IDEAS
Carver Federal Savings Bank | September 25, 2023
Carver Federal Savings Bank, a certified Minority Depository Institution (MDI) and a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) is driving economic empowerment for small businesses in New York City through its innovative microloan program. This program plays a crucial role in facilitating entrepreneurs' access to capital for business expansion in the post-pandemic era. Carver employs algorithm-based software, transcending the limitations historically imposed by traditional credit scores, which have hindered the borrowing eligibility and capacity of black and brown entrepreneurs.
The ongoing challenges small businesses face in Carver's community persistently weigh them down amidst economic headwinds. Notably, 41% of small businesses owned by black and brown entrepreneurs have either shuttered or are on the brink of closure due to the financial hardships stemming from the pandemic. Furthermore, it is worth highlighting that approximately 45 million adults in the United States lack traditional credit scores.
Carver's microloan program fills a crucial void by providing essential capital ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to small business entrepreneurs. This initiative addresses the longstanding challenges associated with securing small-dollar loans and capital in Carver's communities. The bank's dedicated efforts are yielding tangible results, invigorating local economic activity.
Michael T. Pugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Carver Federal Savings Bank, said:
"Carver's mission is to provide access to capital and to be champions for the underserved community in New York City."
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
He mentioned that their microloan program represented an opportunity for them to assist small businesses in recovering from the pandemic and economic downturns while working towards a prosperous future. Pugh further expressed gratitude to Charter Communications, Webster Bank, UBS, M&T Bank, and all their partners who had played a crucial role in the successful launch of their new microloan program.
About Carver Bancorp, Inc.
Carver Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Carver Federal Savings Bank, a renowned federally chartered stock savings bank. Headquartered in Harlem, New York, the company was established in 1948 with the mission to serve African-American communities where businesses, residents, and institutions had limited access to mainstream financial services. Recognized by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Carver stands out for its community-centric banking services and unwavering commitment to enhancing the economic vitality and revitalization of its local community. The company holds the distinction of being one of the largest African- and Caribbean-American-managed banks in the United States.
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FINANCE
BILL | September 11, 2023
BILL, a leading in financial automation software provider for small and midsize businesses (SMBs), has announced the introduction of a new BILL Financial Operations Platform for SMBs, which integrates category-leading solutions across accounts receivable (AR), accounts payable (AP), and expense and spend management. With this new launch, BILL is delivering the most extensive capabilities for SMBs to enhance and manage cash flow within a single platform.
According to BILL's State of Finance Automation report for 2023, over 80% of respondents believe that automation is essential for managing their finances in order to achieve more strategic business objectives.
Bill payment is crucial, but they are also seeking more comprehensive and integrated solutions for managing more of their cash flow. The challenge is that, until recently, many SMBs were required to manage their incoming and outgoing cash flow across disparate systems and applications that are not integrated.
With the latest integrated financial operations platform by Bill, SMBs can acquire better real-time business insights into their cash flow. In addition, businesses can optimize their cash flow more effectively with a variety of payment and funding options, such as Pay By Card, international payments, virtual card, the BILL Divvy Corporate Card, and real-time payments like instant transfer.
The BILL’s New Financial Operations Platform includes:
BILL Accounts Payable automates the complete AP process to simplify invoice entry for SMBs by leveraging data capture and artificial intelligence to streamline approvals. It also offers flexible payment options, enhancing the efficiency and transparency of financial operations.
BILL Accounts Receivable automates AR through invoice generation, estimations, payment tracking, and collections, allowing SMBs to be paid quicker via ACH, credit, and debit cards.
BILL Spend & Expense is an all-inclusive expense and spend management solution that incorporates free software with corporate cards to offer SMBs customizable control and real-time visibility over their business finances. To simplify the customer experience, Divvy from BILL will now be known as BILL Spend & Expense. The features and capabilities of Divvy, such as setting budgets, monitoring expenses, and gaining access to the credit businesses need to expand, will remain unchanged.
Irana Wasti, Chief Product Officer at BILL, mentioned,
“By offering ongoing innovation in our platform, BILL continues to revolutionize the way SMBs and accountants use financial automation to succeed. We’ve pioneered a more integrated and exhaustive experience to provide SMBs the ability to enhance and manage their financial operations in one place – assisting them make the right financial decisions so their businesses can thrive.”
[Source – Business Wire]
About BILL
BILL, headquartered in California, is the industry-leading financial operations platform for small and midsized businesses (SMBs). As an advocate for SMBs, the company is automating the future of finance so that businesses can flourish. Its integrated platform enables businesses to more effectively manage their payables, receivables, expenditures, and expenses. Hundreds of thousands of businesses rely on BILL's network of millions of members to pay or get paid faster. BILL is a trusted partner of prominent U.S. financial institutions, accounting software vendors, and accounting firms.
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FINANCE
Nav Technologies, Inc. | September 13, 2023
On September 12, 2023, Nav, a leading fintech company specializing in serving small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), unveiled its latest offerings, Nav Prime, along with the Nav Prime Card for small businesses.
For Nav, the launch of Nav Prime represents a natural evolution of its financial health platform. Nav distinguishes itself by being the only platform that provides small businesses with a transparent overview of their financing options and pre-qualification insights before they apply. By consolidating credit and financial data from SMBs, Nav aligns their financing eligibility with its network, which comprises over 160 diverse financial products and providers. In this year alone, Nav has facilitated access to financing and funding for more than 100,000 small businesses.
