Eastern Bank in Boston has unveiled Express Business Loan, a product for small businesses.
The $9.6 billion-asset bank claims that applications for the loans can be completed in two minutes or less, or in three minutes for loans that require a Small Business Administration guarantee. The customer's account is funded immediately after the signing of the loan agreement, it said.
The loans are funded by Eastern Labs, a research and development group the bank established in April 2014.
-
Eastern Bank turned to YouTube videos as a way to connect with customers it picked up in a recent acquisition in New Hampshire. It even got a little help from Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.
February 8 -
Eastern Bank in Boston has agreed to buy a health care insurance brokerage firm from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance in Milwaukee.
December 15 -
Most banks that deploy voice authentication require a specific spoken passphrase. Eastern Bank customers can have a normal conversation with call center reps; software in the background compares their voice patterns to a recorded snippet.
June 18
"Small business owners are always moving and they should not be forced to slow down and deal with forms, documentation and long wait times just to secure a loan," Dan O'Malley, the founder of Eastern Labs and Eastern Bank's chief digital officer, said in a press release Monday. "The Express Business Loan updates an outdated process with new tech."
The offering is exclusive to customers of Eastern Bank, which tested the product last spring in 10 branches.
