$484 Billion Bill to Expand Small Business Aid: What It Means to You

The ongoing pandemic has forced the U.S. government to look for increasing methods to get money into the hands of business owners. This week, the Senate passed a $484 billion bill to expand the Paycheck Protection Program and shore up other needs. The move replenishes the small business loan program that ran out of funds the previous week.

Why More Was Necessary So Soon

The initial Paycheck Protection Program was designed to help companies with under 500 workers to obtain the funds they needed to maintain operations, pay employees, and meet other demands. Yet, the funds ran out within just two weeks, leaving many small business owners without reach. In only 13 days, the funds were gone, even though the deadline to apply was June 30. For many small business owners who didn’t apply quickly enough or did not get approval fast enough, it seemed like they were out of luck. However, the federal government was quick to move to create a second round of funding to meet this demand.

How did this bill run out of money so quickly? A key cause of this was the number of larger companies that found ways to access those funds. While President Trump and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for those large companies to return funds, the depletion forced the Senate to take another look at additional funding needs.

The new bill increases funding to the Paycheck Protection Program by some $310 billion. While it still needs House approval, many anticipate this bipartisan move will go through quickly, helping to get money into the hands of the right business owners.

In the first round of approvals, 1.6 million companies received funds, with an average payout of $206,000 each. Nearly 5,000 lenders participated in that funding round. The Small Business Administration stated this is about the equivalent to 14 years’ worth of loans being paid out from the organization.

Lenders: Automate the Paperwork to Get Loans Out Fast

With the new rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program funds, lenders need to be ready to quickly deliver funds to their borrowers. Microbilt Small Business can help. Use our solution to automate the process, reducing the delays, and getting funds out sooner. We can independently gather and verify key data to allow your business to automate the process. This is done in real-time, ensuring you can have key data in hand right away to make key lending decisions.

Allow us to validate payroll reports, bank account statements, and business organization data. We provide full application data verification and minimize fraud risks as a result. This safe and secure solution is available to you to use right now.

Lenders who plan to offer these loans to their clients need to be ready to move. There is no doubt these funds will be just as much in demand as the first round. Some lenders have moved to take applications early in anticipation of the approval of the funds making sure to promise no guarantees. Microbilt Small Business has the technology in place to facilitate this fast, real-time automated process to allow lenders to move quickly to meet the demands of their clients.