Bizcap Review for Potential Borrowers
Bizcap Review for Potential Borrowers
This Bizcap review will provide a full breakdown of the business finance solutions offered by Bizcap business loans. We look into the credibility of Bizcap by exploring who operates and runs Bizcap, when Bizcap was launched and the types of businesses most suited to receiving a Bizcap business loan. We’ll also provide details of what Bizcap requires from a potential borrower and what makes them Australia’s ‘most open-minded lender’. Read the following Bizcap review to find out more.
Bizcap Review – Basic Figures for 2022
Website
Logo
ABN
9429048276863
Loan Amount
$5,000 – $1,000,000
Loan Term
3-12 Months
Unsecured Loans?
Unsecured Loans are Available
Lender Requirements
- Active ABN
- Minimum 6 months in operation
- Turnover of at least $10,000 a month
Required
ABN
Copies of the business’ most recent 3 months of statements.
Loans over $30,000 may require assets to secure the loan.
Response Time
3 Hours
Easy to Apply
Yes, fully online
The Nitty-gritty
Online Reviews
Widely positive online reviews for Bizcap. 98% of customers rate their experience as either excellent or great on Trustpilot, based on a sample of 670 reviews which is a very good sample size for an online business lender in Australia.
Awards and Recognition
- The Adviser – Best BDM Online Lender – Finalist (2022)
- The Adviser – Best BDM Online Lender – Finalist (2021)
- Finnies – Best Workplace Diversity – Finalist (2022)
- Finnies – Excellence in Business Lending – Finalist (2022)
- Finnies – Excellence in Business Lending – Finalist (2021)
Minimal Interest Rates
Rates will vary depending on individual circumstances. Bizcap charges a fixed fee on the fixed fee which is agreed upfront.
Credibility & Company Story
Launched as recently as 2019 by co-founders Zalman Blachman and Abe White, Bizcap seeks to support Australian SMEs with the capital they need to grow their business in a simple, efficient and effective way. Its management team has over 15 years of underwriting experience in the US market, which, to quote Bizcap themselves, is “7-8 years ahead of the local [Australian] market”.
Bizcap pride themselves on supporting businesses that need it most. This means they will consider SMEs with defaults or other judgments of hardship, who may have been declined from other lenders already, or have a poor credit profile (Bizcap has no minimum credit score to qualify). It’s these qualities that make Bizcap the self-professed ‘most open-minded lender in Australia’.
A totally digital workflow process; including application, due diligence and fulfilment, means Bizcap can assess and fund businesses in as fast as 3 business hours.
With just 3 client reviews to their name at the end of 2019, Bizcap went on to amass a highly-impressive 650 reviews throughout 2020 and 2021. This provides an indication of just how active the lender was throughout the pandemic when a number of other lenders either drastically reduced their lending volumes or ceased lending outright. As co-founder Blachman explains, “Our goal is to provide Australian SMEs with access to the capital they need to support their growth, and we aim to do this with ease and efficiency.” This approach resulted in Bizcap seeing month after month of double-digit origination growth throughout the pandemic, charting a 275% increase in lending in 2020 vs 2019. In this regard, Bizcap certainly demonstrated that it lives up to its name as the most ‘open-minded lender in Australia’, providing ongoing support during one of the most tumultuous periods in recent history.
In 2021, Bizcap expanded into New Zealand, with Blachman having this to say, “On the back of the great success we’ve enjoyed in Australia, moving into New Zealand is a natural progression, and we’re excited to be able to offer New Zealand SMEs access to business loans within the day.” The Bizcap New Zealand team is now onboarding new clients, referral partners and brokers – whether they traditionally write business finance or not – within New Zealand.
A number of Bizcap’s customers are referred by business loan brokers, with Head of Partnerships Kama Atcheson playing a key role in loan origination. However, in May 2022, Kama moved to a Head of Partnerships role at Moneytech, another of Australia’s leading alternative lenders. We await to see how Bizcap fills this role.
What Products Do Bizcap Offer?
