Fintech Meetup 2024:  Coming together to get things done

The last couple of days at Fintech Meetup were intense and well worth the time to attend.  Like other fintech conferences, innovation was a theme brought out in the keynotes and the engaging discussions across the panels.  The aspect of this conference that stands out from any other is its 1:1 meeting program.  Conference attendees participate in back-to-back, carefully curated 15-minute meetings with people who want to collaborate.  This is a roll-up-your-sleeves conference where attendees come together to make things happen!  It was outstanding! Here are some themes that emerged from the many conversations: Fintechs are continuing to modernize small business lending and provide access to capital for underserved businesses that have been traditionally overlooked by the banking system because of the cost to serve.  Using technology to automatically access accounting data is not new – but there have been advancements in technology to process disparate data and a wider ability for lenders to access business sales data by tapping into payment...
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Small Business Lending Faces Enormous Change with Rule 1071

April 28, 2023 The Importance of Small Business Lending in the United States Small businesses across our nation play a crucial role in the health of our economy. As of 2019, small businesses employed 46.4% of total employees in the United States and paid 39.4% of the nation’s wages.[1] Women and racial minorities own 43.2% and 19.4% of small businesses, respectively.  Despite their significant contributions to the U.S. economy, many small business owners have difficulty accessing credit to launch and/or grow their businesses. Small businesses may not have sufficient revenue history or other information to qualify for credit, their financing needs may not fit within the credit box of banks, or other factors. Access to credit is particularly difficult for women and minority small business owners if their business and/or personal credit histories are not well-represented in traditional credit reporting datasets. When it comes to small business lending, community banks have an advantage over large national banks given their deep understanding of the communities...
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