Author Archives: hostmerchantservices

Four Trends in Point of Sale Systems That Can Benefit Your Business – Fall 2020

From smartphones with card readers to traditional point of sale (POS) terminals with near-field communications (NFC) capabilities, the future of payment technology is literally flying through the ether. Offering flexibility and versatility to businesses and customers alike, the trends that can benefit your business provide a win-win for everyone.

1. Near-Field Communication

While most credit card-enabled POS systems provide secure transactions via EMV chip card technology, now, many credit card terminals also offer NFC technology, allowing contactless payments through mobile wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay from smartphones and even smartwatches. Sometimes customers forget their wallet, but they’ll never forget their phone.

2. Mobile Pont of Sale

With a growing percentage of cashless transactions, mobile POS systems allow businesses to accept credit cards via an internet connection and a mobile credit card processing service. From Square to PayPal, from Flagship to ROAMPay, businesses need only attach a card reader to a smartphone or tablets. Plus, mobile wallet providers such as Google Wallet, Visa Checkout, and Apple Pay enable customers to pay directly from their smartphones or by a scanner that reads barcodes or QR codes. The barrier to entry for POS for small businesses and new businesses is non-existent.

3. Customer Data

Retail POS systems prompt a sales associate to enter a customer’s demographic information, including a ZIP code, phone number, age range, and gender. And when a specific item is purchased, a POS system can be tweaked to only gather certain customer information. And even when the sales associate is not able to request specific information of the customer, the POS will still link the sale to the customer’s demographic information.

4. POS/CRM Solutions

Not just a credit card terminal, the latest POS systems offer invoicing, marketing email lists, and client records. Enabling businesses to run loyalty programs, POS/CRM systems integrate all aspects of running a business. With the ability to organize data, including names, billing and shipping addresses, emails, and order history, POS/CRM systems can also distribute the data to different departments, including sales, customer service, and technical support.

These are only a few of the top trends changing retail point of sale systems. Retailers should be on the lookout for these trends and more as they adjust to an ever-changing retail landscape.

Host Merchant Services

Host Merchant Services offers state-of-the-art POS systems personalized for your business. From retail to restaurants and everything in between, HMS provides businesses the tools they need to be successful. For payment processing, HMS can help your business accept all credit and debit cards with the lowest transaction rates on the market. When we demonstrate your payment processing scenario selections, HMS offers your business several point of sale options, including Clover, Vital, Bonsai, and more to fit your specific operation. If your business is already equipped with hardware, HMS provides an easy point of sale integration. We are able to retain customers with our low rates and excellent customer service – not our contracts. With 24 hour customer service, seven days a week and 365 days a year, we require no term commitment, and we charge no upfront fees or hidden fees. Nor do we charge application or setup fees. An industry leader, Host Merchant Services is always here for you.

Retail Ecommerce Sales Booming with 44% Year Over Year Growth in Q2

On Tuesday, August 18^th, the Department of Commerce’s U.S. Census Bureau reported that retail eCommerce sales for the second quarter were up 37 percent from the first quarter of the year. And as measured year over year, eCommerce sales were up 44 percent while the total US retail sales were down 3.4 percent, to $1.1 trillion. The largest jump in dollars since 2001, Q2 eCommerce sales were $62 billion more than Q2 of last year, to $201 billion. And the 44 percent is also the largest percentage jump since 2001. And those percentages could be even higher. While this number includes sales in which the transaction takes place online, the Census Bureau only considers “Non-store Retailers” in their estimates, omitting companies engaged in electronic transactions. For example, storefronts that take payments online are not included in the number of eCommerce sales.

Pandemic Touches Every Industry

With American consumers newly interested in online grocery shopping, Albertsons Companies, which owns Albertsons and Safeway among other supermarket chains, reported that through June 20^th, online sales jumped by 276 percent. The pandemic pulled off what Safeway and Amazon couldn’t in 2019 when both companies tried offering online sales with minimal success. While global retail sales are down due to the pandemic, online purchases of clothing are up 76 percent. Sales of homemade goods like masks and home furnishing increased a whopping 146 percent on Etsy’s marketplace. Forecasted to continue growing, demand for communications equipment and cloud infrastructure may face challenges with factories’ stall in production.