Bizcap advertises a number of loan solutions, including:
- Unsecured Business Loans
- Short Term Business Loans
- Fast Business Loans
- Small Business Loans
- Cashflow Finance
Despite the wide array of terminology used, ultimately Bizcap offers just one simple lending solution. A straight-forward short-term business loan in which the only difference in lending terms is between loans that are issued on a secured and unsecured basis.
| Unsecured Business Loans | Secured Business Loans | |
| Loan Term | 3 – 12 months | 3 – 12 months |
| Loan Amount | $5,000 – $500,000 | $5,000 – $1,000,000 |
The only difference between the two is that unsecured business loans with Bizcap are capped at $500,000, whereas secured business loans can be anywhere up to $1,000,000. In reality, Bizcap is likely to ask for a charge over assets for any loan over $30,000 and there is not much to differentiate between the two.
Bizcap Loans Client Reviews
In Numbers
– TrustPilot Australia: 670 Reviews, 92% Excellent, 6% Great, <1% Average, <1% Poor, <1% Bad – 4.9 / 5 Total TrustScore (Excellent)
– Productreview.com: 5 Reviews – 4.2 (four reviews of 5* and one 1* review)
The Feedback:
Over 98% of the Bizcap reviews on TrustPilot are glowingly positive, with under 2% rating their experience as either ‘average’, ‘poor’ or ‘bad’.
We’ve taken just a couple of the positive Bizcap reviews on TrustPilot to best sum up the client experience.
“Wow…first good experience I have had with any sort of financier. Deesha, the loan specialist, was professional, supportive and incredibly helpful. I feel like I have someone on my side to help me get my credit score back on track and actually feel hopeful about my finances for the first time in years.”
“A very easy and painless process in securing finance. The team is efficient and very helpful & willing to work with you to achieve a solution.”
There are exactly nine reviews which mark the service as either poor or bad and only two negative Bizcap reviews have been left in 2022. One of the negative reviews states “repayment plans defeat the purpose of the loan” which we don’t totally understand – all loans will of course come with a repayment plan. Online lenders typically give customers the option to make repayments daily, weekly or sometimes monthly.
The most common theme in the poor reviews of Bizcap is that their interest rates are too high. Two things should be considered here. Firstly, online loans are generally always more expensive than bank loans. They’re faster, easier to attain and generally open to a wider-range of SMEs. Secondly, even within the online lending space, Bizcap prides itself on being Australia’s most open-minded lender. One that will consider second loans and bad credit business loans, i.e. the types of business that many other lenders will flat out refuse to lend to. Bizcap’s systematic approach to lending means it has to price risk appropriately, allowing them to support businesses in a sustainable manner for both parties. It is only natural that ‘high-risk’ borrowers pay the highest interest.
Analysis of Client Reviews:
There are hundreds of positive Bizcap reviews available online. Those that reviewed Bizcap positively stated that the turnaround time was quick, the process was efficient and customer service was highly professional. Moreover, there are a number of clients who have had repeat loans with Bizcap – a testament to the effective service they provide.
Considering there are over 670 Bizcap reviews on TrustPilot and the fact only nine of these are bad shows that, generally, customers love Bizcap. It’s understandable that some borrowers are put off by high loan costs but prospective borrowers should also be aware that their rate is going to be reflective of their own financial situation. With Bizcap often prepared to issue finance to SMEs who have struggled to receive finance elsewhere, the chances are these SMEs are going to have to pay more interest. As always, we recommend you never take on more finance than your business is able to repay and ensure you are fully aware of all of the loan costs ahead of agreeing to a business loan. Secured business loans are usually cheaper than unsecured business loans.
Bizcap Online Platform
Bizcap’s website bizcap.com.au provides all of the main information one would expect from an online lender. Under the ‘how it works’ section readers can gain a better understanding of the lending process, the minimum lending criteria and the information they are required to provide.
From a usability perspective, there is certainly easier to navigate websites from some of Bizcap’s competitors such as Lumi, which has one of the most straightforward and slickest websites going. One thing we can say is that Bizcap’s website has become more user-friendly as the firm has grown in popularity over the last couple of years. The online application is very straightforward and designed for applicants to only have to supply some of the most basic details in order to speak to a business loan specialist about their requirements. Bizcap places a lot of emphasis on its team and encourages applicants to call through to the BDM team before even making the application online.
