Banked is a NZ business loan comparison and marketplace overlay: editorial guides and lender directory on the front, with a comparison-submission flow that refers borrowers to a panel. Banked is not a lender. What it does, where the editorial sits versus the referral, and where it fits.
Indicative repayment
Weekly
$778/week
Indicative only. Not a quote or offer of credit. Actual rates, fees, and repayments depend on the business profile and the lender's decision.
Sending to Prospa
3 years at 13.00%. Prospa will ask a few quick questions, then provide a firm quote and funding if eligible.
Redirecting…
Indicative only. Why we say this
Quick answer
Comparison overview
Banked NZ is a New Zealand business loan comparison site that combines two propositions in one place: editorial guides and a lender directory on the front, and a comparison submission flow that refers borrowers to a panel of NZ lenders on the back. The structure is closer to a hybrid of an editorial publisher and a marketplace, rather than a pure submission funnel.
The editorial layer covers loan types, lender profiles, indicative pricing context, and process explanations. The marketplace overlay sits behind a comparison submission form where a borrower enters loan amount, purpose, and trading details, and Banked routes the submission to relevant panel members for quotes. Banked itself does not write loans, set rates, or assume credit risk; the panel members do.
For NZ SMEs working through a research stage before applying anywhere, the editorial layer is the differentiator. The marketplace mechanic is one of several referral paths in the NZ market and competes with pure-marketplace operators on quote turnaround and panel breadth. The editorial coverage competes on independence and depth with NZ comparison-content publishers more broadly.
Model
Editorial + marketplace
Coverage
NZ business lenders
Referral fee
Free at borrower
Type
Comparison overlay
What sits on the site
The site combines editorial publishing, a lender directory, a comparison engine, and a marketplace referral. Each layer answers a different stage of the borrower research journey.
Long-form coverage of NZ business loan products, structures, indicative rate context, and process steps. The editorial layer is the bulk of the site and is the typical entry point for SMEs in research mode rather than application mode.
Profiles of NZ business lenders covering product range, indicative pricing context, and where each lender typically fits. The directory sits between the editorial layer and the marketplace overlay and supports borrower-led shortlist work.
A filterable comparison overlay that allows borrowers to narrow the lender directory by amount, purpose, term, and security profile. The comparison surface is editorial in nature; quotes are not produced at this layer.
A submission flow that takes a borrower's details and refers the application to a panel of NZ lenders for indicative quotes. The credit decision and loan contract sit with the panel lender, not Banked. This is the conversion layer of the site.
Indicative pricing context
Banked itself does not set rates. The editorial layer references indicative rate bands across the NZ market; the marketplace overlay returns quotes from panel members. The bands below reflect observed indicative ranges in 2026, not guaranteed pricing.
| Loan type | Indicative rate band | Common term | Typical security |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major-bank secured term loan | 7% to 11% p.a. | 1 to 7 years | Property or asset |
| Heartland-tier online unsecured | 12% to 20% p.a. | 6 to 60 months | Director PG |
| Alternative-lender unsecured | 12% to 26% p.a. | 6 to 36 months | Director PG |
| Asset finance (chattel mortgage) | 9% to 16% p.a. | 12 to 60 months | Asset |
| Invoice finance | 1.5% to 4% per invoice | Per-invoice cycle | Receivables |
Indicative bands only. Actual rate is set by the lender or panel member after credit assessment. Bands drawn from observable NZ business-lending market positioning, April 2026.
How it works
A Banked journey commonly begins in the editorial layer and only moves into the marketplace overlay when the borrower is ready to apply. The four-step path below describes what borrowers typically experience.
01
Day -7 to 0
The borrower lands on a comparison guide or lender profile via search and reads the editorial coverage. No application has happened. No credit inquiry has run. The output of this stage is a working understanding of products, indicative rates, and a candidate shortlist.
02
Day -1 to 0
The borrower filters the lender directory by amount, purpose, term, and security profile. The comparison overlay is editorial; no quotes are produced and no submission has happened. The output is a narrower shortlist of candidate lenders.
03
Day 0
When ready to apply, the borrower completes the comparison submission form: NZBN, loan amount, purpose, trading history, monthly turnover, and director details. Banked routes the submission to relevant panel members. Soft credit inquiry common at this stage.
Documents commonly required
04
Day 1 to 14
Panel members with appetite return indicative quotes typically within a 1 to 3 business-day window. On selection, the application moves to the chosen panel lender's underwriting; hard credit inquiry, full documentation, and the loan contract are with that lender, not Banked.
Documents commonly required
Borrowers commonly treat the editorial layer as the research surface and the marketplace overlay as the application surface. The two surfaces sit on the same site but solve different problems at different stages of the journey.
Worked scenarios
Anonymised scenarios illustrating how the hybrid editorial-and-marketplace structure commonly plays out.
