Unsecured Business Loans 2026: Rates, Fees and Lenders

An unsecured business loan is a lump sum lent without a specific asset as security, repaid on a fixed schedule. In October 2026 the major banks lent up to $200,000 to $250,000 unsecured at published rates from 12.95% p.a. Online lenders went to $500,000 or more at up to 35.99% APR, often with weekly repayments. Most lenders still require a director's personal guarantee.

This is general information, not financial product advice, and it doesn't consider your circumstances. Read the loan contract, key facts and any target market determination, and consider getting advice before you borrow.

Unsecured business loans at a glance

Published information checked 17 October 2026.

If you're weighing up every type of finance, start with our business loans guide. If you don't own property, business loans without a house covers the alternatives.

How an unsecured business loan works

You receive a lump sum and repay it, with interest or a fixed fee, over an agreed term. Approval rests on your business: time trading, turnover, cash flow seen in your bank statements, and the credit records of the business and its owners. The lender doesn't take a mortgage over your home or a charge over a specific vehicle.

That doesn't mean nothing is at risk. Three kinds of security still turn up on "unsecured" loans:

1. Personal guarantees. ANZ describes these as secondary security that make the directors who sign liable for the debt if the business defaults, and says most business lenders require them.
2. General security agreements. ANZ explains that a GSA gives the lender security over most business assets, now and in future, including equipment, stock, cash and receivables. It may want one for GoBiz loans between $200,000 and $500,000.
3. Charges and caveats above a threshold. Prospa says it may register a charge over business assets on the Personal Property Securities Register, or a caveat, if total funding exceeds $150,000 or you default. Above $150,000 it also requires property ownership.

Unsecured business loan lenders compared (October 2026)

Two tables, same lenders. Information is from each lender's own pages, checked 17 October 2026. "Not stated" means we couldn't find it on the lender's public pages. Rates are published or from-rates, not offers. The order is banks first, then non-banks, and is not a ranking.

Amounts, terms and eligibility

Price, fees, repayments and guarantees

Suncorp Bank, now part of the ANZ Group, is no longer accepting applications for business loans and finance, so it isn't listed.

Bank or non-bank unsecured loan?

The tables show a clear split. The major banks publish lower rates and charge few fees, but want 6 to 12 months of trading, clean records and, for most, at least $75,000 turnover and GST registration. They lend no more than $200,000 to $250,000 without security. Some products favour existing customers: NAB and CommBank offer instant decisions in internet banking, and ANZ GoBiz needs a live connection to Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks.

Non-bank lenders accept shorter trading histories and fund faster, and some lend larger amounts unsecured. You pay for that through higher rates, percentage-based upfront fees and, often, weekly or daily repayments. Several don't publish a rate at all, so you only see the price once you apply.

If the money is for a vehicle or equipment, compare asset finance first. It's secured by the asset, and ANZ notes that secured lending can often get a lower rate than unsecured; see the equipment section of the business loans guide.

Interest rates, flat rates and factor rates

Lenders quote price in three different ways, and they aren't comparable until you convert them.

Interest on a reducing balance (APR)

Interest is charged on what you still owe, so each repayment pays less interest and more principal. Bank rates and most "APR" quotes work this way. Moula, for example, presents its offers as an APR.

Flat or simple rates

A flat rate is applied to the original amount for the whole term, even as you repay it. Moula publishes a comparison that we recalculated: $50,000 over two years with fortnightly repayments.

The same headline number costs almost twice as much when it's a flat rate.

Factor rates: a worked conversion

A factor rate is a multiplier. You repay the advance times the factor however quickly you repay, unless the lender offers an early settlement discount. Bizcap describes its price this way: a fixed fee applied over the term.

Step 1: total cost. $40,000 advance × factor 1.25 = $50,000 repayable. The cost is $10,000.

Step 2: flat rate. $10,000 ÷ $40,000 = 25% for the term. Over six months, that's 50% a year as a flat rate.