And on the other end of the spectrum, U.S. digital travel sales are predicted to drop 44 percent in 2020 compared to mostly stagnant growth in previous years. And China is experiencing a more than 80 percent drop in sales of light vehicles as a result of the pandemic. In addition to health concerns, businesses across the globe continue to worry about the impact the pandemic will have on eCommerce. While not all industries can enjoy the boom in eCommerce growth, the industries that can leverage the increase can follow the path of businesses increasing online sales by more than 100 percent.

Host Merchant Services

During these turbulent economic times, depend on a stable and reliable payment processor to partner with your business in minimizing the impact of worldwide instability. Payment processing should be the least of your concerns. Delivering personalized service and clarity, Host Merchant Services takes the time to explain your payment processing. We want you to understand your monthly statement, and we will ensure that your statement matches our promises during our sales presentation. If you do have questions, you can reach a live representative any time, any day. HMS offers wonderful customer service, as well as great rates.

Host Merchant Services even explains where our profit lies in the pricing structure to be fully transparent in all directions. Pricing fairness and transparency is our strategy in helping our customers find success with their businesses.

Contactless Trends in Corporate Cards and B2B Payments

Both banks and B2B FinTechs are integrating vendor payments and employee expense management into the mobilization and digitization of the corporate card. With contactless payments accelerating among retail customers, commercial card innovation is following suit with card payment capabilities across a variety of scenarios.

Bank of America Expands Contactless Business Cards

First launching a mobile wallet solution for corporate customers in the U.S. and Canada in 2018, Bank of America is expanding mobile wallet capabilities for corporate clients across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Asia Pacific regions. With the speed, security, and efficiency of mobile, contactless payments, Bank of America allows it corporate travel and purchasing card customers to make payments with mobile wallets, including Apple Pay and Google Pay.

NatWest Brings Apple Pay to Business Credit Cards

Providing a safer, more secure, and more private way to pay, NatWest brings Apple Pay to its business credit card customers. Allowing customers to avoid handing their credit card to someone else, touching physical buttons, or exchanging cash, the Apple Pay contactless payment is now available to NatWest’s business and commercial banking customer base.

Emburse Enhances Virtual Card with Pre-Approval

Allowing employees to access a virtual or physical Expense Card, Emburse automatically enforces company spending policies with pre-approval capabilities. Upon use of the card, the employee is prompted to take a photo of the receipt to both record the transaction data and to integrate the data into its digital wallet for reporting and reconciliation.

DayTek Capital Enabled to Issue Prepaid Card & Accept Deposits

Instrumental in enabling DayTek to issue its prepaid Infinity card, the Australian Financial Services License also allows the FinTech to accept deposits. The Infinity card is a solution for small and medium sized businesses, as well as retail customers. This is the beginning of an array of offerings, including an AI marketplace to facilitate interactions between customers.

With near-real-time assessment of credit risk, machine-learning models can leverage new data streams to allow suppliers to quickly assess the credit risk of new buyers asking for trade credit. Plus, suppliers can get paid in the same manner as their B2C counterparts. The trends on the horizon are a game-changer in the world of B2B.

Host Merchant Services

Host Merchant Services offers state-of-the-art POS systems personalized for your business. With B2B payment solutions, HMS provides businesses the tools they need to be successful. For payment processing, HMS can help your business accept all credit and debit cards with the lowest transaction rates on the market. When we demonstrate your payment processing scenario selections, HMS offers your business several point of sale options, including Clover, Vital, Bonsai, and more to fit your specific operation. If your business is already equipped with hardware, HMS provides an easy point of sale integration. We are able to retain customers with our low rates and excellent customer service – not our contracts. With 24 hour customer service, seven days a week and 365 days a year, we require no term commitment, and we charge no upfront fees or hidden fees. Nor do we charge application or setup fees. An industry leader, Host Merchant Services is always here for you.

AfterPay Announces In-Store Availability for Apple Pay and Google Pay Users

Putting further pressure on credit cards, AfterPay now offers support for Apple Pay and Google Pay in select US retailers starting in July 2020. The Australian-based mobile app that offers “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) installment options, AfterPay is offering Apple Pay online and in physical stores and Google Pay as an in-store option in the U.S.

Despite paying a fee to Apple and Google to allow its installment payments to be made via their smartphone digital wallets, AfterPay’s costs of rolling out to new merchants are still reduced. The deal will also help drive customer adoption. Allowing customers to complete payment in four installation payments, AfterPay does not charge upfront fees or interest, similar to AfterPay online.