Nav Prime emerges as a fully integrated financial management solution tailored for contemporary small businesses. Covering aspects from cash flow monitoring to business credit reporting, banking, deposits, and business card solutions, Nav Prime empowers businesses to streamline both their financial management and enhancement efforts, all within a single platform.
Furthermore, the introduction of Nav Prime includes an industry-first innovation, the Nav Prime Card, a business credit-building charge card specifically designed for the SMB sector. Notably, the Nav Prime Card boasts no annual fees and does not necessitate a personal guarantee, thereby preserving users' personal credit ratings. This innovative card also reports spending activities to all three major commercial credit bureaus, allowing users to potentially boost their business credit scores by simply utilizing the card for everyday expenditures. Another distinctive feature of the Nav Prime Card is its flexibility in linking to any pre-existing business checking account of the user's choice, including Nav's own. This sets it apart from other corporate card and expense management fintech solutions that have previously targeted the SMB market.
With Nav Prime, Nav has established itself as the singular destination where businesses can enhance their financing eligibility, evaluate the impacts of their actions, and seamlessly access their most advantageous financial options—all within a unified platform. Nav provides invaluable data and insights crucial to a business owner's financial well-being, including their borrowing capacity. For the first time, SMBs gain transparency into their best financing choices and rates, facilitating informed decisions about lenders and funding types that align with their specific business needs.
Greg Ott, Chief Executive Officer at Nav, commented,
Small business owners have been left in the dark in terms of knowing how lenders see their business. Nav Prime and the unique Nav Prime charge card gives owners a new tool to improve their business' financial qualifications by making their everyday transactions help build their business credit score, and ultimately lead to better working capital options.
[Source: PR Newswire]
Historically, the fintech industry has often overlooked small businesses, or they have been catered to solely in favorable, low-interest-rate environments. Recent interest rate hikes have prompted several fintech companies to withdraw abruptly from the small business sector, placing the survival of these Main Street businesses at risk. Many of these businesses possess strong creditworthiness with substantial revenue and cash reserves.
Nav addresses this gap by empowering small business borrowers to view the same information that lenders see before they seek financing opportunities. This not only improves the likelihood of loan approvals but also reduces the risk of negatively impacting their business credit ratings with major commercial credit bureaus, such as Experian and Equifax.
About Nav
Nav is a leading fintech company specializing in serving small and medium-sized businesses. It is uniquely positioned as the sole platform that seamlessly integrates financial and credit data to offer small businesses clear insights, expert guidance, and streamlined access to an extensive portfolio of over 100 diverse financing options. The company holds a remarkable track record of assisting over 2 million small businesses in enhancing their financial health and securing vital funding. It leverages authentic business data to precisely align qualifications, empowering small business proprietors to effortlessly identify the most suitable loans, credit cards, banking solutions, and other essential business services tailored to their precise requirements. Nav's exceptional financial health platform provides an integrated view of cash flow and credit insights alongside personalized financing choices, serving as the exclusive destination where small business owners can ascertain their pre-qualification status before initiating the application process.
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SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS
NEXT Insurance | September 20, 2023
NEXT Insurance, a renowned digital small business insurer, recently unveiled an innovative new offering that will empower agents to tailor coverage quotes precisely to the unique needs of their small business clientele. NEXT's Coverage Builder represents a significant advancement in granting agents the capability to finely customize small business insurance quotes while still retaining NEXT's hallmark instant bind capabilities. Coverage Builder is designed to be swift, user-friendly, and exclusively tailored for agents before purchase, equipping them with the necessary tools to choose suitable limits and maintain complete control over the coverage they're quoting.
With the introduction of Coverage Builder, agents can set their base policy limits, add or remove specific coverage, or adjust limits post-purchase. This functionality, combined with the convenience of instant underwriting and pricing updates, not only saves agents valuable time but also enables them to make adjustments instantly without the need to pick up the phone, eliminating the need for direct communication with an underwriter.
This represents NEXT's ongoing commitment to supporting its agents, offering them a digitally driven quoting experience that is user-friendly, accessible, and 100% online. Additionally, Coverage Builder will be accessible to all NEXT customers post-purchase, enabling small business owners to tailor their policies with immediate pricing adjustments and seamless policy management.
Cody L Slocum Lammers, Commercial Lines Agent & Broker at Affordable Insurance Solutions, commented,
NEXT's Coverage Builder feature is 100% hassle-free. This new feature sets NEXT Insurance to a new level, above its competitors, as this allows agents the flexibility to customize policies to fit the needs of each individual small business. It's user-friendly and simple to understand- this is truly a game changer for NEXT Insurance agents!
[Source – Cision PR Newswire]
This announcement follows NEXT's recent commercial umbrella/excess liability coverage launch to aid small businesses in their entrepreneurial journey. The digital small business insurer has also made strides by announcing its integration with Ivans Download for General Liability and Workers' Compensation policies and appointing Jack Ramsey as Vice President of Agent Business. These developments underscore NEXT's dedication to its agents and mission to enhance small business clients' insurance purchasing process with a smoother and more intuitive experience.
About NEXT Insurance
NEXT Insurance, a leading digital small business insurer, is spearheading the transformation of small business insurance by offering streamlined, digital, cost-effective, and tailored coverage solutions. With the trust of over 480,000 business proprietors, the company offers policies that are both convenient to purchase and grant uninterrupted access to Live Certificates of Insurance, additional insured, and more. Pioneering an industry historically known for its complexity, NEXT leverages the power of AI and machine learning to simplify the buying process and make affordable coverage accessible. Established in 2016 and headquartered in Palo Alto, the company has garnered a total of $881 million in venture capital funding.
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