Why we're here: We're here to serve customers well and help our communities prosper.
We're more than 1,400 small business experts across the country, we support 1.1 million small business customers with their business and personal banking.
Our scale and connectivity help us to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our business and community.
How would you describe your bank's role in SMEs business journey considering their importance in the economy?
Small business owners are the heart, soul and hands of Australian communities, our economy and our future. They’re the engine that keeps everything running; that makes sure the mortgages get paid; that keeps the lights on for so many families. Small businesses represent 98% of all businesses, employ ~42% of all Australians and account for ~33% of the country's GDP.
At NAB, we believe every business owner who’s had the courage to start something new, to keep on battling through setbacks and working for the breakthrough, deserves to feel confident, in control of their finances and experience the very best support.
We’re Australia’s largest and fastest-growing small business bank. But our goal is to be the leading small business bank in the Oceania region, a true business partner that is invested in making businesses stronger and more prosperous.
We’re Australia’s largest and fastest-growing small business bank. But our goal is to be the leading small business bank in the Oceania region, a true business partner that is invested in making businesses stronger and more prosperous. So, over the past 24 months, NAB Business Direct and Small Business (BDSB) has reshaped its operating model to better support 1.1 million customers.
Why do you think your bank deserves to be awarded the SME Bank of the Year?
A big vision and a massive investment
We’re Australia’s largest and fastest-growing small business bank. But our goal is to be the leading small business bank in the Oceania region, a true business partner that is invested in making businesses stronger and more prosperous.
So, over the past 24 months, NAB Small Business has reshaped its operating model to better support 1.1 million customers with:
- Significant investment in new products and processes designed specifically for small business;
- A digital transformation, including new, innovative mobile and digital lending and merchant solutions;
- An unprecedented banker upskilling program supporting 1400+ small business experts; and
- A complete transformation of our service model.
Innovation – the cornerstone of our SME transformation
Innovation is the cornerstone of our strategy. By focusing on five key goals that are driven by innovation, we’ve seen extraordinary growth and momentum, serving over 1.1 million small business customers across Australia as they build and grow their businesses.
Here’s what we’ve done:
- Deepened our customer relationships and proactively supported customers in moments that matter, including navigating the challenges of COVID
- Delivered innovative new products & services:
- Launched Fast Track, a ‘best-in-market’ Australian lending proposition.
In Australia, small businesses owners tend to use equity in their properties to fund their businesses. So, we created and launched a hugely innovative solution – Fast Track – allowing bankers to assess a customer’s business and home loan simultaneously. NAB is the only bank that has small business bankers with credit approval accreditation for both business lending and home lending. - Delivered a best-in-market broker experience, with >500 broker specialist bankers who have increased our broker share to No.1 (67% market share of commercial lending <$1m). As a result, NAB has recently been awarded Preferred bank for Commercial Lending by Mortgage Professional Australia.
- Launched Fast Track, a ‘best-in-market’ Australian lending proposition.
- We are focused on growing the skills and capability of our employees. To date, we have supported our Small Business colleagues through the completion of Career Qualified in Banking (a global accreditation as a Professional Banking Fundamentals course), rolled out diversity and leadership programs across the business and developed a thorough onboarding program for new starters that best sets them up for success.
- Launched digitally innovative solutions to make banking easier for our customers, including EasyTap, Digital Business Lending and Simple Home Loans.
- Saw significant growth across the business, establishing clear market leadership at 22% and driving business lending growth of 2.6x system in FY22
Briefly describe, what are top 3 projects/achievements delivered by your bank in the last 18 months for SME customers?
A core component of the Small Business strategy is to deliver great customer propositions, products and services. With that in mind, NAB Small Business launched various initiatives to strengthen our position in market. Amongst many projects launched in the past 18 months, are:
- Small Business Explorer (SBE): SBE is a first-in-market online capability launched to the Australian market that will allow customers to input their financial goals and needs online before being taken through a multi-product recommendation tool. Unlike other traditional product selector tools where recommendations are made within category, SBE will provide customers with recommendations across the Business & Private Banking product suite based on their customer needs (not specific product targets). The tool removes complexity from the product selection process, delivers a seamless and simple experience to our customers and enables out bankers to have truly holistic conversations with our customers. Launched in early 2023, Small Business Explorer provides a best-in-class solution that breaks away from a product-by-product position to a customer-centric view based on customer needs.
- Fast Track & Digital Business Lending: Small Business owners value faster access to funding so they can keep their business growing. Fast Track and Digital Business Lending are two new services that launched to market in the past 18 months. In a first for the Australian market, NAB launched a fast-tracked business lending offering to small businesses across the country, allowing them to access business loans with loan terms of up to 30 years for up to $2 million. The application process uniquely uses digitally captured self-declared financials, ensuring that faster business loans make it easier for busy small business owners to access funds.
Similarly, Digital Business Lending (DBL) also ensures our customers have access to faster funds, in as little as one hour for smaller loans (<$250k). NAB Small Business customers enjoy a seamless experience through NAB Internet Banking, and if the loan is approved, funds will be in their account in as little as one hour.
Customers can generate, view and sign digital agreements within the same application experience and, upon acceptance of the digital agreement, the account will be automatically opened and the funds disbursed or card opened and added to a digital wallet. - Easy Tap and NAB Hive: Managing cash flow is critical for small business customers. Easy Tap and NAB Hive are new merchant services that have been launched in the past 6-12 months.
NAB Hive is an easy-to-use digital platform targeted at small business customers. With data and insights about merchant transactions and customers easily accessible to customers, they can make informed decisions to help their business grow. NAB Hive aims to save customers time with real-time access to transactional data, distil sales trends and insights, provide statements and reports digitally, and allow our customers to get to know their customers by analysing buying behaviour.
Easy Tap allows our small business customers to take easy and contactless payments on the go, without needing access to a terminal. Besides the seamless experience, Easy Tap also allows our customers to settle on the same day and gather valuable insights based on their transactional data.
Visit our website at https://www.nab.com.au/business/small-business
Check out Banking solutions and support | Small business - NAB
Have a look at Small Biz Explorer | Find the right business banking products - NAB
