Fountainhead partners with Biz2Credit for PPP loans, other SBA programs

By Pavithra R

Fountainhead, a nationwide, nonbank, direct commercial lending firm, has announced entering into a new partnership with Biz2Credit, provider of an online marketplace for small business funding. 

Under the collaboration, Fountainhead will leverage Biz2Credit’s Biz2X Accelerate SBA platform to process SBA loan applications for all SBA lending programs, including during the second round of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). It will adopt Biz2X as it’s lending and forgiveness platform to streamline its processes for handling first and second draw PPP loans.

“By adopting Biz2X Accelerate SBA, Fountainhead will have direct access to SBA’s online PPP application system using Biz2X’s API, allowing for the fastest processing and loan approval times that can be offered for these government-backed loans,” said Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit and Biz2X, a pioneer in FinTech, and one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance.

The collaboration will allow Fountainhead to offer a fully digital experience for their SMB clients and staff, streamlining all aspects of their lending process from application through closing and monitoring. This will enable its clients to swiftly apply and be approved for their PPP loans, as well as regular SBA loans like 7(a) and 504.

“Our Biz2X platform is fully automated and features state-of-the-art machine learning technology that is able to read data from payrolls and bank statements and help calculate loan and forgiveness amounts for the borrower,” said Arora.

Features of the Biz2X-Fountainhead alliance include:

• Digital customer dashboard enabling SMBs to apply for PPP loans and other Fountainhead-offered loan products.
• A new staff portal available with Biz2X to offer ease of use for Fountainhead staff processing loan applications.
• Automated KYC and compliance checks to enable the nonbank lender to verify customer provided applications with less effort by the company’s underwriting team.
• Loan decisioning rules that incorporate the latest SBA guidance on lending policies for the PPP.

“During the first round of PPP, banks and nonbank lenders struggled to keep up with the demand for PPP funding requests from small business owners. Many lenders recognized the benefits of FinTech support to process PPP and forgiveness applications quickly and efficiently. We are proud to partner with Fountainhead to help them serve their customers better through this unique small business relief program,” added Arora.

“The Biz2X Platform will help us increase the number of funding requests we process across all of our SBA lending programs. Biz2X will help us process loan applications promptly and securely. In particular, for the next round of PPP, we are using the platform to handle the large number of small businesses we are working with to provide access to this critical funding,” said Chris Hurn, CEO and Founder, of Fountainhead.

Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit was built to make the business financing process work better for lenders and their customers. Recently, the firm announced taking pre-applications from small businesses for the new round of the PPP.