While the extent of COVID-19’s full impact is yet to be determined, it’s become clear that small businesses will be at the epicenter of this unprecedented crisis. Companies of all sizes are being hit with major disruptions in revenue and cash flow.
Fortunately, some payments industry players are stepping up to the plate to offer relief to help small business owners stay afloat. One initiative, just announced by Kabbage, provides an online platform that businesses can offer on their own websites for customers to purchase digital gift certificates.
Kabbage will then deposit the full gift certificate amount to small business accounts by the next business day. This should provide some relief, especially for many businesses that are now closing for at least the next few weeks, such as restaurants and retail stores.
The following article reports more on this topic, which is excerpted below:
Kabbage Inc., today launched www.helpsmallbusiness.com to support small businesses financially impacted by COVID-19. The initiative is a call-to-action across the U.S., enabling anyone to purchase an online gift certificate from participating small businesses to provide them with crucial financial support. Certificates can be redeemed in full after they’re issued or in the future when the crisis has subsided. All revenue generated from gift certificate sales will be deposited via Kabbage Payments as soon as the next business day to participating small businesses to help aid their ability to withstand cash-flow gaps caused by COVID-19.*
In minutes, any U.S. small business can sign up for free on www.helpsmallbusiness.com to immediately seek financial support through gift certificate purchases from individuals throughout the U.S. Kabbage will also provide businesses a unique URL to easily share their personalized page with customers via text, email, web, social media or print. Consumers can purchase multiple certificates for any amount between $15 and $500. Once certificates are purchased, small businesses will get an immediate notification and can use free technology offered by Kabbage to scan, verify, track and fulfill gift certificates when redeemed.
“We encourage everyone to think beyond consumer goods and consider all service providers such as local handymen, lawn care providers, dry cleaners and laundromats; they all need our support,” said Kabbage co-founder and President Kathryn Petralia. “Many weddings, birthdays and vacations are being postponed due to social distancing. Think about the small businesses you would have approached for those activities and purchase certificates to plan for future dates.”
Overview by Raymond Pucci, Director, Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group