Bizcap is somewhat of a thought-leader in the online lending space and updates its blog once a month with a new guide on SME lending.
Bizcap Loan Compatibility
- Startup: No, but Bizcap only requires that you’ve been trading for 6 months.
- Bad credit: Possibly Australia’s most accepting lender for bad credit. Bizcap does review personal credit information relating to the business owner but the businesses’ cash flow and asset-profile are the key considerations.
- Sole trader: Yes, Bizcap works with sole traders.
- Established business: Yes, Bizcap accepts established businesses and provides loans up to $1,000,000.
- Turnover: Bizcap requires at least $10,000/month turnover.
With loans available up to $1,000,000 Bizcap has the capacity to grant higher loan volumes than the majority of online lenders. In this sense, it provides a higher degree of flexibility for larger businesses to seek non-bank lenders.
Its openness to bad credit and in providing second loan.
Bizcap Pricing & Rates
Similar to other lenders, there is little information to be found on the Bizcap website with regards to Bizcap’s exact pricing methodology and min/max interest rates. This is because every borrower’s situation is unique and loan costs will always be determined on a case-by-case basis.
In their FAQs, Bizcap states “Each applicant’s cash flow, payment history, and financial strength are considered to determine a risk-adjusted repayment plan specific to that applicant. Payments are determined by factors such as the amount and consistency of the business’s cash flow, the number of years the business has been in operation, the assets owned by the business, and the proposed use of funds. We charge a fixed fee on the loan which is agreed on upfront. We do not penalise you for wanting to pay out your loan early either.”
What we do know is that Bizcap often issues funds to SMEs that have been rejected by other lenders – these borrowers should bear in mind that they’re probably going to have to pay more back. The firm also opts to use a ‘factor rate’ instead of an interest rate. This means the interest calculation is totally based on the principal sum loaned to the borrower – it’s easier to understand exactly how much is to be repaid but it works out more expensive than an interest rate which is applied to the reducing balance on a loan.
There are a handful of negative Bizcap reviews left by borrowers who have specifically highlighted the high costs of a Bizcap loan. Some of these accepted Bizcap’s loan offer, whilst others rejected Bizcap’s offer but still left a negative review. We find this a little harsh – so long as Bizcap is completely transparent about the costs prior to taking the loan, prospective borrowers can make an informed decision.
Considering that Bizcap receives a 4.9 / 5 Trustscore with over 650 positive reviews, we can only assume that the vast majority of borrowers were happy enough with the cost of their Bizcap loan, relative to their business circumstances.
We definitely get the impression that rates are higher in comparison to other lenders but we also appreciate where Bizcap sits within the market.
Bizcap Review Summary
Name: Bizcap
Summary
Bizcap provides both Unsecured and Secured loans to Small Business Owners. When assessing a loan application Bizcap generally doesn’t take into consideration if a prospective customer has specific assets to provide as security. However:
(a) if the loan amount is above $30,000 (or any other figure which Bizcap determines from time to time), Bizcap will, under the loan agreement, take a charge. For a corporate borrower and any corporate guarantor, the charge is over all of that entity’s present and after-acquired property (that is, the security is not over specific assets but any and all assets which the entity may have). For a sole trader borrower and any individual guarantor, the charge is over its current and future real property; and
(b) in certain instances, for example, where the loan relative to the cash flow of the borrower is of a size that warrants the provision of security over specific assets, Bizcap may require specific security to be granted over those assets.
Bizcap may register its security interest(s) under relevant legislation, including the Personal Properties Securities Register and the register held under the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW) or its equivalent.
In addition, Bizcap may take personal guarantees from directors of corporate borrowers, directors of corporate guarantors and certain individuals. No registrations are made in respect of guarantees.
Overall
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Credibility - 95%
95%
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Client Reviews - 95%
95%
-
Website - 96%
96%
-
Compatibility - 88%
88%
Pros
- Borrow up to $1 million
- Second loans considered
- Bad credit considered – Australia’s ‘most open-minded lender’
- 4.9 / 5 TrustPilot score
- No early repayment fees
- Simple online application
- High approval rates
- Only 6 months in business required
Cons
- Security might be required for loans over $30,000
- Min $10,000 monthly turnover