Business finance provider Earlypay is encouraging small to medium-sized businesses to take advantage of the government’s SME Recovery Loan (SRL) Scheme before applications close on 30 June 2022.
The SME Recovery Loan (SRL) Scheme aims to provide financial assistance to SMEs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic that are unable to access business funding for their business.
Daniel Riley, CEO of Earlypay, further shared about the SRL, “The SRL scheme not only offers concessions, it is also backed by government. Initially, the government guaranteed 80 per cent of the loan which meant financial organisations were able to provide loans to businesses with limited risk. The guarantee has since been reduced to 50 percent however this still provides much-needed backing enabling financiers to continue to assist businesses.”
He added, “There is no doubt that COVID has ravaged many businesses and affected the credit rating and financial health of organisations that normally have very good credit histories. Because of this, most banks won’t help them. Fortunately, the SRL scheme is helping to resolve this.
Riley also said, “To date, the SRL scheme has helped tens of thousands of businesses to access vital funding since it was launched. In fact, it has been so popular that the government extended it until 30 June 2022. With this date fast approaching, businesses now need to ensure they take advantage of this facility before applications close at the end of the month.”
The SRL scheme was launched in April 2021 to support economic recovery of the SME sector. The scheme has also made it possible for lenders to improve on providing cheaper credit to otherwise viable SMEs for additional funding.
“Invoice Finance is also available through the SRL scheme which means businesses can utilise the support to fund a broad range of expenses across their business,” Riley added. “Businesses can access up to $5 million in total. In addition to the increased ability for businesses to access funding, the interest rate on loans is also capped at around 7.5 per cent.”