AfterPay In-Store Tap and Pay

At the point of sale terminal, customers can tap the card icon in the AfterPay app to activate the AfterPay card in the Apple wallet. Among the first retailers to offer Apple Pay with AfterPay, Forever 21, Skechers, Fresh, and Solstice Sunglasses are participating in the rollout. Operating in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., AfterPay operates under the name ClearPay in the U.K.

Introduced four years ago in Australia and New Zealand, AfterPay’s in-store offerings comprised 24 percent of total sales with nearly 40,000 shops offering the service. AfterPay is offered by more than 55,000 retailers across the globe with nearly 10 million active users.

BNPL Increasingly Popular Due to COVID-19

Thanks to COVID-19, BNPL companies are soaring in popularity. Consumers looking to stretch their dollar are hoping to buy time until incomes are restored in the wake of a reeling economy. With a clear aversion to financial risk, millennials have been shifting away from credit cards since 2009. Avoiding credit card interest and fees, consumers are not only leaning on BNPL platforms but also on debit cards, as well.

“As we enter the second half of the year and retail re-emerges across the world, its critical we help our partners drive business growth,” both online and offline,” Nick Molnar, co-founder and U.S. CEO at AfterPay, said in the press release. “As a proven solution for driving incremental sales and new customer growth, we are thrilled to introduce our new omnichannel solution to U.S. retailers as they begin to open their doors and bring shoppers back to their physical stores.”

Host Merchant Services

If your business is considering an upgrade to your point of sale system, Host Merchant Services can help with every step of the way. HMS delivers fantastic service without the headaches. When you work with HMS, we consider you part of the family. As part of our family, we want your business to grow. That’s why we offer exceptional service with no contracts and no hidden fees. Businesses stay in the HMS family for our high-quality service and super low rates. You won’t find exceptions in fine print. How can Host Merchant Services help your business navigate the challenges posed by the pandemic?

MasterCard and AptPay Partner for Faster B2B Payments

MasterCard and AptPay Partner for Faster B2B Payments

MasterCard and AptPay announced on Wednesday, August 19, the integration of MasterCard Send into the AptPay platform. MasterCard Send is a global push payments platform, enabling funds to be sent securely in near real-time into any payment card or account. AptPay is a Canadian FinTech company. The partnership allows companies using the AptPay platform to send digital payments securely through bank accounts, prepaid cards, or digital wallets in near real-time.

The partnership enables faster cash access for businesses when cash flow management is more than critical – it is paramount to survival. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the need for small and medium sized businesses to access cash. Much faster than legacy payment types, MasterCard Send can process payouts end to end. AptPay’s compliance services meet the compliance needs for their industry, ensuring transactions are safe and secure.

The COVID-19 pandemic also enhanced the need for businesses to digitize and automate their payment processes. With the ability to receive funds directly, securely, and in near real-time, businesses are liberated to enable free cash flow.

Safer, Faster, and Less Costly than Checks

Offering more safety than checks provide, the partnership speeds disbursements across multiple industries. With more transparent payment information along with the ability to approve, reject, or reverse payments, businesses can reduce check-related expenses and fraud. Checks not only involve added costs and lengthy timelines, but they also can take days to clear.

“Over the last few years, digital transformation and faster payments have been top priorities for many industries. COVID-19 has created the perfect storm, highlighting the problems caused by not having these priorities in place. AptPay’s Digital Payment Hub enables companies to execute on these priorities and weather the storm,” said AptPay CEO Suganthan Vishnu Krisnarajah

MasterCard

A global technology company in the payments industry, MasterCard uses secure data and networks with connections across more than 210 countries and territories. Their mission is to connect and power a digital economy, benefiting everyone, everywhere by making transactions safe, simple, smart, and accessible.

AptPay

Founded in 2019, AptPay is a Canadian Fintech in the payments space. Serving businesses across a network of connected financial institutions and multiple payment rails, AptPay envisions a future where payouts are safely made to customers in near real-time, without friction.

