There are comparison sites like Webjet and iSelect that have been designed specifically with the consumer in mind but now a site has been recently launched targeted directly to businesses.
Finnovate, the first of its kind in Australia, is a business finance comparison website that is set to empower retailers with the choice to compare the rates and fees of nine major lends and apply for equipment and vehicle finance and leasing online.
The site has been designed to be totally independent and impartial. It will not advise businesses on which lender to select but it will however present relevant information, allowing businesses to make more informed decisions.
Chris Beath of A Class Business Finance, the Brisbane-based asset finance group behind the new website, said this will trigger competition among lenders through total rate and fee transparency.
“Unlike mortgage financing which operates to a fairly homogenous interest rate model, it is widely acknowledged that rates offered to Australian businesses for equipment and vehicle finance transactions are far more variable and more difficult to compare on a like-for-like basis,” he said.
“There has been a long-standing lack of legitimate competitive pressure in the SME loan segment, largely due to the fact that lenders keep their rates very close to their chests, and borrowing insight has suffered because of this.”
“Finnovate totally changes the game – until now there has been nothing like this in the business sector.”
“We are fighting hard for Australian business by introducing greater transparency in this space, and the fact that nine of Australia’s biggest banks and financiers have come to the table and partnered with us, proves that we have a product that represents the future of business finance in this country.”
Tthe Finnovate website is able to process financial applications worth up to $1 million. Transactions thereafter that value will be dealt with personally by Finnovate.
“Each Finnovate step is explained in layman’s terms and users can access a help function throughout the site. The application process takes between five and 15 minutes to complete, and that’s the vast majority of the application done. The final steps are completed over the phone or in person with the chosen financier, who contacts the client directly within 24 hours,” Beath said.
“What we are providing is a 24/7 one-stop-shop for business finance from rate comparison and application through to approval, and we believe this will be the catalyst for change in Australia’s business finance landscape.”
According to Beath, the company aims to capture a 5 per cent share of Australia’s $36.7 billion business finance market within the first five years, with a longer-term goal of 10 per cent.
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