In efforts to streamline Paycheck Protection Program loan forgiveness the Small Business Administration (SBA) has created a new portal which will allow borrowers to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA.
The new forgiveness platform, which will go live on August 4th, 2021, was created to help small businesses get relief as fast as possible. The portal can be used by any businesses with loans less than $150,000 provided through participating lenders. According to FederalPay.org, a free public resource for U.S. government employees, businesses that classified themselves as boat dealers accounted for 3,914 PPP loans totaling more than $340 million, as of December 1, 2020. The average PPP loan taken by a business classified as a boat dealer was $86,846, and 84.6 of those businesses received loans amounting to less than $150,000. Furthermore, over 600 banks have opted in to participate in the direct forgiveness program, enabling over 2.17 million borrowers to apply for direct forgiveness.
“It is great to see the SBA doing what they can to take the burden off of small businesses during these difficult times,” said Chad Tokowicz, Government Relations Manager for the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas. “Allowing loan forgiveness to go directly through the SBA and not a bank will save our members and other businesses in the boating industry time, which is at a premium at this point of the season.”
The SBA is also setting up a PPP customer service team to answer any questions and assist borrowers directly with their forgiveness applications. If you are in need of assistance or simply have questions, please call have questions should call (877) 552-2692, available Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. EST.
The Direct Forgiveness Portal can be accessed here and additional information and instructions on how to use the portal can be found here.
About the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas
At the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, we believe that for the marine industry to thrive, the retail organizations that interact with the boaters in their community must thrive. With that in mind, MRAA works to create a strong and healthy boating industry by uniting those retailers, providing them with opportunities for improvement and growth, and representing them with a powerful voice. For more information, contact us at 763-315-8043.