Host Merchant Services

Host Merchant Services offers state-of-the-art POS systems personalized for your business. From B2B to B2C and everything in between, HMS provides businesses the tools they need to be successful. For payment processing, HMS can help your business accept all credit and debit cards with the lowest transaction rates on the market. We are able to retain customers with our low rates and excellent customer service – not our contracts. With 24 hour customer service, seven days a week and 365 days a year, we require no term commitment, and we charge no up-front fees or hidden fees. Nor do we charge application or setup fees. An industry leader, Host Merchant Services is always here for you.

Everything You Need to Know About Contactless Payments During COVID-19

Contactless payments allow consumers to pay for goods or services without needing to physically swipe a card in a machine or pass the card to another person. By tapping a phone or card on or near a terminal, near-field communication (NFC) enables the consumer to transmit payment information without physically touching anything. For a variety of reasons, U.S. consumers were slower than their global counterparts in adopting the technology, but due to the fear of COVID-19 infection, they are quickly catching up.

A new study from Visa shows that more than two thirds of customers say they would switch to businesses now offering contactless payment solutions. And more than three quarters of consumers say they have changed how they pay due, in part, to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved a survey asking 250 business owners around the world their view of business operations in a post-COVID world, as well as a survey of 1,000 adult consumers asking about their payment and shopping habits.

And in a MasterCard survey of 1,000 Americans, 51 percent used contactless payments at the point of sale in March or April 2020, and half of those people said the COVID-19 pandemic prompted them to try the technology for the first time. Roughly half of U.S. consumers told MasterCard they’re using cash less, or not at all, due to the pandemic.

The pandemic rushed U.S. consumers to a place where the rest of the world already lived. In 2018, only 3 percent of cards in use in the U.S. were contactless as opposed to 64 percent in the U.K. and 96 percent in South Korea, according to a study by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

The Federal Reserve’s annual “Diary of Consumer Payment Choice” showed cash, which was the #1 payment method last year, came in second to debit cards this year. Credit cards were a close third place.

Here are just a few points regarding contactless payments:

Contactless Payment Most Important Safety Measure
The Visa survey reports 46 percent of consumers believe contactless payments are the most important safety measure for retailers to provide.
Signature Required
One thing contactless payments cannot help are required signatures. Some retailers are still requiring signatures even in the middle of a pandemic.
Public Transit
Contactless payments allow commuters to speed through a subway turnstile versus waiting in line to load money onto a transit swipe card.
Digital Coupons & Loyalty Points
Some grocery stores still require customers type in their phone number to redeem digital coupons and receive loyalty points despite simultaneously offering contactless payments. One workaround is asking the cashier to type in the number.

Consumers are rewarding businesses that put COVID-19 safety measures at the top of their priorities. With more and more consumers adopting contactless payments in response to COVID-19, businesses who offer the technology are finding an increase in demand.

Host Merchant Services

Don’t run the risk of losing out on business: Host Merchant Services can help your business implement contactless payment capability. Depend on a stable and reliable payment processor to partner with your business to minimize the impact of worldwide instability. Payment processing should be the least of your concerns. Delivering personalized service and clarity, Host Merchant Services takes the time to explain your payment processing. We want you to understand your monthly statement, and we will ensure that your statement matches our promises during our sales presentation. If you do have questions, you can reach a live representative any time, any day. HMS offers wonderful customer service, as well as great rates.

Google Pay to Offer Digital Bank Accounts by 2021

In early August 2020, eight banks in the US have announced that they are partnering with Google to offer digital-first bank accounts directly in the Google Pay app. The partner banks will manage the financial side of these accounts while Google will provide the front-end, intuitive user experience, as well as financial insights exclusive to Google’s digital bank accounts.

Offering built-in budgeting tools, as well as the financial insights, the Google Pay app will launch sometime next year. Known internally as the “Cache” project, the partnership originally started out last year with two financial institutions.

An extension of Google’s original ventures into digital bank accounts from Citi and Stanford Federal Credit Union (SFCU), the partnerships now include six additional banks, namely Bank Mobile, BBVA USA, BMO Harris, Coastal Community Bank, First Independence Bank, and SEFCU.

With the intent to help customers benefit from useful insights and budgeting tools while keeping their money in an FDIC or NCUA-insured account, Google will enable a digital experience that can meet the evolving needs of a new generation of customers.

Up from 39 million global users in 2018, Google Pay is estimated to grow to 100 million users this year. Offering a complete digital banking service next year, Google did not indicate whether or not customers will have access to physical debit cards issued either through Google or through its partners.

