SmartBiz took
the bank home.

Danielle had the sort of problem a small business hopes to have. Her catering company was growing. Alongside food, she was arranging photographers, DJs, tables and linens. More events meant more vendors and more staff. It also meant needing cash before all that activity paid for itself. A business credit card had helped. Its interest bill was less helpful.

In SmartBiz’s 2015 account of Savory Gourmet Catering, Danielle discovered the service through Sam’s Club. She began an application on September 17; a $50,000 loan funded on October 26. She used it to pay off the expensive card. The useful innovation here was mundane: a growing caterer could replace one financing arrangement with another that better suited her business.

The expensive part was the small part

SmartBiz Bank makes more sense when you look at the lender’s desk. A small loan still needs documents collected, credit assessed and a decision recorded. In a 2025 interview, then-CEO Evan Singer argued that originating a $100,000 loan could consume the same time and resources as a $10 million loan. The smaller borrower creates less room to absorb that work.

That is the gap SmartBiz entered. Its roots reach back to BillFloat, the consumer-credit company founded in 2009 by Sean O’Malley and Ryan Gilbert and incubated at PayPal and Venrock. In 2013, Singer led development of a small-business platform using lessons and technology from the consumer operation. The company learned to help banks process smaller loans through software and specialist support.

Its expertise sits in the unglamorous middle: translating business records into a usable application, handling SBA requirements and keeping the process moving. By January 2023, Sunflower Bank was launching a lending portal with SmartBiz. Distribution came through an existing bank relationship; the technology and support helped with the work behind it.

Then the matchmaker bought a bank

In March 2025, SmartBiz acquired United Community Bancshares and its subsidiary, Centrust Bank. The combined bank took the SmartBiz name. Centrust continued as a division, bringing its Chicago-area commercial bankers, deposits and lending relationships into the operation.

“We are building a bank designed specifically to serve small businesses.”

Evan Singer / acquisition announcement, March 2025

The reasoning was straightforward: owning a bank would let SmartBiz extend more loans directly and broaden the financial services it could offer. The transaction joined a national digital lending operation to an existing community bank. Singer said the combined company retained the bank’s team. By May 2026, SmartBiz identified Gerard Buccino, previously Centrust’s CEO, as its own CEO and CFO.

Buying that capability carried obligations. The OCC’s conditional approval required a $6 million capital injection from the parent, net of expenses, and a minimum 11% tier 1 leverage ratio for three years. Significant business-plan changes required regulatory non-objection. Those conditions put a price and a boundary around the ambition.

A loan with two clocks

For the borrower, SmartBiz begins with an eligibility check advertised at about five minutes, using a soft credit pull. Then comes the slower clock: documents, specialist guidance, underwriting and closing. A later credit check can affect the applicant’s score. A quick introduction is useful; it does not settle the lending decision.

The core SBA offer currently advertises $50,000 to $350,000 for working capital and debt refinancing, with ten-year repayment terms. SmartBiz may lend directly or match the applicant with a lender in its network. That distinction survives the bank acquisition. Borrowers still need to know which institution is making their loan.

The alternatives on the menu have different shapes. Network bank term loans advertise $50,000 to $300,000, fixed rates and two-to-five-year repayment periods. Partner-provided lines of credit advertise $50,000 to $100,000, a 24-month draw period and 36-month repayment terms. Those products serve different cash-flow needs; they are not interchangeable checkout options.

The price of breathing room

SmartBiz’s published direct SBA fee schedule, for loans of $350,000 or less, lists a $2,500 packaging fee, typical closing costs around $600 and applicable SBA guaranty fees. Fees can be deducted from proceeds. The amount approved and the money landing in the business account may therefore differ.

Rates are variable and tied to prime. Longer terms can ease monthly payments, but interest-rate changes can alter the bill, and stretching repayment can increase total interest. The bank earns interest and applicable fees; its wider operation also provides financing access and origination services through partners. That combination places it between a direct SBA lender and a lending marketplace.

The fit is selective. The current SBA page asks for at least three years in business, good credit and cash flow, alongside ownership and SBA eligibility requirements. A brand-new venture or a business needing immediate rescue may need another route. Digital paperwork does not remove the need to demonstrate repayment capacity.

The useful thing to copy

SmartBiz reports $9 billion delivered and more than 230,000 business owners funded across its history. Those cumulative platform figures describe reach, rather than the new bank’s balance sheet. Its second annual Industry Pulse survey, released in May 2026, extends the effort to understand the owners behind the applications.

The transferable idea is to examine the work that makes a customer expensive to serve. SmartBiz combined software with people who could handle exceptions, then acquired an institution that could lend. For an owner comparing offers, the equally practical lesson is to compare net proceeds, fees, monthly payments and lifetime cost together. A smaller payment helps only if the whole arrangement fits the business.