Heartland Bank buys stake in Fuelled Ltd

Heartland Bank Limited has taken a 25 per cent shareholding in small-to-medium business (SME) lender Fuelled Limited. Heartland has also pledged a committed debt facility which enables Fuelled to engage in its Australian growth plans. Fuelled is a New Zealand-based website where SMEs receive an immediate cash advance on outstanding invoices rather than waiting up to 90 days for customer payment. Last September, Fuelled partnered with Xero and customers are now required to use Xero’s accounting software to access the service. The lending system is the first of its kind in the country and was selected by Xero as its first alternative lender in its ‘financial web’ – a collection of online-based business lenders. Heartland’s investment in Fuelled is the latest attempt to expand its online SME lending services. Last April, Heartland launched the Open for Business platform, which gives a preliminary quote and approval online. Spotcap Australia is another recent acquisition for Heartland, which primarily serves SME businesses.