Judo Bank Review for Potential Borrowers
Judo Bank Review for Potential Borrowers
Founded in 2018, Judo Bank (previously known as Judo Capital) keeps its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. At this point, they are a fintech startup in the truest sense of the word – disrupting the Australian banking market like never seen before.
In this Judo Bank Review, we’ll break down exactly what this fast growing neobank Judo has to offer, we learn more about their strategy and explain what makes them unique in the Australian banking sector. Ultimately determining if they’re a good choice for SME lending and other bank functions. Read on for our full Judo Bank Review to learn more.
Judo Bank Review – Basic Figures for 2022
Website
Logo
ABN
615 995 581
Credit License:
501091
Loan Amount
$250,000 to $10,000,000: Unsecured business loans, equipment loans, Line of Credit and Bank Guarantees
Loan Term
Business Loans – Flexible repayment terms
Equipment Loans – Up to 5 years
Line of Credit – Reviewed annually
Unsecured Loans?
Yes
Lender Requirements
Judo operates the 4 C’s model to assess borrowers – character, capacity, capital and collateral
Required:
86% of Judo Bank’s loans are either fully secured or partially secured
Response Time
5 days
Easy to Apply
No. There is no online application but you can input your details to hear from a member of the Judo Bank team.
The Nitty-gritty
Online Reviews
4.6 / 5 – Based on 33 reviews on Trustpilot
Awards and Recognition
Judo Bank was ranked among the top 10 independent neobanks across the globe by WhiteSight’s Top 20 neobanks of 2020 research
The firm has also won various industry awards for their term deposits product
Minimal Interest Rates
Fixed or variable interest rate depending on the type of loan
Company Story & Credibility?
sector for SMEs. At the time of launch, Judo Bank held a lending licence only, just a year later the firm achieved its full banking licence in April 2019. It was a sign of intention that definitely showed the market they weren’t going to wait around and operate in the same cumbersome fashion as Australia’s legacy banks. It’s a move that looks to have paid off. The banking licence has since allowed Judo Bank to accept customer deposits in addition to the business lending functionality it offered since inception. Hence it was also rebranded from Judo Capital to Judo Bank. Judo’s multi-award winning term deposit product has already attracted over $4 billion in deposits, whilst its loan book grew to upwards of $6 billion in the FY2022.
Why have they generated such a buzz in Australia’s fintech industry? According to recent surveys, there is an $80 billion funding gap between SMEs and the financial establishment. As an industry, big Australian banks scored a 2.5/10 for trustworthiness, according to a poll of small business owners. And whilst Judo Bank is a ‘neobank’ in the sense it has no physical branches, categorising Judo as fintech-only would be doing them a disservice. Judo was born to address a clear market failure where SMEs feel unloved, undervalued and underserved by the finance industry. Judo knows a purely online offering would not go to solve these fundamental issues so at the heart of Judo Bank’s strategy is its relationship banking model for SMEs. All customers are appointed with a local account manager within their state that they have on hand whenever they want tailored advice and proper answers. Making sure that a customer’s voice is heard, even if they aren’t always able to offer finance.
The advantages of their specialist SME focus has been well demonstrated in their recent full year 2022 results presentation:
Using a clever analogy, Judo explains that just like the best specialist long-distance runner will always exceed the best decathlon runner, their specialist SME banking service will bring value that generic universal banks do not.
Judo Bank Client Reviews
Propell client’s success stories shared on their webpage demonstrate that SMEs need extra cash flow to help fund their growth and vision and Propell has been able to help them achieve their growth goals. They have helped clients meeting
As a newcomer to the alternative lending space, reviews of Judo Bank were hard to come by in its first couple of years in operation.However, as of October 2022, there are now over 500 reviews of Judo bank on Product Reviews Australia. That is still a small number compared to the the leading online SME lender Prospa (which has amassed over 7,000TrustPilot Reviews), but it’s still a reasonable sample size that can provide insight as to whether customers actually enjoy working with Judo bank. The main hindrace is that the majority of reviews left for Judo Bank online relate to term deposits and not Judo’s SME lending products.
With an average score of 4.4 / 5 across 591 reviews, it means 85%+ of all reviews are positive.
Advantages
A number of reviews specifically highlight the good customer care that Judo has demonstrated together with its transparency in rates and fees. The sign-up process is also praised as being generally hassle-free and fast.
Disadvantages
The negative reviews point to the online system occasionally dropping out and long hold times when contacting customer support.
Judo Bank Review Analysis
A significant amount of Judo Bank reviews are left by customers of the Judo Bank Term Deposit. This makes it difficult to spot any major trends or themes which are specific to Judo’s lending products. Therefore, the reviews are more indicative of Judo’s overall level of customer service. In this sense, the reviews are mixed. A large majority of Judo Bank customers report a seamless experience with the online platform and easy access to the customer service team. On the contrary, there is still a fair amount of disgruntled customers that report very long wait times on the phone, which is surprising, as it’s issues like these which were the whole reason Judo was founded.
