Pacific Northwest credit union iQ has launched a microlending program that lets qualified small businesses in Southwest Washington and the Portland area apply for loans online.
“Most credit unions require business owners to contact a loan officer to begin an application for a small-business loan,” Jeremy Wiersma, VP of business services at iQ, said in a news release Wednesday (Aug. 17). “This brings a new level of convenience and speed of service to businesses seeking loans.”
With the credit union’s application portal, businesses can apply for loans of less than $50,000 without having to come to a branch or meet with a loan officer, which “helps make applying for a business loan just as easy as applying for a consumer loan,” Wiersma said.
While small business loans aren’t new to iQ, the company acknowledged that business owners may not always have the time to visit a branch. More to the point, the CU argues that financial institutions lag when it comes to offering businesses the same convenience they do people seeking consumer loans.
Read more: SMB’s Need for Digital Banking With Human Touch Gives CUs Competitive Edge vs. FinTechs
In an interview with PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in April, NCR President Doug Brown said that catering to small business needs, as well as providing omnichannel offerings, can give CUs an edge over their larger competitors.
“They know more about the customers’ business than any neobank, any alternative bank, any FinTech,” he said.
He used the example of Paycheck Protection Program loans. CUs had to process and take billions of dollars in loans onto their balance sheets, while still offering commercial clients the assistance they needed through things like call centers and interactive sessions.
Read more: Small Business Loan Platform Ranqx Launches in North America
Also Thursday, small- to medium-sized business (SMB) loan origination Ranqx launched operations in North America, saying it will provide businesses with a frictionless application process and lenders a better understanding of applicants.
The New Zealand-based company’s platform gives banks, credit unions (CUs) and lenders a fully digital application process that SMBs can complete in two minutes, and then leverages real-time data to underwrite a loan in under three minutes.
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