Small and medium-sized businesses have moved front and centre this month after the Government last week announced changes to simplify tax payments for the main employers of New Zealand workers.
Heartland Bank, MYOB and ANZ announced measures on Monday aimed at helping SMEs to be open for business. SMEs employ about 90% of New Zealand workers and more than 95% south of the Waitaki River.
Heartland chief executive Jeff Greenslade said the bank's ‘‘open for business'' was a simple online tool to allow small businesses to apply for a loan in minutes and get a decision in seconds.
‘‘Small businesses are the backbone of the New Zealand economy and we have recognised they have challenges accessing much-needed capital for growth.''
MYOB and ANZ have combined to offer help to new businesses. MYOB solutions manager James Scollay said businesses which had been running for less than two years could already access banking benefits through ANZ's business start-up package.
Now, ANZ and MYOB were offering a 12-month free subscription to MYOB Essentials Accounting to help start-ups run their bookkeeping online and manage cashflow with ease in the cloud.
On average, about 50,000 new businesses were registered in New Zealand every year. And last year, the World Bank survey ranked New Zealand as the easiest place in the world to start a business.
‘‘Our 25 years of dealing with small business owners has shown us that being passionate about a product or service is the main driver for starting a business.''
Providing new business owners with the accounting solutions they needed empowered them to take control of their business finances, helping them on their path to success, he said.
Mr Greenslade said Heartland's online tool allowed small businesses to get an immediate approval for unsecured loans of up to $50,000 through a short process of about 10 questions, with a decision on screen.
In the background, a secure and industry standard verification check was completed and, once confirmed, the loan was approved. Businesses received the loan in about 24 hours.
The open for business platform also enabled same-day decisions for business loans between $50,000 and $250,000, he said.