Google Pay is an app allowing users to pay online or make contactless payments with their phone. Protected with multiple layers of security, paying with Google Pay is a fast and simple alternative to paying with cards. Using an encrypted number instead of your actual card number, Google Pay allows you to pay with your phone while your details stay secure. In addition to enabling rewards programs and cash back programs from a bank or PayPal, Google Pay also enables loyalty programs from chains.

Host Merchant Services

Depend on a stable and reliable payment processor to partner with your business during the upheaval of 2020. Payment processing should be the least of your concerns. Delivering personalized service and clarity, Host Merchant Services takes the time to explain your payment processing. We want you to understand your monthly statement, and we will ensure that your statement matches our promises during our sales presentation. If you do have questions, you can reach a live representative any time, any day. HMS offers wonderful customer service, as well as great rates.

How Will the Pandemic Change the Landscape for Restaurants in the US?

The Coronavirus pandemic has been wreaking havoc on the hospitality industry worldwide. However, some unexpected casualties are on their way for the US as a surprisingly large percentage of its restaurants decline and are forced to shutter their doors permanently.

Due to a mix of lockdowns and social distancing restrictions, many restaurants have frantically tried to adapt their business model to the “new normal.” Since eateries could only send out their orders through takeout, online ordering, delivery etc. and many were forced to decrease their dine-in occupancy count, the sharp decline had to happen. In fact, experts suggest that the above factors are enough to lead many restaurants to shut their operations.

An Overview of the Current Condition of the US Restaurants

According to celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, around 25 percent of small US restaurants will never see the light of dawn. He said, “They’re going to stay closed because they ran out of money and the landlords are evicting them. So it’s a really tough time.”

Running a restaurant is a challenge in a healthy economy, let alone managing a tattered one. For a restaurantowner to generate and maximize profits, he/she needs to fill at least 80 to 85 percent of the seats. Only then they can achieve break-even.

Now, with a pandemic-stricken economy, the costs and risks have greatly increased. The food delivery services, such as Uber Eats, keep 15 to 20 percent of the overall restaurant payment bill. Other than this, hosting customers means added costs to ensure that SOPs are followed, and safety measures like hand sanitizers, masks, and shields are available in quantities. However, not every restaurant can survive with these restrictions.

“The reality is not all of these restaurants are going to come back,” says Christopher Gaulke, a lecturer in the food and beverage area at Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration. “Expectations are that as many as 30 to 40% may not come back, of the independent restaurants, your mom-and-pop-style sit-down [restaurants].”

On the other hand, restaurants like Domino’s and Chipotle, who solely thrived on takeout and delivery, are coping well.

The Takeout Restaurants Are Doing Fine

“Anyone that was in the takeout and delivery game before this has just done incredibly well,” Gaulke points out. “If you look at Domino’s, Chipotle, these chains that had invested so heavily in the technology for enabling third-party delivery or online ordering, etc., they’re all doing well.” Since their dine-in facility was only more or less an extra source of revenue, they don’t feel threatened and aren’t expected to lose everything to the pandemic.

The only way US restaurants can survive the COVID-19 crises is through innovation and working on their ability to adapt. They need to go beyond standard menus and design meal kits to cater to the masses. As Gaulke puts, “We have a company here in town that has started selling meal kits and groceries, as well as pre-made foods.”

Final Thoughts

It is never too late! Restaurants heavily dependent on in-house dining will continue to suffer compared to the delivery and takeout spots. Hence, it is advisable to invest time, energy, and money to redesign the restaurant business models and prioritize delivery, meal or grocery kits, and takeout if restaurants want to remain in the business through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Related reading on restaurant payments: Restaurant Payment Resources.

Coca-Cola Introduces New “Pour by Phone” Contactless Technology

Contactless payments have been there since the 1990s, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought it to the limelight. Moreover, the trend is here to stay for a more extended period, given the circumstances.

Recently, the global beverage brand, Coca-Cola, is all set to add a variant by launching a contactless option for its consumers’ feasibility regarding pouring their beverages. A touchscreen-operated dispenser would deliver around 200 drink options with a simple tap on the smartphone.

According to Chris Hellmann, Coca-Cola Freestyle’s vice president, “All Coca-Cola beverage dispensers are safe with recommended care and cleaning. However, given these uncertain times, people may prefer a touchless fountain experience.”