Construction and trades
A Christchurch civil-construction firm, 8 years trading, $220K monthly turnover, considering a $250K excavator finance package. The director spends two weeks reading editorial comparison content on equipment finance structures (chattel mortgage, hire purchase, operating lease) before submitting anywhere.
On submission, the marketplace overlay returned three indicative quotes within 36 hours: two chattel mortgage quotes around indicative 11%, and an operating lease quote at indicative 13%. The director chose the chattel mortgage on the rate and the GST treatment, with the accountant's confirmation on the upfront GST claim.
Indicative figures
Retail
A Tauranga-based retail group running three stores, 6 years trading, $340K monthly turnover, building stock ahead of the December trading peak. The owner uses the editorial layer to compare seasonal working-capital structures versus a standard term loan before submitting.
Marketplace submission produced two indicative quotes: an unsecured working-capital line at indicative 16% and an inventory-secured facility at indicative 13%. The owner chose the inventory-secured facility, with hard credit inquiry running only at acceptance.
Indicative figures
Compared to alternatives
Banked sits between a pure marketplace and a pure editorial publisher. The matrix below shows the practical trade-offs.
| Feature | Banked (editorial + marketplace) | Pure marketplace | Direct to single lender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary proposition | Editorial guides + marketplace overlay | Submission funnel only | One product, one underwriter |
| Research surface | Long-form editorial layer | Minimal; quote-led | Lender's own product page |
| Quote turnaround | 1 to 3 business days typical | Within 48 hours typical | Same day to 7 days |
| Credit inquiry at quote stage | Soft, no hard footprint typical | Soft, no hard footprint typical | Varies; commonly hard |
| Who holds the contract | Panel lender, not Banked | Panel lender, not the marketplace | The lender directly |
| Editorial independence | Editorial layer published by Banked; panel set commercially | Panel set commercially | N/A (one product) |
| Borrower cost | Free at borrower | Free at borrower | Free at borrower |
Where it fits
Industry appetite
Editorial coverage is broad across NZ industries. Panel appetite varies by lender. The categories below reflect observable patterns from publicly available coverage and panel-style positioning, not formal underwriting criteria.
A core editorial and panel segment. Working capital, asset finance, and equipment for vehicles, plant, and tools are routinely covered.
Editorial coverage of trucking and haulage finance is broad. Panel members commonly write asset finance for trucks, trailers, and vans.
Cafes, restaurants, and bars are commonly covered editorially and funded across the panel for fit-out and equipment.
Stock builds, shop-fit, and seasonal working capital are routinely covered. Inventory-secured structures are covered editorially and via specialist panel members.
Working capital and equipment finance for consulting, IT, and creative agencies. Cash-flow-style facilities are covered in editorial guides.
Editorial coverage of rural lending sits alongside specialist NZ rural lenders. Specialist livestock finance commonly sits outside the typical alternative-lender panel.
Editorial-only disclosure
Businessloans.org.nz is not affiliated with Banked NZ, has no commercial relationship with Banked NZ as at the last reviewed date, and earns no referral revenue from links to Banked's website. The lender shortlist for our calculator referral path is Prospa (disclosed at /partner/). All other lender, marketplace, and comparison-site pages including this one are independent editorial coverage. Banked is a comparison-and-marketplace overlay, not a lender; final rates, fees, and approval decisions are made by the panel lender that writes the loan, after assessment.
References
Primary editorial overview, lender directory, and comparison submission flow reference.
NZ register of financial service providers; comparison sites operating a marketplace overlay are commonly recorded here.
FMC Act 2013 Part 2 fair-dealing framework that applies to financial-services representations including editorial comparisons and marketplace claims.
AML/CFT Act 2009 obligations relevant to financial intermediaries facilitating credit referrals through a comparison overlay.
CCCFA framework applicable where any panel borrowing is wholly or predominantly for personal use.
Soft-inquiry vs hard-inquiry credit-reporting framework under the Credit Reporting Privacy Code.
Macro context for NZ business-lending market structure referenced in editorial coverage.
FAQ
No. Banked NZ is a business loan comparison site with a marketplace overlay. The site publishes editorial guides and a lender directory, and runs a comparison submission flow that refers borrowers to a panel of NZ lenders for indicative quotes. The credit decision and the loan contract sit with whichever panel member writes the deal. Banked does not assume credit risk or hold a banking licence.
Banked is paid by the panel lender that writes the loan, typically as a referral or origination commission paid out of the lender's standard origination economics. The borrower does not pay a separate Banked fee. Indicative rates and fees quoted by panel members are inclusive of the referral economics; the total cost of credit is set by the chosen panel lender, not Banked.
Editorial coverage on a hybrid comparison-plus-marketplace site is not the same as fully independent comparison content. Banked's editorial layer is published by Banked; the lender panel that the marketplace overlay routes to is set commercially. NZ borrowers commonly read editorial coverage from multiple sources (independent comparison publishers, government sources like MBIE, Stats NZ, and Reserve Bank NZ) before applying anywhere.
