FIS Connects With Lenders On COVID-19 Relief For Small Businesses

Florida-based FinTech FIS is helping lenders provide Small Business Administration (SBA) loans under the coronavirus stimulus package, the company announced Friday (April 3).

The Payroll Protection Program, a section of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed by Congress last week, authorizes lenders to provide up to $349 billion in funds to U.S. small businesses and merchants impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Payroll Protection Program, enacted this week by the U.S. Department of Treasury, the loans will be forgiven as long as they are used to cover payroll costs and other authorized expenses. All funds must be distributed by June 30, FIS noted.

“As a critical infrastructure provider, FIS is committed to bringing the full force of our scale and resources to keep the global economy running and to assist small businesses, merchants and our other clients during this enormously challenging period,” said FIS Chairman, CEO and President Gary Norcross in a statement. “I am extremely proud of the work our employees are doing to help our clients, and the industry, manage through this global crisis and come out stronger on the other side.”

To accelerate the relief loan process for small business applicants, FIS is working with financial institutions on using its SBA-approved Real-Time Lending Platform, which automates and digitizes the loan process. The platform can be scaled to meet the anticipated high demand for the small business relief loans, FIS said.

FIS has created a COVID-19 Online Resource Center designed to provide its clients with information that will help them adapt to the shifts caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The site will be updated as the coronavirus crisis continues.

In addition, FIS said it will waive minimum monthly service charges April for its U.S. and U.K. customers. The company is also providing virtual terminal access at no charge for U.S. merchants and retailers enrolled in the Worldpay from FIS iQ online portal.