The report’s title suggests that the fintech industry facilitated fraud in the PPP, but the report itself tells a very different story. Of the twelve fintech companies mentioned in the report, only four fintech companies are described as sources of fraud and discussed at length: Womply, Blueacorn, Kabbage, and Bluevine (Figure 1). And yet, the report’s chief recommendation on page seven is for Congress and the Small Business Administration (SBA) to consider carefully whether to work with fintech firms at all. Considering an estimated 2,700 fintech firms have been founded in the United States over the last decade, it seems to be a bold leap to say the performance of these four firms should decide the fate of so many others.

This phrasing is most concerning because it is likely that this recommendation will extend far beyond the PPP or other government benefit programs. Policymakers and the general public will likely see—with the help of banking lobbyists, no doubt—“fintechs facilitated fraud” and look no further. The report will be cited to justify putting more roadblocks before the fintech industry and more protections for the legacy banking system, neither of which is warranted.

Were this issue not enough on its own, the report largely glosses over the fact that Congress and the SBA deliberately removed upfront controls and safeguards to rush the $800 billion program out the door.