Paycheck Protection Program

The online lender quickly built an app for ride-share drivers with much of their information already filled in.

In letters to administration officials and large banks, the lawmakers sought details about loan recipients following reports that financial institutions had favored their wealthiest clients.

Borrowers say getting the loans forgiven is just as complicated as obtaining the money; payment companies are holding some merchant funds in reserve as chargebacks spike.

Evidence suggests some minority-owned businesses can’t access loans, and the Trump administration is under pressure to report borrower demographics. The issue is gaining attention against the backdrop of protests over the George Floyd killing.

The lawmakers cited concerns from small businesses that the current application to have coronavirus relief loans forgiven is “especially burdensome, time-consuming, and costly.”

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Uwharrie Capital in North Carolina and Valley National in New York used their community connections to seek out small companies in need of loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. They found plenty of them.

Lenders stock up on masks, Plexiglas barriers and cleaning supplies; lawmakers hope recent fixes will attract more borrowers, but small businesses remain wary after constant changes.

Members of the Small Business Committee signaled backing for broadening Paycheck Protection Program access for the smallest companies, encouraging participation by nonbank lenders and other improvements.

After initially processing the loans manually, the Minnesota bank turned to "low code" software to build the electronic forms and workflows needed to approve loan applications. The result: a more than fivefold increase in the number of loans it could process in a day.