It’s worth pointing out however, that all customers of Judo’s lending products are appointed with a dedicated relationship manager but customers of the Term Deposit product are not. This largely explains the reasoning behind the negative feedback and also indicates that Judo loan customers should not experience any of the primary concerns which were highlighted with the customer service team.
their goal of weekly payroll for their employees, expanding inventory, buying necessary equipment, and funding new projects. Propell has provided peace of mind for its clients to be able to focus on their businesses.
The only negative review found on Trustpilot was from a person that claimed it didn’t get a reply from the company after putting in the application. For this review, the Head of Customer Experience at Propell has responded on the Trustpilot forum to the complaint and explained that they did reply but unfortunately the client wasn’t approved for an account with the company. It seemed to be very thorough in their response and still professional.
Propell Cash Flow Hero Client Reviews – Data:
TrustPilot Australia: 33 reviews, 32 Positive, 1 Negative – Average Score 4.6 / 5
Analysis of Client Reviews
As a newcomer to the alternative lending space, reviews of Judo Bank were hard to come by in its first couple of years in operation.However, as of October 2022, there are now over 500 reviews of Judo bank on Product Reviews Australia. That is still a small number compared to the the leading online SME lender Prospa (which has amassed over 7,000TrustPilot Reviews), but it’s still a reasonable sample size that can provide insight as to whether customers actually enjoy working with Judo bank. The main hindrace is that the majority of reviews left for Judo Bank online relate to term deposits and not Judo’s SME lending products.
With an average score of 4.4 / 5 across 591 reviews, it means 85%+ of all reviews are positive.
Advantages
A number of reviews specifically highlight the good customer care that Judo has demonstrated together with its transparency in rates and fees. The sign-up process is also praised as being generally hassle-free and fast.
Disadvantages
The negative reviews point to the online system occasionally dropping out and long hold times when contacting customer support.
Judo Bank Review Analysis
A significant amount of Judo Bank reviews are left by customers of the Judo Bank Term Deposit. This makes it difficult to spot any major trends or themes which are specific to Judo’s lending products. Therefore, the reviews are more indicative of Judo’s overall level of customer service. In this sense, the reviews are mixed. A large majority of Judo Bank customers report a seamless experience with the online platform and easy access to the customer service team. On the contrary, there is still a fair amount of disgruntled customers that report very long wait times on the phone, which is surprising, as it’s issues like these which were the whole reason Judo was founded.
It’s worth pointing out however, that all customers of Judo’s lending products are appointed with a dedicated relationship manager but customers of the Term Deposit product are not. This largely explains the reasoning behind the negative feedback and also indicates that Judo loan customers should not experience any of the primary concerns which were highlighted with the customer service team.
Judo Bank Loan Compatibility
- Startup: Yes, but they assess loans on a case-by-case basis with relationship bankers.
- Bad credit: Yes, but they assess loans on a case-by-case basis with relationship bankers, unlike some other bad credit business loans in Australia.
- Sole trader: Yes. Judo Bank does lend to Sole Traders but they should be aware of the minimum lending amounts.
- Established business: Yes. With a track record, Judo Capital will gladly lend to established SMEs and this is their primary focus when considering lending starts at $250,000.
Judo Bank Review Summary
Name: Judo Bank
Summary
Judo Bank is shaking up the Australian banking market for small business owners. With a focus on all loan clients being assigned relationship managers and an ethos of relationship-based lending decisions, they obviously believe SMEs are not getting their fair share of representation from the incumbent big five banks. The majority of customers are thoroughly enjoying the experience of working with Judo Bank, and those who are disgruntled highlight issues which don’t apply to Judo loan customers.
However, looking at the minimum lending amounts there is still certain criteria which suggests these solutions are for mid-size companies and larger SMEs. Lending is primarily on a secured basis and only begins at $250,000. For many SMEs this is simply not what their business requires, so if you are considering an unsecured loan or loan amount below $250,000 then Judo Bank is not the right fit for you. With a relationship based approach there’s less focus on speed too – there’s no online application or guarantees to fund clients on the same day. That’s not to say Judo Bank are not doing a great job at what they do, customers just have to be aware if it matches their business requirements.
Overall
-
Credibility - 80%
80%
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Website - 95%
95%
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Compatibility - 85%
85%
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Ease of Registration - 95%
95%
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Client Reviews - 90%
90%
Pros
- Dedicated relationship managers
- Wide range of financial products
- Internet banking and financing at the same spot
- Banking licence
- Transparent and cheap loan pricing
Cons
- Minimum loan amount of $250,000
- Higher requirements than some lenders
- Early repayment costs