Staffing cuts and tighter underwriting standards have reportedly made it more difficult for entrepreneurs to get help from the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA’s staffing level, which had surged to nearly 10,000 during the pandemic before falling to 6,000 by the end of the...
Keep has emerged from stealth mode and announced it raised 108 million Canadian dollars (about $78 million) to support the development of its financial platform for Canada’s small businesses. This small business banking platform includes solutions designed to meet the requirements of Canadian tax systems,...
Social media’s reach has brought influencers, tweets and videos to mobile devices, changing the face of commerce and the ways businesses, particularly small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), can drive sales. PYMNTS Intelligence’s “Global Digital Shopping Index: SMB Edition,” commissioned by Visa Acceptance Solutions, found that...
Many lenders appear to be significantly underestimating the burgeoning opportunity presented by embedded lending, potentially ceding market share and bottom-line growth. According to a recent report, “Embedded Lending: From the Lender’s Perspective,” commissioned by Visa and produced by PYMNTS, embedded lending involves integrating credit tools...
Optimism among small businesses in the United States continues to fade, thanks partly to tariffs. The April installment of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) optimism index, released Tuesday (May 13), found that sentiment among small businesses declined for the fourth straight month. “Uncertainty...
Beyond the earnings season focus on consumer spending and consumer lending, the recent quarterly results from the likes of Block, Shopify and PayPal show that merchants are utilizing those same platforms to access capital in an uncertain environment in order to buy inventory and cover...
American small businesses are reportedly taking some extreme actions to survive tariffs on China-made goods. As The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Sunday (May 11), these measures range from business owners cashing in money market funds to companies cutting their staff by half. Many are...
In the evolving world of FinTech, where algorithm-driven underwriting and alternative data are becoming the norm, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are constantly seeking for new ways to access working capital. Increasingly, they are finding them. It couldn’t be happening at a better time. One...
The rise of embedded payments is helping to change the business models of legal and financial services companies, accounting firms, nonprofits and logistics operators, to name just a few verticals. For the payments processors serving those firms — and partnering with independent software vendors (ISVs)...