(Photo credit @jonasleupe)
Well, it snowed this morning, like an actual inch of snow. While it's beautiful outside, I am sooo ready for the day when I can sit in my backyard, doing calls & checking email. And though it can be fun to complain, I have been trying to up my gratefulness quotient for the things I do have. Among them: a roof over my head, a great job with a regular paycheck, and many friends/family just one-click away. It's worth it to take stock of the good things right now to help balance out all the challenging news in the press. Here are 5 tips to help you with starting a gratitude practice/journal (aimed at techies).
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Really interesting news in fintech this week as PayPal, Intuit and Square were all approved by the Small Business Administration to participate in distributing emergency loans to small businesses. The $350 billion small business loan program is a part of Congress’s $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package. It enables small businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees) to apply for loans & help firms to meet their payroll, utilities, and insurance expenses in order to reduce layoffs.
Many fintech lenders (in addition to the 3 above) have been lobbying Congress in recent weeks to help distribute these funds via a new organization Financial Innovation Now, claiming they have “the reach, relationships, and digital capabilities to reach those businesses most vulnerable” better than old school financial institutions. It will be interesting to see if they can make good on this promise, and it's quite surprising that the federal government granted these approvals so quickly.
And in other less surprising fintech news, the Facebook-backed Libra cryptocurrency has scaled back its ambitions for the project. Instead of launching its own un-attached currency system, it will be creating one that is tied to a local currency. I am still skeptical that it will be used as trust in Facebook is low among many consumers.
