State treasurer’s office to relaunch MOBUCK$ portal in November

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek's office in November is set to relaunch the online application portal for MOBUCK$, a linked deposit government program that has seen high demand in recent years.

The MOBUCK$ application portal is scheduled to open at 8 a.m. on Nov. 3 and remain available through end of day on Dec. 3, according to a news release. Malek's office notes the application period will be for agriculture, though MOBUCK$ also facilitates low-interest loans for small businesses, local governments and other efforts.

“We are committed to advancing the MOBUCK$ program with a strategic emphasis on timing and industry-specific needs,” Malek said in the release. “By aligning application windows before important agricultural periods – such as planting or spring calving season – we ensure that Missouri’s farmers and ranchers have access to the financial tools they need, when they need them most.”

The one-month application window for agriculture applicants will have total available funding of $100 million. The maximum application amount is $2 million per borrower. Missouri partners with banks statewide on MOBUCK$.

Following Malek's recent visit to Springfield to promote MOBUCK$ in August, Springfield Business Journal reported that the program has seen “extraordinary demand” in the most recent program year, which ended Sept. 30, 2024. The MOBUCK$ application portal previously was "closed until further notice." 

MOBUCK$ approved roughly $583.8 million in total loan amounts, comprising an 8% increase over 2023 numbers, which themselves showed 84% growth since 2022, according to a 2024 program year report by the treasurer’s office.