At the indicative-quote stage, Banked's panel members commonly run a soft credit inquiry, which does not leave a hard footprint visible to other lenders. A hard inquiry registers only when the borrower accepts a quote and moves into the chosen panel lender's underwriting. The soft-inquiry vs hard-inquiry distinction is set out by the Privacy Commissioner's Credit Reporting Privacy Code.
A pure marketplace is primarily a submission funnel: borrowers go in, panel quotes come out, the editorial layer is minimal. Banked is hybrid: editorial guides and a lender directory sit on the front, and the marketplace mechanic is an overlay on the back. For borrowers in research mode, the editorial layer is the differentiator. For borrowers wanting the fastest possible quote turnaround, a pure marketplace is typically faster.
Indicative quotes from panel members typically return within a 1 to 3 business-day window after submission. The window depends on which panel members have appetite, the loan amount, and the day of submission. Acceptance, hard credit inquiry, full documentation, and settlement run on the chosen lender's timeline, which is commonly 2 to 14 business days.
Panel coverage is broad across NZ alternative SME lenders, asset financiers, and invoice finance specialists. Most panel members write across the typical NZ alternative-lender range (commonly $5,000 to $2,000,000) for unsecured working-capital, asset finance, invoice finance, and commercial term loans. The actual amount available depends on the panel member's assessment of the borrower's position.
A comparison and marketplace referral is not personalised financial advice. Banked operates within the FMC Act 2013 fair-dealing framework, which prohibits misleading or unsubstantiated representations. Class information about loan products is permitted; personalised recommendations require a Financial Advice Provider licence held by the relevant party. Borrowers wanting personalised advice are commonly directed to a licensed adviser.
Comparison sites running a marketplace overlay in NZ commonly sit on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008, and inside the AML/CFT Act 2009 framework administered by the Department of Internal Affairs. Banked's editorial and marketplace representations are also subject to FMC Act 2013 Part 2 fair-dealing obligations enforced by the FMA.
No. Indicative quotes returned by panel members are not guaranteed offers. Each quote is subject to the panel lender's own credit assessment at acceptance, which includes a hard credit inquiry, full documentation review, and final pricing. The indicative band shown at the comparison-marketplace stage is the panel member's working estimate; the firm offer is set after underwriting.
Yes. The editorial layer (guides, lender profiles, comparison overlays) is browsable without submitting any application or providing any details. The marketplace submission flow sits behind a separate form and is opt-in. Borrowers commonly use the editorial layer for research and only enter the marketplace overlay when ready to apply.
Standard marketplace submission documents are NZBN registration, director ID, the loan amount and purpose, monthly turnover, trading history, and director consent for a soft credit inquiry. Some panel members request 6 months of business bank statements (often via accounting software integration) before producing an indicative quote. Full documentation, P&L, and security details are requested by the chosen panel lender at acceptance, not at the marketplace stage.
Related
Bizzy
A pure NZ marketplace alternative, with a faster quote turnaround and a thinner editorial layer.
Read onHeartland Bank
A registered NZ bank with online unsecured Open for Business product, commonly compared editorially against panel quotes.
Read onNZ business loan rates 2026
Independent editorial coverage of NZ business-loan rate context across major banks, alternative lenders, and asset financiers.
Read onSecured business loans
A product family covered editorially by comparison sites and routinely written by panel lenders.
Read onExpansion and growth
A common purpose driving NZ businesses into a research-then-shortlist journey of the type Banked is designed for.
Read onDisclaimer
A business loan is a commitment that runs for months or years, and repayments come out of the same operating cash flow as everything else. Before committing, it is worth modelling the weekly and monthly cost against the business's working-capital position, which is what this site is built to help with. Borrowing at a level that stays comfortable through a quiet quarter, not just a strong one, is widely regarded as the safer frame.
What this site is
A calculator and information tool. Not a lender, not a broker, not a registered financial adviser. Nothing here is personalised financial advice.
What the figures show
Modelled estimates based on the inputs you enter. Not a quote. Not an offer of credit. Not a guarantee of approval, rate, or fees.
What the lender decides
Final rates, fees, and approval are set by the lender after a CCCFA-appropriate assessment of the applicant's circumstances and credit decision.
Commercial disclosure
Businessloans.org.nz earns a commission from Prospa when a visitor applies through this site and their application is approved. The commission is paid by Prospa, not by the borrower, and it does not influence the rate Prospa offers. Full disclosure on the partner page.
Tax, GST, and accountant framing
Tax-treatment statements (GST claim timing, interest deductibility, depreciation rates) are general in nature and subject to your accountant's confirmation on the specific business position. For material amounts, professional advice from a registered financial adviser or chartered accountant is widely regarded as the safer frame.