Speaking of this, this newly launched contactless solution makes selecting and pouring a drink just a few clicks away for consumers.

How Pour By Phone Works

All it takes for the customer is to scan the QR code on display, leading them to the cloud, bringing the Coca-Cola Freestyle user interface to the phones. Following this, they can feel free to select their favorite drink and flavor from the menu. Before making its way to the Coca-Cola, the idea was run through initial testing at Firehouse Subs, Five Guys, and Wendy’s locations in Atlanta.

We intentionally designed this so anyone with a smart device could pour a drink,” Michael Connor, chief architect of the Coca-Cola Freestyle, said in a statement. “When you have a tray or a sandwich in one hand, you don’t want to deal with downloading an app.” He also added that they have invested time and effort and went the extra mile to ensure necessary steps have been taken to make the solution easy and fast and the experience super-reliable.

The Need of the Contactless Technology

By this summer, the software will be available at around 10,000 Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers. Also, all of the dispensers will be compatible with contactless technology by the year-end.

As per a study from Civic Science, about 65 percent of people going to a restaurant choose to pour drinks on their own than having a waiter do it for them.

It is pertinent to mention that QR code now making waves once enjoyed a maligned status. However, it has managed to come up as the enabler of contactless commerce. This development came in when China-based Alipay and rival Tencent’s started making use of QR code and went to fulfill their endeavor of standardizing it.

Subsequently, a consortium of platforms has emerged normalizing the use of QR codes to process transactions. Walgreens now accepts payment through the platform of Alipay while Apple is upping its game via Apple Pay. In addition to this, even Walmart has also altered its Walmart Pay app to incorporate QR codes and adopt the new touchless technology.

Final Thoughts

Ever since the COVID-19 crises erupted, many experts suggested contactless payments to curb the spread of the virus through cash, debit, or credit cards.

The news of contactless dispensers is another addition as going contactless became the new normal amidst the COVID-19 global crisis considering that many businesses resorted to the contactless payment option. All eyes are now on how these touchless dispensers by Coca-Cola would fair in the coming future.

This Proposal Would Allow Businesses to Get another PPP Loan

Congress has expressed interest in approving the next round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. If this happens, small businesses can expect a wave of help coming their way. Following the approval, The Prioritized Paycheck Protection Program (P4) Act is a source of funding for small businesses. Businesses that employ less than 100 people can apply for aid through this program.

However, to be eligible for a second PPP loan, the business must have its first PPP loan entirely spent or near exhaustion. Moreover, they should display a 50 percent loss of revenue amidst the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Small businesses are hopeful that conditions on a second round of PPP funding are not too restrictive.

According to Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland), small businesses are facing a tough time, and will continue doing so for the near future. He urged Congress to take immediate action to help the businesses deal with the situation in the most efficient way possible. The lawmakers were quick to realize that the lockdown has been severely affecting small businesses. As the lockdown continues, it will continue to impact the small business community negatively. Hence, the approval is necessary for the second wave of PPP loans.

Cardin, the Small Business Committee‘s ranking member alongside other senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Coons, put forward the bill before the Senate. In the House, U.S. Reps. Antonio Delgado (D-New York) and Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) have introduced a similar bill. Coons, a senator from Delaware, mentioned that the Paycheck Protection Program will enable many employers to seek federal aid. He also added that regardless of the closures coming to an end, numerous Delaware businesses would struggle to survive the damages caused by the recent COVID-19 crisis. The senators will initiate the plan in the upcoming Small Business Committee. The Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin assured the senators and expressed his open-mindedness for the idea.

It is important to mention that publicly traded companies won’t be eligible for the loan. Additionally, hospitality and lodging businesses chains can only access to a total of $2 million in loans. The legislation’s topmost priority is smaller businesses, particularly those in the restaurant and hospitality industries, as they have been affected most brutally during this pandemic crisis. The rest is for employers with fewer than ten staff members and businesses in rural areas. On the other hand, Kevin Kuhlman, Vice President of Federal Government Relations (NFIB), states that the 50 percent revenue loss is unreasonable, and it might stir conflict amongst many of its members.

According to him, if a business has had 25 percent or 30 percent revenue loss and not entirely 50 percent, they would still be faced with an existential threat, and their struggle should not be discounted, considering their high fixed costs and money owed to vendors.