Capify Review for Potential Borrowers
Capify Review for Potential Borrowers
This review of Prospa Business Loans will help you gain a better understanding of Prospa – the leading online lender in Australia. We look at how Prospa became the Financial Times fastest growing business in Australia in 2018, and the factors that differentiate Prospa from their competition. This Prospa review will also detail the products available through Prospa.com and the requirements that Prospa asks of all potential borrowers.
Capify Review – Basic Figures for 2022
Website
Logo
ABN
38 630 469 117
Credit License
630 469 117
Loan Amount
$5,000 – $500,000
Loan Term
3 months – 12 months
Unsecured Loans?
Unsecured Loans are Available
Lender Requirements
Trading for at least 6 months
Turnover greater than $5,000 per month
Required
For loans under $150,000: Bank statements for the last 6 months & front and back of the owner’s IDF. Users can automatically share bank statements to Capify’s software.
For loans over $150,000: Business financials, tax Returns, business activity statements
Response Time
Pre-approval within 24hours, Funds issued within 24hours of approval.
Easy to Apply
Yes, fully online (expedited application here)
The Nitty-gritty
Online Reviews
99% positive feedback from borrowers online. Borrowers are pleased with the quick application process and ease of receiving funds.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner, FinTech Lender of the Year, MFAA Excellence Awards 2019
- Great Place to Work Australia 2019
- #5 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Australia 2018
- Winner, FinTech Lender of the Year, MFAA Excellence Awards 2018
- #1 Financial Times 1000 High Growth Company, Asia Pacific, 2018
- No.1 spot on the Financial Times high growth companies in APAC for 2018
Minimal Interest Rates
- Origination Fee of 3%
- Small Business Loan 9.9% – 26.5%
- Line of Credit 14.95% – 29.95%
Credibility & Company Story
Capify has been in business for over 18 years and has financed over $500,000,000 in small business loans around the world to date. The firm has multiple investors and holds a credit facility with Goldman Sachs, so the pedigree and reputation of the business is obviously strong. The core focus on service and simplicity has served Capify well and it’s these same foundations the firm operates on today. Despite not being a traditional bank lender, they’ve won several awards for business excellence and for excellent business lending practices. In addition to the provision of Australian small business loans, Capify offers its lending services in the UK market. In years gone by, Capify also operated in Canada and the US but exited both markets in the last couple of years (closing its Canadian operations and selling its US loan book – more on this in the footer).
All of this has resulted in Capify being one of Australia’s primary business lenders. The application process takes as little as 60 seconds and Capfy has always been known for their fast turnaround time to make a lending decision. Applications are pre-approved within 24 hours and once a loan is agreed, funds are issued within a further 24 hours. Arguably, other Australian business lenders have now caught up with Capify in terms of speed and some, such as Prospa, who are perhaps even faster (fine margins though and both are still much faster than the big banks).
Capify values small businesses and works to provide “simple, quick and responsible access to funding.” This is all outlined in Capify’s ‘Bill of Rights’ which is intended to outline their mission and values. The Capify Bill of Rights states that lending should be: “Transparent, Responsible, Unwavering, Ethical.” This summarises to “True” Business Lending – and they plan to stick by these philosophies no matter where the industry changes or shifts.
Capify loans are for 3-12 months. And with loans between $5,000 – $500,000 there’s a fairly vast scope to help everyone. Nowadays, there are a significant number of Capify reviews for an interested borrower to explore, and the vast majority of them are positive.
In addition to the $135 million credit facility Capify secured with Goldman Sachs in 2019, Capify has successfully secured a further $15 million AUD in private investment in 2020.
The fact that Capify was able to raise $15 million as an online small business lender in the midst of a global pandemic, we think vouches for Capify’s business model and loan book.
It also confirms Capify’s commitment for the continuation of online lending to small businesses in Australia – Capify founder and CEO David Goldin is acutely aware businesses need access to capital more now than ever and had this to say: “There’s a lot of government-backed loan programs out there to assist SMEs but there’s been no shortage of articles that the big banks are just not deploying the right amount of capital. So we think that we will have some good success deploying it out to Australian SMEs either that could not get approved for government money or looking for a different solution.”
In Detail: What Capify Does
Capify offers two main products; Unsecured Business Loans and Merchant Cash Advances.
Capify Unsecured Business Loans
Capify launched unsecured business loans in Australia in 2008– ranging from $5,000 – $500,000 – with all loans incurring a 3% origination fee (fairly standard, if not perhaps at the top end of the 2-3% charged in the online lending industry). Most commonly, a typical client will be seeking small business loans falling within the $20,000 – $50,000 range.
In your repayment schedule, the repayment amount is presented as one fixed sum – easier to digest for customers but not the same as being shown in APR so it’s important to consider this if you’re comparing rates between different providers. Simply understand your loan costs relative to a full 12-month repayment schedule.
Loans are provided to the business but do require a guarantee by the business owner, which could potentially influence other areas of the person’s life such as creditworthiness and credit score. It’s this directors’ guarantee which Capify utilises in place of collateral. Making Capify quite unique in providing loans up to the value of $500,000 on an unsecured basis. Prospa, for comparison, offers unsecured business loans up to $150,000.
