The benefits of unsecured business loans

hero-ebrokerAccess to business finance can make or break your business, but it’s important to avoid bad borrowing decisions that can hold you back for years to come.

One source of funding could be your bank. But as Simon Isaacs, founding director of eBroker.com.au, observes: “Traditional finance primarily suits businesses that are backed by property to guarantee the loan and have been in business for many years.”

That, of course, excludes many small businesses and retailers from traditional bank finance. But there is a solution: the non-bank unsecured business loans provided by a growing number of fintechs, such as balance sheet lenders and marketplace lenders. Some also specialise in Supply-Chain & Trade finance perfectly suited to retail as they fund the purchase of Stock & Inventory.

Isaacs believes fintechs can be a good alternative to the traditional banks. “They can provide finance without property as security along with offering speed, flexibility and great customer service, which isn’t available at their bank. They can also offer additional finance where the bank has refused.” he says.

Unsecured finance costs more than property secured finance. However, Isaacs notes that these lenders pride themselves on speed, flexibility and customer service and will do all they can to assist the business owner at every step of the journey.

So, with lots of options out there to choose from, what should you do?

Firstly, start the process early.

“Small retailers, much like a lot of small business owners who are busy with the day-to-day, leave it to the last minute which narrows their options,” says Isaacs.

“They are then tempted to accept the first loan they find and don’t get more than one offer to compare. As a result, they often end up with a more expensive and restrictive business loan.

“A common mistake they also make is accepting larger than necessary loans when the flexibility of non-bank finance is designed to grow with the business.”

Just like with any other critical decision or business commitment, Isaacs says it’s smart to get many quotes and to carefully compare these to get your business the best possible outcome.

“That’s our mission at eBroker – to make the difficult task of narrowing down the huge array of options a simple, free, unbiased and transparent experience.”

Indeed, eBroker aggregates 60 non-bank small business lenders specialising in unsecured business loans on its platform and then uses artificial intelligence and algorithms to match borrowers and lenders, saving retailers time and money.

As such, it claims to have done something truly unique in the Australian fintech space with its cutting-edge technology which is fixing a major challenge in the market.

“The magic of our platform lies in how it matches a borrower with the right lender and type of loan to best suit the business needs. Indeed, it is the only platform where retailers can freely view all the leading non-bank lenders in real time and then compare the offering before making a formal application,” says Isaacs.

He says eBroker earns its revenue for successful deals from the lenders that participate on its platform. “Unlike many traditional business loan brokers, we don’t charge the client an additional brokerage fee,” he says.

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