Maybank’s SME Digital Financing hits RM1 billion loan approval in just six months

KUALA LUMPUR: Six months into its launch, Maybank SME Digital Financing has approved RM1 billion of financing, benefitting more than 8,200 small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), of which 85 per cent or 6,950 are startups and microenterprises.

In addition, all applications that were eligible for instant decisions received their approval and disbursements in less than five minutes.

Fast, simple and convenient, Maybank SME Digital Financing is the first in the market to offer an end-to-end digital experience, with straightthrough processing, from application to approval and disbursement.

Eligible existing customers can receive the approval status for their application in 10 minutes, and the funds can be disbursed within one minute upon acceptance of the offer.

All term financing offered via the Maybank SME Digital Financing are collateral-free, to provide quick financing to ease the immediate cash flow needs for small businesses.

Maybank’s Community Financial Services group chief executive officer Dato’ John Chong said the digital solution has received overwhelming response since its launch, averaging a few hundred applications per day.

“Maybank SME Digital Financing was introduced last September at the height of the pandemic with two objectives in mind,” Chong said.

“First, to provide a quick and hassle-free financing to SMEs during this critical period when liquidity is crucial.

“Secondly, we wanted to ensure that financing is accessible to smaller enterprises, such start-ups and microenterprises, which often face difficulty in securing funding due to their lack of credit record or collateral.

“We are very pleased that the market has responded positively to this solution so far and most importantly, SMEs are getting the assistance they need.”

Chong added that of the 6,950 start-ups and microenterprises which received approval for financing from Maybank SME Digital Financing, around 2,000 have only been in operation for two years or less.

“This is a breakthrough in our SME financing, to be able to expand our lending relationships to new business enterprises.

“By using our in-house data and credit knowledge while leveraging machine learning capabilities, we are able to better measure the risks of start-ups which often lack credit history and extend financing to them.”

Through Maybank’s SME Digital Financing, SMEs can apply for financing online via Maybank2u or Maybank2uBiz anytime, anywhere, without having to visit a branch.

Registered SME businesses with turnover below RM25 million, including non-Maybank customers are eligible to apply for financing via the SME Digital Financing.

Approved applicants are able to obtain financing from as low as RM10,000 to a maximum of RM250,000 with a repayment tenure of up to five years.