Square, the crypto payment firm founded by Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, is among the first Bitcoin (BTC)-related companies joining the United States federal emergency lending program.
#Crypto friendly firm #Square joins Paycheck Protection Program https://t.co/GJg57Xbunh — Tonyx (@TonyXhufi) April 14, 2020
It has been reported that the firm has received US Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA) approval to become a lender under the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
However, by obtaining approval, Square is officially authorized to support small businesses by providing them with low-interest loans that can be 100% forgiven if used to cover approved costs.
3/4 We know sellers need financial support now more than ever, and we’re committed to making funding accessible to as many small businesses as possible. — Jackie Reses (@jackiereses) April 13, 2020
On April 13, Jackie Reses, the head of Square, tweeted that the firm will start rolling out their PPP loan applications this week in collaboration with Celtic Bank, their existing SBA lending partner.
1/4 Square Capital has received U.S. Treasury and SBA approval to be a PPP lender, and we will start rolling out our PPP loan applications this week. We continue to work with our partner Celtic Bank as they have existing expertise as a leading SBA lender. — Jackie Reses (@jackiereses) April 13, 2020
Also, Reses said that the firm is committed to expanding funding to as many small businesses as possible.
He added:
“We will notify sellers when their application is available via Square Dashboard, starting with employers whose application data we can verify automatically. We expect to expand access to more small businesses soon.”
As per the report, a number of fintech firms have been lobbying for weeks to be able to participate in the US government’s emergency lending program for small businesses.
Though Steve Mnuchin, the Treasury Secretary, reportedly claimed that nontraditional financial services firms would be accepted to the program, mainstream companies were apparently still prioritized.
However, Square’s entrance to the PPP apparently marks an important milestone for the role of fintechs during the ongoing economic turmoil.
TechCrunch reported that Dorsey’s crypto-friendly app joined the stimulus program alongside PayPal and software giant Intuit.
It has also been analyzed that the news comes after Square’s Cash App introduced routing numbers to enable people who did not file tax returns to accept stimulus checks directly on the app.
Thus, on April 7, Dorsey himself launched a new fund to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by donating 28% of his wealth to the fund.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Quartz