Funding Circle approved for US Covid-19 small business package
Funding Circle has been approved for a US scheme to deliver funding to small businesses impacted by Covid-19.
The ‘big three’ peer-to-peer platform’s US division has been approved by the country’s Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US Treasury to originate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that are 100 per cent guaranteed by the SBA.
The Paycheck Protection Program is a $350bn (£279.4) loan program authorised by the latest US economic stimulus package.
The scheme provides small businesses with loans of up to $10m to cover payroll costs, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.
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Last week Funding Circle launched a pre-application system for small business owners interested in funding, to prepare for their application.
“Funding Circle is doing all we can to help small business owners get quick access to vital capital during this historic crisis,” said Bernardo Martinez, managing director of Funding Circle US, said at the time.
“Our pre-application system will enable many small business owners to get the funding they need as soon as fintech lenders are admitted into the program.”
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Funding Circle is a founding member of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition, a network of non-profit and for-profit lenders, investors, and small business advocates that share a commitment to innovation in small business lending.
The platform is also a signatory to the Small Business Borrower Bill of Rights, a cross-sector consensus on the rights that small business owners deserve and what financing providers can do to uphold those rights.
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