One application to reach them all: A digital business loan marketplace gives you a wider pool of lenders to choose from. Photo credit: Unsplash
If you have ever applied for a business loan with a bank, you (or your accountant) probably remember having to wade knee-deep in paperwork just to gather all the required documents for submission.
It’s all good if the bank approved your loan in the end. If not, you would have to repeat the process all over again – ad nauseam – until you finally get the green light from the financial institution in question.
Then there’s the problem of information asymmetry too, that we discussed in this article. More on that later.
It can be said that the tedious (not to mention daunting) business loan application process is one of the reasons why SME owners may decide to outsource this work to a business loan broker who acts as a middleman between you and a financial institution.
It may also be be a good idea to engage a business loan broker for the following reasons (you can check out more reasons here).
An experienced business loan broker is likely to have established solid working relationships with the relationship managers (RMs) of various banks and other financial institutions over the years.
He or she will know best which bank or financial institution to approach – and whom to talk to – for a specific loan that matches your needs.
A good business loan broker will also have accumulated extensive knowledge on the process of applying for a loan, as well as the latest rules and regulations.
He or she can advise you on what documents to submit, what the best rates are and which lenders to apply to after reviewing your needs. Your broker will also be in a position to explain industry terminology, and terms and conditions to you.
Even if you do get rejected by a financial institution, your business loan broker can think of other options and other lenders to try for you.
He or she may even be able to guess why your loan application was rejected – in which case you can look into the situation and rectify it for a better chance at getting your loan approved the next time.
Of course, this expertise doesn’t come free. You will have to pay your broker a commission if you get a loan successfully.
But the fee (if priced reasonably) seems a small price to pay when you consider how you save yourself the hassle from doing everything yourself – over and over again.
So far, we have established that a knowledgeable, honest and professional business loan broker can save you a considerable amount of legwork when it comes to applying for a business loan.
Now consider a digital fee-free business loan marketplace like Lendingpot, which was set up for one purpose: To make it simpler, easier and more affordable for SMEs to apply for a business loan.
With just one online application, it connects SMEs to its partner network of 45 banks, non-bank financial institutions, peer-to-peer lenders, private lenders and family offices – for free.
All SME owners need to do is fill up an online application form and submit relevant documents (such as profit and loss statements) through its secure online portal.
Lendingpot’s account managers will then contact the applicant, write up a case summary, and post it on its Business Loan Marketplace anonymously (i.e. the company’s details will not be apparent at this stage).
All relationship managers who are in Lendingpot’s network will then be notified of the new request. Those who are interested in knowing more about the case will be connected with the applicant. Only then will the company specifics be viewable.
The SME owner may then receive multiple offers from various lenders for that one request.
Here are 8 reasons why SME owners like yourself should consider Lendingpot’s digital fee-free business loan marketplace model.
Lendingpot is a fully owned subsidiary of IFS Capital Limited, which has been serving SMEs since 1987 and listed on the Singapore mainboard since 1993. IFS is also part of the PhillipCapital network of companies.
The idea behind it was born after the founders saw how difficult it was for SMEs to get bank loans and wanted to improve the financing ecosystem for SMEs through an unbiased business loan matching system.
With just one seamless online application, an SME owner can potentially reach out to 45 lenders and more than 90 relationship managers.
Do note that our network includes more than one relationship manager from the same bank. This is because we recognize everyone does their work differently (even if they are from the same bank) and has different perspectives.
For instance, what one RM deems as impossible may be doable to another. We also want to increase the options that SME owners usually have.
What this means is that SME owners can get more loan options (including lenders and RMs) within a much shorter time frame than if it had applied to these lenders or reached out to each of these RMs individually.
Unlike business loan brokers who aim to earn a commission for every successful loan referred, Lendingpot does not charge any fee to SMEs and relationship managers.
Instead, it charges the financial institution a reasonable and transparent fee for every successful loan matched.
Whether it is a bank, non-bank financial institution, peer-to-peer lender, private lender or family office, all our partners have to submit the best loan offer to the SME they are interested in helping.
Lendingpot does not interfere in this process. This results in a driven, yet unbiased platform that promotes more competitive rates by virtue of the competition present.
We will only charge the lender a transparent and reasonable fee upon the successful disbursement of a loan.
Instead of having to re-submit the same set of documents to different financial institutions and having to keep track of the status of each application, SMEs just need to apply once on our digital platform to reach 45 of our partners.
All SME owners need to do is fill up an online application form and submit relevant business documents through Lendingpot’s secure online portal.
No fees. More time saved. More options given. Less hassle.
Lendingpot’s mission is clear – we want to help SMEs that are often bewildered by why their loans were rejected to get access to a wider range of loan options more quickly, safely and efficiently. This is done through one, single online application.
The more we are able to help SMEs find a way around the problem of information asymmetry inherent in the banking and financial ecosystem, the better.
Find out more here. You can even check your loan eligibility.
Rest assured the information you submit about your business is kept secure. Read our privacy policy here. If you like, we can even restrict the access of your application to certain types of lenders.
Most importantly, with the tables now turned – and lenders trying to get a loan for you – instead of you having to send in your painstakingly put together application to various banks repeatedly, the competition is increased.
More competition means improved service, which could in turn bring you more competitive rates. What really could be better than that?
So get started now. Register for a new account, then submit your business financing request to kickstart your loan application journey.
Belinda loves thinking about random stuff, and collecting useless bits of facts and trivia. She often roots for the underdog, and believes the world needs more happy endings.
