National Australia Bank is taking the paperwork out of bank lending with a new service that allows eligible customers to apply for up to $50,000 in unsecured funding via an online application process.
The NAB QuickBiz Loan has been developed by in-house innovation hub NAB Labs and will launch in early June.
The new online platform uses NAB’s Application Programming Interface (API) technology to assist with the credit check on each application and provides an automated credit decision within minutes. Customers will have finance for their business account within three days of NAB receiving their signed loan document.
NAB group executive business banking Angela Mentis says: “In the early days of business ownership, small businesses often only require small amounts of funding - and many owners don’t have a property or other significant assets to secure a loan against. We’re responding to these customer needs, placing more emphasis on the strength of the business rather than traditional physical bricks and mortar security."
Wells Fargo launched a similar product in the US last month, entering a market that has been a prime target for fintech startups. Innovations in lending have led to a slew of new players in invoice and supply chain financing, equity crowdfunding and SME-to-SME loan packaging practices as a credible alternative to traditional bank lending.
In the Auatralian market, NAB rivals CBA and Westpac are working on referral partnerships with non-bank interlopers like OnDeck and Prospa.
NAB credits its ability to enter the market directly to its agile development methodology.
Executive general manager NAB Labs, Jonathan Davey, says: “It’s another example of NAB Labs agile development and rapid prototyping approach, where we build to decide, rather than decide to build, delivering solutions that make a real difference for our customers.”