RDC.AI (formerly Rich Data Co), a global leading explainable AI decisioning platform for business and commercial lenders, today announced its collaboration with Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) to launch the Merchant Flexi Loan, an innovative cashflow-based, unsecured lending solution that enables small businesses to receive tailored offers and loan approval in minutes.
Fast access to credit is essential for small businesses, which represent 97 per cent of New Zealand businesses,[1] enabling the flexibility and control to grow and thrive.
Powered by RDC.AI’s advanced decisioning platform, the Merchant Flexi Loan application analyses terminal transaction data and cashflow history patterns to deliver tailored loan decisions - no financial statements needed.
The RDC.AI platform also supports dynamic credit offers and embedded monitoring. This capability helps BNZ offer merchants the flexibility to choose repayments between 10-30 per cent of daily settled terminal sales, based on their business performance. This gives merchants control over their repayment schedule based on their business conditions.
Eligible merchants can be approved in as little as three minutes and receive funds within two business days - setting a new benchmark for speed in the market. The loan is offered on a simple, one-off fee structure with no interest, providing cost certainty and transparency for small businesses.
BNZ customers are already using the loan to support business expansion and equipment investment, citing its speed and ease of use as a welcome additional option in the lending market.
Ada Guan, CEO and Co-Founder of RDC.AI, said: "We’re excited to collaborate with BNZ to support New Zealand’s SME economy through this AI-driven merchant lending solution and launch an innovative cashflow lending structure. Our explainable AI empowers banks to offer businesses the financial flexibility, transparency and rapid access to capital they need to thrive.
“At RDC.AI, innovative and accessible access to credit sits at the core of what we do. Limited resources and dependence on customer payments shouldn’t hinder business growth - or potentially halt operations during a crisis when access to funds becomes critical. We’re helping more businesses access innovative credit solutions and giving them better control over their working capital."
Karna Luke, Executive, Customer Products & Services at BNZ, added: "Small businesses are the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, and timely access to credit is critical for their operations and growth. Our Merchant Flexi Loans enable us to deliver swift, innovative, and responsive cashflow lending solutions that meet the evolving needs of our small business customers. We’re delighted to offer this simple and flexible solution and provide customers with another option for access to credit during critical moments in their business."
The BNZ Merchant Flexi Loan, powered by RDC.AI, is now available to eligible merchant customers across New Zealand, underscoring BNZ and RDC.AI’s shared commitment to driving innovation and support for the SME sector.