Capify Merchant Cash Advance
As there are very few Merchant Cash Advance providers for small businesses in Australia, it does make Capify a very good option for this form of business finance. The Merchant cash advance is ideal for retailers or businesses who accept credit and debit cards with point-of-sale card readers.. As an alternative to a business loan, a merchant cash advance is a real way to match working capital requirements to the sales your business makes. Rather than a fixed repayment amount that is paid daily or weekly, Capify will deduct a percentage of each day’s point-of-sale revenue until the amount borrowed + merchant cash advance fees are repaid.
As a merchant cash advance involves paying a fixed percentage of your revenue from your daily card sales it can be particularly helpful for the small businesses in Australia seeking working capital but see sales fluctuate from day-to-day or season-to-season.
Launched in 2021 (Still operating 2022) – COVID Flexible Loans
A hybrid financing option between Capify’s standard short term business loan and Merchant Cash Advance, the COVID flexible loan is for SMEs who take the majority of their sales digitally, i.e. either via point of sale machines or online payment gateways. However, unlike a merchant cash advance, the loan amount is not based completely on card sales, it just requires the majority of sales to have been done this way.
COVID Flexible Loans with Capify are available between $5,000 – $75,000. We expect the loan to be available until at least June 2022 when a number of the Government initiatives are also set to end.
Like a merchant cash advance, repayments are then based on future revenue of an SME, rather than having a fixed repayment amount throughout the duration of the loan. Since Capify does not require security, the process of getting approved for the COVID Flexible Loan is super quick and easy, with funds in your account possible within 24 hours.
Capify Business Loans Client Reviews
- TrustPilot Australia: 328 Reviews, 86% Excellent, 13% Great, <1% Poor, <1% Bad – , 4.7/ 5 Total Score (Excellent)
- TrustPilot UK: 4.1 / 5 (373 Reviews)
The Feedback:
There is strong feedback across the board for Capify Australia, with some Capify reviews detailing:
There are four reports of bad feedback, two of them are for the same reason – users who were rejected for funding. So this may suggest Capify are more stringent than other loan providers. The two other pieces of poor feedback felt fees were too high – in one case Capify successfully helped them with the capital for an impending ATO payment but they wouldn’t use Capify again, in the other case they felt the huge premium they paid was not necessary.
In recent reviews throughout 2021 and 2022, the overwhelming majority have rated Capify five stars, a handful have rated Capify four stars and there was just one negative review. The negative review was one of the two which felt fees were too high.
Analysis of Client Reviews:
There are just over 300 Capify Australia reviews online. The vast majority of them are either excellent or great – with just three disgruntled or rejected borrowers thrown in, as well. Positive reviews state that the application and lending process is easy, response time is fast, and Capify’s instant quote service is helpful. Many of the Capify reviews specifically mention their contact at Capify too, personally naming many members of staff, attesting to the great service provided by Capify.
Capify.com.au Website Review
Capify’s website is what you would have expected from one of the most recognizable names in business financing in Australia. A smooth, mobile friendly, and informative website that can be used by both seasoned SME owners and newcomers to the world of online business financing. There is also a huge variety of information in their help centre and a great place for first time borrowers to start.
The features of a Capify business loan and the minimum borrowing criteria that Capify sets are clearly displayed and easy to find on Capify’s site. Leaving no ambiguity which could cause unnecessary application delays and wasted time.
Capify Loan Compatibility
- Startup: No, but lower than the industry standard.
- Capify works with companies which have been in operation for at least 6 months (12 months for the COVID Flexible Loan launched in 2021).
- Bad credit: Yes, but Capify does require a personal guarantee from the owner of the business.
- Sole trader: Yes, Capify has no requirements regarding whether or not they work with sole traders and provide sole trader loans.
- Established business: Yes, Capify will accept established businesses.
- Turnover: Capify does require at least $10,000/month turnover.
Capify Rates & Pricing
Much like other small business lenders Capify uses a ‘factor-rate’ for its Merchant Cash Advance rather than interest rates. Factor rates are not the same as traditional interest because the repayment rate never goes down as the principal loan amount is repaid.
Factor rates and interest rates are entirely different concepts.
With a factor rate, the fee is calculated once (at the initial stage of applying for the loan) based upon the original borrowing amount.With interest, repayments are calculated over time as a percentage of the remaining loan amount, until the loan is paid off.
This key difference changes the dynamics of how loans are paid off, and therefore, how cost-efficient they are for the borrower. As a rule of thumb, the longer the duration of the loan, the more disadvantageous factor rates become
Capify
Name: Capify
Summary
Capify is one of the best known and friendliest lenders in Australia. It’s been operating smoothly for 16 years and has received nothing besides positive feedback. If you want quick and hassle-free small business financing, Capify is one of the best options for you.
Capify is obviously among the top 3 largest and most respected lenders in the Australian small business loans market alongside competitors like Prospa and OnDeck. Capify has one of the most flexible and exciting platforms to use, requires the least documents and information to make a choice, and is one of the quickest to make a lending decision and fund.
Overall
-
Credibility - 100%
100%
-
Client Reviews - 100%
100%
-
Website - 98%
98%
-
Compatibility - 97%
97%
Pros
- Fewest documents required for sign up
- Industry veteran for 20 years
- The FIRST Australian online business lender
- 99% positive client reviews
- Multiple banking awards
- More than $500,000,000 in funding since inception
- Global brand
Cons
- Min monthly turnover $10,000
- Smaller scale than Prospa
- 3% origination fee