Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depositaries has increased by more than 40%; and
• The share of funding going to small businesses in rural areas has increased by almost 30%

Despite these results, many companies remain hampered by SBA validation errors and other anti-fraud measures designed to prevent misuse of taxpayers ’money. Such errors have led to processing delays and in many cases are still unsolved.

“We continue to encourage working with the SBA and lender teams to simplify the application process for business owners and fix those validation errors that continue to prevent many legitimate borrowers from obtaining SBA approval,” said Arora.

Biz2Credit reminds borrowers that due to the very high demand for the PPP as the SBA is making changes this week, processing delays can be expected. Business owners should continue to check their online dashboard for updates when new program rules are released through the Biz2Credit funding platform.

About Biz2Credit
Biz2Credit was founded in 2007 and has arranged more than $ 3 billion in small business finance. The company is expanding its industry-leading technology with bespoke digital platform solutions for banks and other financial institutions, investors and service providers. visit www.biz2credit.com or Twitter @ Biz2Credit, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Contact: John Mooney, Over The Moon PR, (908) 720-6057, [email protected]