Business finance brokers and platforms in Australia, compared

What actually happens with each route

Going direct to a lender. You apply on the lender's website or through your bank. You'll see one lender's products and, if you're declined, start again somewhere else, usually with another enquiry on your credit file.

An online marketplace. You fill in one online form, often in a few minutes, and get matched to lenders whose published criteria you appear to meet. You compare the offers yourself. It works well when your situation is straightforward. It's less helpful when your situation needs explaining, such as a one-off bad quarter, ATO debt or a recent change in the business.

A broker or brokerage. You talk to a person who looks at your bank statements, works out what you can afford and which lenders are likely to approve you, and structures the deal before any lender sees it. A good broker doesn't run a credit check, and talks each scenario through with the lender before applying, so the application that goes in is one the lender is likely to approve. Expect to be asked for bank statements early: that's how a broker avoids sending you to lenders who will say no.

A comparison or introduction service. You share your details and are introduced to one or more providers, sometimes alongside grants, equity or business savings. It's useful for exploring options. Check how many providers will receive your details, because that can mean several phone calls.

The real cost isn't the rate

The quickest money is usually the most expensive. Many short-term unsecured loans are repaid weekly or even daily, and a small daily repayment can look affordable and still add up to a high total cost. Some newer platform lenders, such as Shopify Capital, charge a fixed fee instead of interest, which makes them hard to compare with a standard loan.

Before you accept any offer, ask for:

• the total amount you'll repay, in dollars
• how often you'll repay: daily, weekly or monthly
• all fees, including establishment, account-keeping and early repayment fees
• whether paying the loan off early actually saves you money, because some lenders charge the full fee regardless
• what security or personal guarantee you're giving

The most common trap we see is stacking: taking a second short-term loan to keep up with the first. If you're already doing that, talk to a broker about consolidating before you take on another.

Your details and your credit file

Before you give consent, ask:

• How many lenders will you apply to on my behalf?
• How many lenders or brokers will receive my details?
• Who will contact me, and how?

Talking to a good broker involves no credit check. The credit check happens when a lender assesses a formal application, and it's recorded on your credit file. That's why we talk each scenario through with the lender first, so the application we submit is one the lender is likely to approve.

Be wary of anyone who sends applications to several lenders at once to see what sticks. Each one usually means another credit enquiry, and several enquiries in a short time can damage your credit file and make lenders less willing to lend.

Questions that separate a good broker from a bad one

• "Which lenders will you approach, and why those?" A good answer names the type of lender and the reason, such as how they treat ATO debt or your industry. A warning sign is "leave it with me" and no explanation.
• "Why this product rather than a line of credit, or invoice finance?" A good broker explains the trade-off. A warning sign is only ever offering one product.
• "What will this cost me in total?" You should get a dollar figure and the lender's fees, not just a rate or a weekly repayment.
• "Is this quote based on my actual numbers, or an estimate?" A quote worked out from a short online form is only as good as the figures you typed in. A quote from a lender that has seen your bank statements and financials is far more likely to hold when you apply.
• "What happens if the first lender says no?" A good broker has a plan B and knows why it might happen.
• "Am I borrowing more, or for longer, than I need?" Watch for pressure to take a bigger loan, a longer term or to sign quickly.

Valiant Finance, Lend and Swoop

These summaries are based on how each company describes itself on its own website, as at November 2026. Check their websites for current details.

Valiant Finance describes itself as a commercial brokerage with an online platform and personal specialists, working with 95+ lenders across business loans, asset and vehicle finance, invoice and trade finance, and property.

Lend describes itself as an online business finance marketplace where you apply and get matched to lenders, working with 80+ lenders. It also offers its platform to finance brokers.

Swoop describes itself as a credit broker and comparison service that introduces Australian businesses to finance providers, covering loans as well as grants, equity funding and savings on business expenses.

How Splendid Finance matches you with lenders

Splendid Finance is a commercial finance broker specialising in non-bank and private lending, and working with banks where they suit. We arrange business loans from $30,000 to $5 million and more, with particular depth in larger and more complex deals of $100,000 and above. An experienced broker handles every deal, backed by our proprietary, in-house AI lender-matching technology.

• We start with your bank statements, not a generic form. Our technology works out your free cash flow, how much repayment your business can service and your debt service cover, and flags things lenders dislike, such as overdrawn days. That means we can tell you quickly whether lenders are likely to look at your deal, and roughly how much you can borrow.
• We match against published and unpublished criteria. We test your business only against the lenders that offer the finance you need, using both their published criteria and the policies they don't publish, which we know from working with them. We match the product, loan amount and terms as well as the lender.
• You get real quotes, not estimates. We send the selected lenders your actual situation, cash flow and financials, so the quotes you compare are based on your business, not on figures typed into a form.
• Deals move fast. Where a lender accepts automated online applications, our system submits yours directly once you've chosen, so there's less back and forth.
• A broker is with you throughout, explaining the options and the trade-offs, and we don't charge you a fee.

When Splendid Finance is, and isn't, the right fit

We're usually most useful when you're borrowing $100,000 or more, when a bank has said no or would take too long, when there's ATO debt or other debts to sort out, when the deal needs property security or private lending, or when you want real quotes from the lenders that suit your business without applying to each one yourself.

We're probably not the right fit if you need less than $30,000, if you need a home loan or personal loan, or if you'd rather compare offers entirely online without talking to anyone.

You can also search the published criteria of 160+ Australian lenders yourself in our free business lender directory, or with the Australian Business Loan Finder in Claude.