As of Tuesday afternoon, 1.1 million loan applications totaling $257 billion had been approved, an average of $234,000 per loan, according to the Small Business Administration, which runs the program. Small Business Majority is calling for an additional $600 billion in direct relief to small businesses. The biggest impediment to access is that PPP loans are primarily flowing through big banks and established SBA lenders. That doesn’t reflect the evolving small business capital market. Less than half of small firms obtained funds from a bank in the last five years, according to a Fed survey earlier this year. The COVID crisis may be fintech’s moment to shine. “This is where we see ultimately the value of speed and digital services,” says Jacob Haar of Community Investment Management, which provides capital to responsible fintech lenders. He noted that online lenders were not around in 2008 when the last crisis hit.

https://impactalpha.com/fintech-lenders-expand-access-to-covid-relief-funds-for-small-businesses/?utm_term=0_57980c6bda-694c3e43d2-105984121&mc_cid=694c3e43d2