SINGAPORE - DBS Bank had launched a service that enables SME owners to apply for up to 11 types of loan products online, with no signatures required.
The service covers business loans, overdrafts, micro loans, property loans, equipment loans, vehicle financing, foreign exchange, import & export lines, factoring and even business credit cards.
Small and medium enterprises can also also track their loan applications on real time and get instant notifications.
DBS said its new service would benefit time-strapped SME owners.
Instead of having to handwrite and sign on physical forms, DBS said it has made the entire application process paperless, with signatures no longer required - an industry first.
The application forms have also been redesigned with simple, jargon-free language, and the number of fields to be completed has been reduced by three quarters to expedite the application process to only 10 minutes online, said DBS.
It has also linked its backend system to the Account and Corporate Regulatory Authority's database to speed up the process.
For example, when applying for government assisted loans such as the Spring micro loan programme, SME owners currently have to complete two forms, a DBS loan application form and the Local Enterprise Financing Scheme (LEFS) form. Under DBS' new loan application service, the two forms have been combined into one and repetitive fields have been eliminated.
According to Spring data, DBS has been Singapore's largest provider of micro-loans for young start-ups, micro and small enterprises since 2011. The bank receives an average of 1,500 micro-loans applications a year, or over 60 per cent of all micro-loans applications supported by Spring in Singapore.
Initial customer feedback has been positive, said DBS. Mr Loke Kit Kai, director and owner of Acceltus Pte Ltd said in DBS' statement that the application process was simple to use and he completed the whole process in five minutes.
DBS' online loan application service is available to Singapore registered businesses that are operating here.
