The data reveals a striking consensus among SMBs regarding the importance of embedded finance. A remarkable 90% of small businesses now consider access to embedded financial products and services essential to their daily operations. This isn't merely preference; it's become fundamental infrastructure.

While this shift is being framed primarily as a consumer credit development, it has important, and likely underestimated, implications for the business lending space. For lenders that rely on personal FICO scores as part of their underwriting process, especially when evaluating small business owners, this is a game-changer.

NewtekOne's credit facility expansion represents a calculated bet on continued growth in alternative lending demand. Success will depend on the company's ability to maintain underwriting discipline while scaling operations, execute efficient securitizations, and navigate potential market volatility.

Mastercard and Fiserv’s partnership over FIUSD isn’t a speculative venture; it’s a thoughtfully designed integration positioned to redefine digital transactions. By weaving stablecoins into daily commerce, they’re signaling that digital currency isn’t the future, it’s now.

Stephanie Hockridge and her husband, Nathan Reis, co-founded Blueacorn in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic panic. The platform was positioned as a rapid-response solution for distributing PPP funds to small businesses locked out of traditional banking channels. But according to federal prosecutors, Blueacorn became a machine of fraud, processing over $12.5 billion in loans while implementing virtually no guardrails to prevent abuse.

On Saturday, June 21, 2025, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 700 into law, setting the stage for a significant regulatory shift in how sales-based financing, including merchant cash advances (MCAs), can be offered in the state.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has once again delayed its compliance timeline for the Section 1071 rule under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, reflecting ongoing concerns over readiness, legal challenges, and operational impacts for small business lenders.

With deal sizes up to $5,000,000, Reliance Financial offers non-dilutive funding solutions by enabling businesses to sell a portion of their future revenues in exchange for immediate working capital. Known in the market for its honesty, transparency, and ease of doing business, Reliance has helped thousands of businesses secure flexible, fast, and responsible funding.

Discussing current regulatory news, including the important bill HB 700 in Texas and the 7(a) Loan Agent Oversight Act (H.R. 1804), the tech business loan brokers need to know about, and other best practices for brokers with Jerry Cocuzzo of FundAll Capital and John DiCanio of Fund My Biz.

Federal prosecutors continue their aggressive pursuit of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud, with two recent high-profile convictions demonstrating that the Department of Justice remains committed to holding fraudsters accountable nearly five years after the pandemic began.

Key Findings: The overall confidence index has plummeted from 7.8 in November 2024 to 6.02 in June 2025 Only 16% of employers believe the national economy is growing, a sharp decline from last year. SMB concerns are centered on inflation (55%), economic stability (55%), and recession fears (49%).

The Loan Agent Oversight Act mandates the SBA's Office of Credit Risk Management to submit an annual report to Congress. This report must detail: The number of agents assisting loan applicants. The number of fraudulent loans linked to agent involvement. Referral fees paid by lenders to agents. This initiative stems from findings that, in 2023 alone, the SBA's 7(a) program issued 47,700 loans totaling $25.7 billion, with $335 million identified as fraudulent due to loan ag

The crux of the law? North Dakota now has the authority to define these alternative finance products as “loans,” putting them under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional lenders. This includes licensing requirements and interest rate caps, up to 36% annually. What’s more, the state’s financial regulator, the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), has been granted the discretion to classify these products through administrative orders.

It’s said that things are bigger in Texas, but for Sales-Based Financing, that may no longer be a possibility. Thanks to a Texas billionaire, financing options for businesses are set to be reduced if Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs HB 700 into law before Saturday, June 22nd, although hope remains for something to change. 

VOX Funding, a leading provider of flexible financing options for U.S. businesses, today announced closing a $150 million credit facility with Raven Capital, a New York-based investment firm specializing in asset-based direct lending. To date, VOX has funded over $750 million through its platform.

FundMerica accepts as true that neither Forth nor Centrex had any involvement in the data incident at issue. Any prior statements made by FundMerica to the contrary are retracted and withdrawn. --- Last night there was an amendment brought by Senator Charles Perry (R) that could make it all but impossible to make Sales-Based Financing (see revenue-based financing and mca) in the state of Texas.

Stephanie Hockridge, once a familiar face as a Phoenix news anchor, now stands at the center of one of the most significant fraud cases to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside her husband, Nathan (Nick) Reis, Hockridge is set to stand trial for alleged wire fraud and conspiracy related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a federal initiative designed to help small businesses survive the economic fallout of the pandemic.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a complaint in the Nevada District Court against two men for what amounts to a Ponzi scheme very similar to the MJ Capital case we covered last year in Miami Federal Court.

Washington State is making waves with a new program: the Revenue Based Financing Fund, launched through their Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). It’s the first fund of its kind I’ve come across—have you seen anything like it elsewhere?

“You should know that credit ratings understate credit risks because they only rate the risk of the government not paying its debt,” Dalio said in a post on social media platform X.

In an industry where speed, accuracy, trust, and decision confidence drive every dollar moved, Dragin’s new AI functionality equips funders with a clear picture of a merchant’s online credibility and activity, automatically pulled before a human ever touches the file.

Banks argue that prohibiting charging fees for data access prevents them from recouping these expenses and managing related risks. Conversely, fintech firms advocate for the rule, emphasizing the benefits of seamless data sharing for developing innovative financial products and services.

We spoke with Curtis Sutherland, Head of Sales and Business Development at TAB Bank and a seasoned expert in ABL financing, to better understand what clients need to be ready for an asset-based loan.

Thus, the Court will stay the Section 1071 Rule and toll the Rule’s compliance deadlines with respect to Plaintiff and its members for the length of time that the Fifth Circuit stay order in Tex. Bankers Ass’n, No. 24-40705, is in effect, subject to modification at any time by the Court.