Moula announces additional $250 million in small business funding
The lender is looking to compete with traditional banks.
Online business lender Moula has announced it will provide a further $250 million in small business funding as part of a plan to give small business owners better access to capital and provide an alternative to the big banks.
Along with the additional funding, the lender has also made a number of changes to its loan terms as part of a concerted push to attract small business customers away from the banks after the revelations of the banking royal commission.
Customers can now be offered loan terms of 36 months, up from 24 months, and interest rates from 15.95%. Moula has also increased the maximum loan amount to $500,000, up from $250,000.
Aris Allegos, CEO of Moula, says the new terms will help Australian small businesses get the funding they need. "Injecting a quarter-of-a-billion dollars into Australia's businesses, and making our financing terms more flexible will ensure that hard-working business owners aren't locked out of accessing funding, and are able to seize growth opportunities with confidence," he said.
"Until now, online business lenders have competed with banks on speed, ease of application and customer service. However, competition based on pricing has been largely absent. With our new pricing and ongoing commitment to transparency, we're now able to provide business owners with another option which is not only faster and easier than a bank, but also more affordable."
With bank lending likely to tighten following the findings of the Hayne royal commission, and three-quarters of applicants already being rejected for unsecured business loans, according to the 2017 Digital Finance Analytics SME survey, Allegos believes alternative lenders are more important than ever.
"Moula has emerged as a strong and legitimate alternative to dealing with mainstream banking," Allegos said. "Fundamentally, Moula believes that business financing shouldn't be difficult, time-consuming or expensive. The platform we've built analyses a business's data to make the approval process fast and simple," he said.
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