Sam’s Club Gets Into Small Biz Loans

Sam’s Club has long been popular among people who like to save money while still buying brand name goods.  Now, it looks like Sam’s Club could also gain favor among small business owners who need to flat-out receive cash, as it’s experimenting with small business loans.

The company stated this morning, "Sam’s Club announced today it is testing an online program with Superior Financial Group, the Nation’s leading Small Business Administration (SBA) lender, which would make $5,000 to $25,000 loans available to its members who qualify."

As for why this is occurring, the statement explained, "In a November 2009 state of small business survey conducted by Sam’s Club, nearly 15 percent of its business members reported being denied a loan to run their operation, up from 12 percent in April 2009."

So it sounds like existing Sam’s Club members have created a reasonable demand for these loans.  Let’s hope their needs are met.

This development doesn’t have to just serve that relatively small number of people, though; would-be applicants who aren’t already members can perhaps benefit in multiple ways from joining.  Sam’s Club members are supposed to receive $100 off the application fee, a discount, and a lower APR.

Then, even if you’re not at all interested in getting one of the new loans – or if you’re unable to get one – it’s necessary to consider what sort of effect this move might have on the banking industry.  After all, if Sam’s Club is able to act as a competitor, it may convince traditional banks to resume lending money to small businesses.

As small business owners should know, Wal-Mart, which owns Sam’s Club, has certainly been able to force many companies to lower their prices.

More information about the loans from Sam’s Club can be found by visiting the Sam’s Club site and clicking on the "Services" tab, anyway.  Let’s hope all goes well and the experiment proves successful.