This week, the Florida-based office-supplies chain announced a partnership with Superior Financial Group, a The aisles of Office Depot have long kept small businesses stocked with stationary, staplers, file folders and other supplies. Now they can pick up another necessity: Cash.

Walnut Creek, Calif. lender, to provide Small Business Administration loans to qualified borrowers of up to $25,000.

According to the online application, there is no fee to apply and approved borrowers receive a 10% discount off the loan origination fee. The loans can be repaid over a period of eight years, keeping monthly installments low, with no penalty for early repayment.

 The move comes at a time when smaller companies are still struggling for credit. A recent study by Pepperdine University found only 17% of small businesses that sought a bank loan in the past six months were approved. Small-business owners consistently rank access to capital as a top concern.

Monica Luechtefeld, Office Depot’s executive vice president of global e-commerce, said in a statement that the new loan program will help small-business owners get the “funds they need to start, run and grow their business.”

Superior Financial Group is a federally regulated Small Business Lending Corporation, which is a non-bank lender overseen by the SBA that issues government-backed small-business loans.

                        Financing, small business by Angus Loten