PayNet Links Community Bank BNB To Small Biz Loan Tech

Small business credit analysis company PayNet is linking up with a community bank to streamline SMB lending for the institution.

A press release issued this week said that BNB Bank, a community bank operating across the New York and Long Island metropolitan area, will integrate PayNet technology to enhance its underwriting process for small business loans. The FI will use PayNet’s Credit History Report and MasterScore v2 as part of its efforts to fully digitize the SMB lending process, with the PayNet solutions enabling the bank to automate risk assessment and loan approvals for borrowers.

The MasterScore v2 provides financial institutions with the ability to analyze data to predict borrowers’ risk, while the Credit History Report offers access to credit data to further support the loan decision-making process.

PayNet President William Phelan said in a statement that the partnership will allow BNB Bank to boost borrower experiences.

“By digitizing commercial lending, BNB will decrease the time it takes to evaluate a business’ credit, allowing for better decisions via relevant, on demand and secure private company credit assessments, helping qualified small businesses gain access to much-needed credit,” he stated.

In another statement, BNB Bank EVP and Chief Lending Officer Kevin L. Santacroce said the collaboration with PayNet “will improve the loan process and as a result, the customer experience.”

Research released earlier this year from PayNet found that small business lending picked up compared to last year, which Phelan attributed to a strong economy.

“The economy appears to be firing on all cylinders, and the stock market surge shows that public companies have been taking advantage of the pro-business environment,” he said at the time. “Now, small businesses are stepping in to get a piece of the pie.”

Analysis has also found that community banks are playing a larger role in small business lending. A report published by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in September found community banks to be “important sources of credit to small businesses,” and that these FIs increased their small business lending volume by about 11 percent between 2013 and 2017.