At the end of July, PayPal Holdings announced their Venmo Small Business Grant scheme
Source: unsplash.com
This is a new program for emerging and small businesses. It will provide financial grants and mentoring services to new and existing customers with Venmo Business Profiles. Twenty companies will be selected to receive $10,000. The money can be used for a wide variety of expenditures, from covering expenses to paying the rent or helping to digitize or promote their business.
Cash Flow and Mentoring
According to a recent study by a US bank, 82% of businesses that failed said that cash flow problems were a factor in the failure. As well as providing finance, the Venmo Small Business Grant program will offer the recipients access to technical support and mentorship on legal services, financial analysis, and digital marketing. The resources will be provided by PayPal community partners like Smart Small, Think Big, and Taproot Foundation. In addition, PayPal and Venmo employees will also be providing mentoring, coaches, and other pro-bono services.
Source: venmo.com
A Trusted Brand
PayPal has been pioneering the digital payment revolution for more than twenty years. They have used technology to make financial services and commerce more secure, affordable, and convenient for both businesses and their customers. Their technology is used by more than 429 million consumers and merchants around the world. What started out as a peer-to-peer money transaction platform is now widely recognized to be one of the standard payment methods at checkouts for online transactions.
People expect to be able to use PayPal when they shop online, be that for goods and services, holidays, or entertainment. Many sectors have benefited from offering PayPal. For many people, these benefits include the fact that PayPal acts as a buffer between them and the business, meaning that they do not need to share sensitive financial information. In emerging sectors, like the online casino markets in the USA, top PayPal casinos like Caesars and Betway offer customers a level of reassurance that they are dealing with a reputable business.
PayPal is committed to advancing racial equality and an inclusive economy. This will be taken into consideration when the grants are being awarded. Special consideration will be given to businesses that are run by or created for underrepresented communities. PayPal has previously committed $535 million to provide financial relief, sustained support, and long-term investment to expand economic opportunity in this area. The money is being used to address the racial wealth gap for Black and other underrepresented businesses and communities.
Venmo Business Profiles
Source: venmo.com
Venmo Business Profiles were launched in February 2021, and more than one point five million small businesses have created a profile. The profiles are used to organize, market, and grow businesses in a cost-effective way. Venmo has business features that allow small businesses to accept payments in person or online. In addition, they offer a QR code system for people to pay in-store. Enterprises that set up a Venmo business profile get paid via the app in the same way in which people use it to send money to their friends.
Olive Ateliers, which is a modern reused goods business, set themselves up a Venmo profile and said about the service,
“Venmo enabled our business to start selling quickly and without friction, which was a major advantage for moving fast and gaining early customer response. We opened a business account and started receiving payments on the same day. Venmo also offers very business-friendly rates and fee structures, so we are able to reinvest more profiles into growing our brand.”
Small Businesses are Vital
Denise Leonhard, Vice President of Venmo, has said that nearly 200,000 US businesses have been forced to close due to the pandemic. She noted that small businesses are vital to a healthy economy and thriving communities. She said that the Venmo Small Business Grants will provide much-needed funding and support to help the recipients to build resilience, grow and succeed. The recipients of the grants will be announced in September 2022.
