t also means, whereas the big banks prioritized lending to their existing customers which tend to be larger companies, Cross River’s loans went to the mom-and-pop shops and other true small businesses for which the PPP was intended: More than 95% of its borrowers were businesses with 20 employees or fewer.

After building a platform to automate PPP loan applications in less than 10 days, Cross River could then partner with more fintechs—now more than 30 in total—to funnel in their customers who wanted the stimulus funds, from non-bank lending companies like BlueVine and Kabbage  to payroll software company Gusto