Step 3: true annual rate. Because you repay as you go, your average balance is only about half the advance. Converting the repayment schedule to an annual percentage rate gives:

For comparison, $40,000 over six months at 13% p.a. with monthly repayments costs about $1,530 in interest.

Do it yourself. In Excel or Google Sheets, enter =RATE(number of repayments, −repayment, advance) and multiply by repayments per year. For the first row: =RATE(26,-1923.08,40000)*52 returns about 0.90, or 90%. If an establishment fee is deducted from the advance, use the amount you actually receive.

The APR figures above are periodic rates multiplied by repayments per year. With compounding, the effective annual rate is higher: about 144% for the six-month weekly example.

Total cost of borrowing: an illustrative comparison

For a loan quoted with an interest rate, the business loan calculator shows the repayments and total cost including fees. Convert a factor rate first, as shown above.

Here are four pricing structures for $50,000. They combine rate and fee types published in October 2026, but they are not quotes from any lender.

Structure C is about 18.1% a year once the $1,000 fee is counted (if it's deducted from the advance). Structure D costs about 37% a year, and you pay it in half the time.

What happens if you repay after 12 months?

• A: You'd owe about $26,608 and avoid about $1,903 of remaining interest. On a fixed-rate loan, break or "economic" costs may reduce that saving.
• C: You'd owe about $26,991 and avoid about $2,257 of interest. If the lender adds 1.5% of the remaining principal, as Prospa's payout formula does, that adds about $405 and cuts the saving to about $1,852.
• D: The $10,000 cost was fixed on day one. Unless the lender offers an early settlement discount (Bizcap says it does), paying early saves nothing.

Always ask for the payout formula in writing before you sign.

Eligibility: what unsecured lenders look for

Across the lenders in the tables, expect:

• Trading history: 4 months (Bizcap) to 12 months (NAB, Westpac, Moula, OnDeck) on your current ABN or ACN.
• Turnover: $6,000 a month (Prospa) to $100,000 a year (OnDeck); the banks want $75,000 a year and GST registration.
• Residency and age: owners aged 18 or over who are Australian citizens or permanent residents (NAB, ANZ, Prospa) or Australian residents (Great Southern Bank).
• Clean conduct: no recent dishonours or arrears, and ATO payments, loan repayments and staff entitlements up to date (Westpac).
• No fresh borrowing: Westpac excludes businesses that took new business lending in the past 30 days.
• Structure limits: NAB QuickBiz takes companies with up to five directors; ANZ GoBiz excludes franchises; Great Southern Bank excludes partnerships and trusts.

Tax debt is the one to deal with before you apply. The ATO can report a business tax debt to credit reporting bureaus when at least $100,000 is overdue by more than 90 days and you aren't engaging with it. Set up a payment plan first; our guide to preparing for an ATO payment plan conversation covers what to bring.

Lenders mostly work from six months of bank statements, BAS, ID and your accounting data. The full documents checklist is in our business loans guide, and the business plan for a bank loan guide shows how lenders test serviceability.

Personal guarantees and director liability

A personal guarantee is the reason an unsecured loan can still cost you your house. If the business can't pay, the lender can pursue each guarantor for the guaranteed amount, and it doesn't need a mortgage to do so. Running a company doesn't protect you from a debt you have personally guaranteed; our company structure guide explains where limited liability ends.

Before you sign:

• Find out who must sign. Great Southern Bank requires every director of a company borrower. Prospa takes guarantees from directors, shareholders or people actively managing the business.
• Check the limit. Under the Banking Code, a bank's guarantee must be limited to a specific amount, or to the value of specified security. Ask a non-bank lender what its guarantee covers, including interest, fees and enforcement costs, and whether it extends to future loans.
• Know which safeguards apply to you. The Banking Code requires guarantee terms to tell you to get independent legal and financial advice and that you can refuse to sign. Several protections are relaxed for directors of the borrowing company: the private meeting without the borrower doesn't apply, a sole director guarantor isn't covered by the rule that a bank waits until the third day after giving you the documents, and other director guarantors can choose to sign sooner.
• Look for security registrations. Ask whether the lender will register a general security agreement or a charge on the Personal Property Securities Register. That affects your ability to borrow elsewhere.
• Get advice. A lawyer can explain what the guarantee covers before you sign. AFCA can hear a guarantor's complaint, including a claim to set aside a guarantee secured over the guarantor's home.

