Nedbank Gap Access: Changing the way we do business

Revolutionising the way South Africa does business, Nedbank has launched their latest offering, Nedbank Gap Access.

Said to aid businesses in managing their cash flow without having to rely on other means of funding, Gap Access offers businesses an alternative to the traditional business loan.

“Gap Access is an innovative and viable alternative to traditional business loans and facilities. It is available to businesses that accept cards as payment with the advance of funds and repayment terms linked directly to card turnover, through the POS (Point of Sale) device,” stated Nedbank.

Gap Access

The offering has transformed the day to day financial business operations, ‘making it easy to access cash advance to bolster working capital.’

“It is available to businesses that accept cards as payment with the advance of funds and repayment terms linked directly to card turnover, through the POS device,” added Nedbank.

This further enables businesses to gain access to a revolving facility which can be availed once 60 % of the existing advance is paid up.

“Since its introduction, Gap Access has seen a phenomenal uptake with over 80% of businesses who have signed up for the offering, requesting a further advance after reaching the minimum repayment threshold,” Nedbank stated.

The initiative was first piloted in 2015 among various businesses, which provided the financial institute with an opportunity to further develop the offering making use of feedback and insights gained.

“We believe this is real value for businesses, particularly in the current economic cycle where access to funds is limited,” stated Chris Wood, Nedbank’s executive head of the emerging payments. 

The flexibility of this tool allows businesses the luxury of having options in terms of ‘capital intensive investments that are required to move their business to the next level.’

“With the convergence of platforms and digitization, traditional financial services companies need to reinvent themselves to stay relevant, often having to consider disrupting their own products and services internally,” Wood added.

How does this compare to previous offerings? 

“Gap Access is a totally new value proposition that gives card accepting businesses the option to pay down a cash advance off their future transactional flows, based on the history of their existing transactions. Even more noteworthy is that this advance is paid down daily off the back of their settlement stream.

“This means that they aren't locked in for long periods and having to pay lump sums at the end of a month when they may not have the cash flow to pay down the facility. Gap Access allows for a daily reduction in the balance at a low percentage of the daily transactions through the till, and in this way, not tying up cash flow at all,” said Wood.

Customers are further able to pay funds borrowed back over a much shorter period of time instead of being tied to facilities they may not need or ones that hamper their credit record.

“Gap Access is also not linked to interest rates, there is a facility fee calculated up front and this cannot fluctuate during the period of the repayment of the advance,” stated Nedbank.

The bank further reported that many customers who have opted for this offering have been appreciative of how it has aided them immensely in growing their businesses.

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