Banjo launches bridging finance offering

The product, which had been in soft launch via the broker channel, is available to businesses that have been established for more than two years, with annual sales of over $500,000.

The secured loan is available on terms of two to six months, and is interest-expense only, with the principal paid at maturity.

Brokers can apply for the bridging finance loan on behalf of their clients via the Banjo partner portal from today (12 July).  

It said that it can provide credit decisions “in as little as 48 hours”.

According to Banjo, the new offering aims to reduce the time it takes for SMEs to access finance to grow, by removing the “holding pattern” of waiting for the proceeds of an asset sale or property transaction. 

Guy Callaghan, CEO of Banjo Loans, commented: “We’ve seen a lot of pent-up demand to release working capital that’s tied up in a range of scenarios from asset sales, to property settlements or refinancing between banks.

“SMEs are keen to avoid the stress of managing cash flow while waiting for the proceeds of the business transaction. Yet, understandably, many can’t face jumping through the lengthy, complex hoops required by traditional lenders, just to secure a short-term loan to tide them over.

“Single Pay can be turned around quickly, so businesses needn’t miss a beat.”

Mr Callaghan gave the example of a wholesale business client that was refinancing between banks and utilised the fintech’s bridging loan.

“The incumbent bank required all existing loans to be fully paid out before releasing their security interest, [and] the new bank couldn’t provide the new loan until this was done.

“Banjo was able to provide the business with Single Pay to fully settle the old loans. This has then freed the business to take up its loan with the new bank,” Mr Callaghan explained.  

Single Pay is the latest new offering from Banjo, which earlier this year launched a short-term working capital loan for small businesses.