If you lend your own money to the company as well, document the loan so it's clear what the company owes you.

Consumer credit protections may not apply

ASIC explains that the National Credit Code covers credit to individuals (and strata corporations) for personal, domestic or household purposes, or for residential investment property. A loan used mainly for a business, or made to a company, generally falls outside it. ASIC lists the protections at stake as disclosure requirements, restrictions on fees and interest rates, hardship provisions and free access to external dispute resolution. That's also why business lenders don't have to show comparison rates.

What can still help:

• Unfair contract terms. ASIC says standard form small business contracts for financial services with an upfront price up to $5 million are covered. Unfair default fees or one-sided variation clauses can be challenged; the interest rate itself can't. See our unfair contract terms guide.
• The Banking Code for banks that subscribe, covering small businesses with under $10 million turnover, under 100 full-time equivalent staff and under $5 million total debt. It requires 30 days' notice of a payment default before enforcement.
• AFCA, for small business credit facilities up to $6,317,000, with compensation up to $1,263,500 per small business loan claim.

Be wary of signing a business-purpose declaration for money that will be used privately. ASIC's case against Green County and Max Funding involved lenders who relied on declarations instead of checking how loans would actually be used.

Red flags in unsecured business lending

• Daily repayments. Daily debits take cash before wages, rent and suppliers are paid. A quiet week can tip the account into dishonours.
• No annual rate. A factor rate, "fee" or flat rate without an APR makes comparison impossible. Ask for the total repayable and an annual percentage rate including fees, in writing.
• Fixed costs that don't fall if you repay early. Banjo notes that its fixed fee or interest expense accrues upfront. Check what early payout really saves.
• Stacking. A second loan to meet the first loan's repayments signals a cash flow problem that more debt won't fix.
• "No credit check" marketing. Prospa lets you check eligibility without a credit check and Bizcap makes conditional offers without one, but Bizcap says it may obtain a credit report before making an unconditional offer.
• Unsolicited offers. business.gov.au says these are almost certainly scams. Check unfamiliar lenders on ASIC's registers, and read our guide to scams targeting small business.
• Borrowing to cover losses. An unsecured loan at 20% or more suits a short, specific need with a clear payback, such as stock for a confirmed order. It doesn't fix a business that loses money each month; our cash flow management guide is a better first step.

Alternatives to an unsecured business loan

Manufacturers and logistics businesses hit by market disruption should check the status of the zero-interest Economic Resilience Program: the NRFC says the bank-administered stream takes applications for six months from 20 April 2026, closing around 20 October 2026. Details are in the business loans guide.

Key takeaways

• Major banks published unsecured rates of 12.95% to 13.09% p.a. in October 2026 for loans up to $200,000 to $250,000; online lenders quoted 15.5% to 35.99% APR or didn't publish a rate.
• "Unsecured" means no specific asset is pledged. Directors usually still give a personal guarantee, and lenders may register security over business assets above set amounts.
• A factor rate of 1.25 repaid weekly over six months is roughly 90% a year as an APR. Convert every quote to an annual rate that includes fees.
• Early payout rules vary widely: some lenders charge nothing, some add 1.5% of the remaining principal or break costs, and fixed-fee loans may save you nothing.
• Business-purpose loans generally sit outside the National Credit Code, so consumer protections such as Code hardship rules and comparison rates may not apply.

Where to get help

• business.gov.au: steps for applying for a business loan and checking who you're dealing with.
• ASIC Moneysmart: information on credit, and ASIC's registers to check lenders and brokers.
• Australian Financial Complaints Authority: free complaints about member lenders, including guarantor complaints.
• Small Business Debt Helpline: free, confidential financial counselling on 1800 413 828.
• Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman: assistance with small business disputes.
• Australian Taxation Office: payment plans for tax debt before you apply.

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