Starting a business and keeping it up is no cakewalk. A lot needs to be taken care of, and one of the most critical things is the constant cash flow. Moreover, if you have had bad credit, it becomes a little more complicated. However, getting bad credit Business Loans in Australia is possible, provided you go with caution. Yes, you read it right! Your bad credit history is no longer an impediment to starting a business or expanding the established one.
According to the statistics, over 13.7 million Australians have credit cards, and many face difficulties applying for loans. Reason- 35% are denied for unstable income, 20% for having too much debt, and around 21% for bad credit history. Numerous web-based or nonprofit lenders and financial institutions in Australia provide monetary support to individuals with poor credit scores.
These lenders have different criteria to determine the credit worthiness of the borrowers. However, since the borrower with bad credit is considered riskier, you can expect the interest rates to be high. So if you are experiencing financial hardship in managing your business operations due to poor credit ratings, you don’t need to feel dejected.
What is bad credit?
A person is considered to have a bad credit score if they owe too much money or have a history of missed payments. Sometimes when you had unexpected expenses due to which you could not pay your regular monthly bills, or you had made some poor financial decisions in the past due to which you have too much debt. No matter the reason, if you have failed to pay your bills or rent on time, you will likely have a bad credit score. It can also include bankruptcies which further limit your options for securing a business loan.
The borrowers with poor or no credit score are considered high-risk borrowers. Now you might wonder how much a low score is a bad one. Well, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to getting approval for your loan application. The minimum credit score required for securing a business loan depends on several factors like the size and purpose of the loan, how much collateral you can give, and whether it is a secured loan or unsecured.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report, Australia is a country where 13% or 2.1 million population is at risk of credit default or other adverse credit events. In general, you will need a minimum personal credit score of at least 600 for a small business loan from banking institutions or credit unions. As per FICO, if your credit score is below 600, you have a bad credit score.
How to get bad credit Business Loans in Australia?
The Australian government has a comprehensive SME plan to promote growth and opportunities across the country. Its policies for promoting SMEs are focused on supporting the businesses financially and helping enterprises expand their businesses while enhancing the operating environment for their staff/ employees. Therefore, it allows the alternative lenders to provide bad credit Business Loans in Australia for small businesses using different forms of security; such as:
- Turnover loan: If now you have managed to improve your credit score and have a healthy turnover and stable income, it is sufficient for the online lenders to convince your creditworthiness, even if you have a bad credit history.
- Asset Finance: In case you own several assets but lack funds, the lenders consider keeping your assets like a vehicle, equipment or commercial property as collateral or security against their investment. This assures them that their money is not at risk.
- Invoice finance is a method of borrowing money based on what your customer owes to your business. You can present your unpaid invoices to prove your creditworthiness to a lender and get a loan approved.
