SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SmartBiz®, the leading AI-powered financing platform for small businesses and Cross River®, a technology-driven financial services organization that provides core infrastructure and embedded financial solutions, today announced a partnership to equip more U.S. small businesses with access to the financing they need to grow.
The partnership enables Cross River to leverage SmartBiz’s best-in-class digital application, on top of its existing tech-stack, for a faster and more efficient process for small businesses to obtain funding, with Cross River powering the financial services on the backend. SmartBiz’s application consists of AI-driven processing and exceptional customer experience with transparency to streamline the process of connecting more entrepreneurs with SBA 7(a) loans - a critical financial tool for small businesses.
“We’re thrilled to join forces with SmartBiz to make an elevated SBA financing experience more readily accessible to small business customers,” says Eli Hazan, Head of Business Lending at Cross River. "SmartBiz is at the forefront of the loan optimization process, and like Cross River, is operating at the intersection of cutting-edge technology and stellar customer service."
After weathering two years of a pandemic economy, many U.S. small businesses are eager to increase their working capital to adapt, rebuild, and grow. Although small businesses comprise the overwhelming majority of all American businesses, they often find themselves forced to navigate an antiquated, opaque, and inefficient process to obtain financing.
“Our technology does the heavy lifting by automating as much of the process as possible, and our dedicated customer support team assists entrepreneurs through the entire application process,” says Evan Singer, CEO of SmartBiz. “We’re proud to integrate this technology with Cross River as we know they share our goal of equipping every entrepreneur with access to smart capital.”
SmartBiz and Cross River are committed to helping small businesses across the U.S. acquire the funds they need for stability and growth. A crucial source of employment and the unheralded centers of so many communities, small businesses play an essential role in driving our economy. Both teams recognize the role that innovation will play in fortifying these businesses to meet and make the future. SmartBiz and Cross River Bank look forward to working together to further simplify funding solutions and increase the volume of financing accessed by this vital customer group.
ABOUT SMARTBIZ
SmartBiz is the leading AI-powered small business financing platform equipping entrepreneurs with access to the right capital at the right time. To date, SmartBiz has connected borrowers with more than $9 billion in financing while increasing efficiency for its network of banks and trusted lending partners. More than 230,000 entrepreneurs have utilized SmartBiz to access the funding they need to grow, with 60% of loans made to minority, women, or veteran-owned businesses.
SmartBiz was named the Top Small Business Lending Platform by LendIt Fintech® in 2022 for excellence in keeping the economy running through successful loan performance, volume, growth, product diversity, and innovation. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco and Austin, SmartBiz is backed by Venrock®, Investor Growth Capital®, First Round Capital®, Baseline Ventures®, and Uncork Capital®. Learn more about smartbizloans.com.
ABOUT CROSS RIVER
Cross River provides technology infrastructure powering the future of financial services. Leveraging its proprietary real-time banking core, Cross River delivers innovative and scalable embedded payments, cards, lending and crypto solutions to millions of consumers and businesses. Cross River is backed by leading investors and serves the world’s most essential fintech and technology companies. Together with its partners, Cross River is reshaping global finance and financial inclusion. Member FDIC. Find out more at www.crossriver.com.
