Prime Minister’s Office

10 Downing Street

London

SW1A 2AA

06th April 2020 (Updated 18th April)

Dear Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Secretary of State for Business.

May I first of all send you our best wishes Prime Minister and hope that you get well soon.

The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) cannot be accessed by many small and innovative companies that do not meet all of the criteria. It has been reported that one million businesses will go out of business in four weeks, putting ten million people out of work.

We are asking the UK government to approve digital lending platforms so they can deliver help quickly to SMEs and the self-employed that contribute £190 billion to the UK economy every year.

The agile nature of the Great British Fintech means funding can be made available quickly and at scale for the millions of small British businesses stricken by the coronavirus lockdown.

As a proud British Fintech Platform, we have represented Britain on Fintech Trade Missions and are welcomed as technology leaders around the world. We have benefited from the EIS Scheme, R&D Tax Credits and our savers and borrowers benefit from the excellent Innovative Finance ISA introduced by The Conservatives in 2017.

Many non-bank lending platforms like ourselves, source their lender capital from private individuals and smaller businesses, not banks or hedge funds, real people using their ISA allowances and pensions to lend to other people.

With the banks struggling to lend at scale under the current structure of the CBILS 80% Guarantee scheme, we are asking for help to save our great British businesses. Unless the non-bank Fintech platforms are able to access the CBILS scheme for the people and SME's urgently, with a 100% Government guarantee, millions of jobs will be lost, and a generation of innovation destroyed.

The Great British Fintech Platforms can deliver a CBILS solution now and at scale with Government in partnership with the people.

Our proposals, simplified below, are submitted via the British Business Bank and HM Treasury and we look forward to their reply.

1. A self-declared application for up to 25% of 2019 revenues, to a maximum of £50,000. Available to any sole trader or SME with HMRC identification. A simple 1-page online application is all that's required. This would trigger a 1-page eSignature credit agreement. Loans could be disbursed within 24 hours from application.

2. For loans of £50,000 to £5M, An FCA Regulated Financial Adviser or Chartered Accountant can verify 2019 revenues and cashflows before COVID19 and apply for up to 25% of revenues. Once verified this would trigger a 1-page eSignature credit agreement and loans could be disbursed within 48 hours from application.

The details of this scheme have been submitted to the British Business Bank and HM Treasury.

The people of this country are willing to lend their money to other people, let's work together with "The People's Government" to make it happen and fast.

Yours sincerely,

Lee Birkett

Chief Executive Officer

JustUs.co

CC. COVID2020 Fintech Taskforce