LEHI – Utah expense management innovator Divvy on Tuesday embarked on helping small businesses connect to federal stimulus funds and processed some $ 800 million in loan applications over the course of the first five hours of operation only.
While many financial institutions have struggled to bring systems online to process requests for $ 350 billion in emergency funding through the Paycheck Protection Program since the program launched last Friday, Divvy said that it had partnered with a tech-savvy lender and launched a 100% digital portal that aims to optimize speed and efficiency.
The goal, according to Divvy’s co-founder and chief commercial officer Alex Bean, is to help as many businesses as possible that desperately need it amid the economic cataclysm that has accompanied the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The bottom line is we want to see the small and medium businesses that are crucial to us and crucial to Utah get the help they need,” Bean said. “We want to make sure these business owners know what’s going on… and we beat the big banks in terms of speed and software. “
Bean said Divvy is attracting interest from clients who have encountered roadblocks with other financial institutions, some of which still rely on manual document processing to push through requests.
“My brother got a call from his bank and they told him to fill out a form and wait for a call back,” Bean said. “It’s hard to believe, but some banks still try to use a manual process.”
Sterling Snow, senior vice president of revenue at Divvy, said the company’s lending partner for the Paycheck Protection portal is Cross River Bank, a New Jersey-based institution with tech industry backing and support. great mastery of digital transaction processes.
“Cross River Bank has been an incredible partner,” Snow said in a statement. “Since the PPP program is on a first come, first served basis, we knew we would need a banking partner who could process many loans quickly, without applications being blocked.
“And CRB did just that.”
Bean said Divvy has been able to create an interface that easily integrates with Cross River’s digital banking platform and that the institution has $ 3-6 billion in loan margin it can. contract for the paycheck protection program. These loans are backed by the US Small Businesses Administration with funding provided by the $ 2 trillion federal stimulus package passed by Congress in mid-March.
The Paycheck Protection Program offers federally guaranteed loans to qualifying small businesses for amounts up to $ 10 million and may be partially forgivable. The funding available can provide businesses that employ 500 people or less with funds equivalent to 2 1/2 times the company’s average monthly payroll costs.
Snow said that the interface, available at https://www.paydaynow.net/, guides applicants through a process that can be completed in minutes.
“It’s the fastest and easiest solution for PPP applications available today because everything takes place online,” Snow said. “We are seeing clients process their request from start to finish in 15 minutes. “
Divvy’s core business is focused on expense management, credit cards and bill payment functions, all of which stem from an innovative cloud-based platform that was launched around 2 years ago. and half. Since then, Divvy has grown into one of Utah’s fastest growing tech companies. Divvy’s products are free because they charge bank charges on the transactions they negotiate.
