Increased COVID-19 support for business

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We understand the challenges facing businesses and uncertainty experienced by all Australians in the wake of Coronavirus (COVID-19). NAB continued lending throughout the Global Financial Crisis and we’ll continue to lend through this. Our focus is to support you with your financial needs in any way we can. Whether it’s assisting with cash flow, working capital solutions, restructuring existing finances or payment deferrals.

“Businesses in particular need help and they need it now, so we have come through with a range of measures. This support will provide cash flow relief so they can stay open, and keep people in jobs. One third of Australia’s small to medium businesses bank with NAB and we are going to be there for them."

- NAB CEO Ross McEwan

We encourage any customers that need help to contact us through our Small Business Support team on 1300 881 661, or alternatively contact your relationship banker, so we can help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on your business.

Principal and interest payment deferral

Step 1 Check eligibility

Deferral is available on a range of loans including interest only, fixed, floating and variable rate facilities and equipment finance.¹
Step 2 Apply for a deferral

If your business is affected by COVID-19 you can apply to defer payments up until 31 March 2021.
Step 3 Increased loan balance

Interest still accumulates on your loan during this period increasing your loan balance at the end of the deferral period.
Step 4 Choose option post-deferral period

We’ll contact you about your options which will differ depending on your cash flow. This may include extending your loan period or increasing your loan repayments.²

NAB may extend business and home loan deferrals for customers still adversely affected by COVID-19 and unable to resume payments, on a case by case basis, by up to a further four months ending no later than March 2021.¹

NAB may consider extending the loan deferrals for business customers still adversely affected by COVID-19, by up to four months ending no later than March 2021.

As part of NAB’s deferral check-in, we’re encouraging customers who can begin repayments to do so as soon as they can as that’s in their best interests.

The option to extend a deferral period for up to four months will be assessed on an individual customer basis.¹

NAB Business Support Loans – now available to assist with business recovery

Our Business Support Loans have been designed to support our business customers whose business has been detrimentally impacted by COVID-19. There are both secured and unsecured loan options with a loan term of five years (subject to our eligibility criteria). Business customers with an annual turnover of less than $50 million across all their related business entities can apply to borrow up to $1 million (secured) to assist with business recovery and:

pay no application or loan service fees^
receive a loan term of five years
receive a variable interest rate, currently 2.95% p.a.⁴ for loans applied for by 2 April 2021 and secured by a mortgage over owner occupied commercial real estate
receive a variable interest rate, currently 4.50% p.a.⁴ for unsecured loans or loans with other security suitable to NAB
make no repayments for the first six months (interest will still accumulate on your loan in this period, and principal and interest repayments will apply after this period).⁵ This six month grace period does not apply to loans used to refinance NAB Business Support Loans provided before 30 September 2020.

For details, including eligibility and lending criteria, please visit our NAB Business Support Loans page.⁶

Changes to the late payment fee

Late payment fees will not be charged on personal and business credit cards, from 3 April 2020 until 25 September 2020. We'll automatically apply this for you. You should still pay your minimum monthly payment by the due date to ensure you can continue to use your card.

Pause your business credit card repayments

You can apply to defer repayments on your business credit card. NAB eligibility criteria applies.³ Interest will continue to accrue on your account.

Reducing your minimum monthly payment

Minimum monthly repayments will now be 0.5% of the closing balance or $5 (whichever is greater). However if you have any past due amount or over-limit amount, this will also be payable. The change automatically takes effect on statements issued from 27 April 2020 until 25 September 2020. You'll see this reflected on your next statement. Interest is calculated daily on the outstanding balance, so it's always best to pay as much as you can to reduce this balance.

How to get hardship assistance

If you can't make your minimum monthly payments or are likely to go into hardship, we're here to help. Submit a request for support online with our specialist team. Alternatively, NAB's Business Customer Care team is available on 1300 961 577 to discuss options Monday to Friday 8am-5pm (AEST/AEDT). Please be aware that our contact centre is currently experiencing high demand and longer than usual response times.

Businesses across Victoria reopen

The reopening of businesses across Victoria is an exciting step toward Australia’s recovery from COVID-19. We’re proud to have assisted our small and medium business merchants and HICAPS merchants by temporarily waiving package price fee, minimum merchant service fees and terminal rental fees from April 2020, through to July 2020. For our Victorian merchants the fee waivers were extended until October in line with government lockdown instructions. Merchants will notice the changes in billing in their monthly merchant statements for these months. Following the recent lifting of restrictions in Victoria, NAB will resume standard billing from 1 November 2020.

If you need to discuss ways NAB can help support your business, please speak to your relationship banker or call our Merchant Help Desk on 1300 369 852, 7am to 7pm, 7 days a week. For HICAPS merchants please visit the HICAPS website or call the HICAPS Help Desk on 1300 650 852, 8am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday.

Telehealth and COVID-19 items added to HICAPS

GPs, specialists, consultant physicians, obstetricians, consultant psychiatrists, nurse practitioners, allied mental health workers and midwives can now provide health consultations via telehealth services, which are bulk billed at no cost to patients through their HICAPS terminals. For more information visit our HICAPS COVID-19 Telehealth services page.

How can I increase my cash flow to support my working capital needs?

If your business has been detrimentally impacted by COVID-19, we have a range of options to support you.

Subject to our eligibility and lending criteria, you could take out a new unsecured NAB Business Support Loan and borrow up to $250,000 with:

no application or loan service fees, a loan term of up to three years, a variable interest rate currently 4.5% p.a.
no repayments required for the first six months (interest will still accumulate on to your loan in this period, and principal and interest repayments will apply after this period).⁴

This loan is available for business customers with a combined annual turnover of less than $50 million across all their related business entities. It can only be used for working capital purposes and is not available for refinancing.

For details about this loan, including eligibility and lending criteria, please refer to NAB Business Support Loans.

You could also apply to defer your business loan payments.

If you already have a business loan with NAB and are adversely affected by COVID-19, you can apply to defer your principal and interest payments ending 31 March 2021, on a range of business loans. This includes floating and variable rates and equipment finance loans excluding business overdrafts and commercial bills. Interest will continue to accumulate on to your loan.

NAB credit assessment and eligibility criteria apply.

What happens after the deferral period ends? Will interest accrue during the deferral period?

Interest will still accumulate onto your loan during the pause in your repayments. This means that your loan balance will be higher at the end of the deferral period. Before the end of the deferral period, and depending on your business cash flow situation you can choose to either:

extend the loan by a period no greater than the deferral period, with the deferred payments made over the new extended term, or
spread the deferred payments over the remaining term of the loan.

We may need you to sign documents agreeing to the changes before they’ll apply.

Depending on your circumstances, (refer to the ABA Announcement 7 July 2020), you can apply to extend your initial deferral period for up to four months (ending no later than 31 March 2021).¹

I don’t have a dedicated banker. What is the check-in process?

We’ll contact you prior to your deferral ending and give you more information. You can contact NAB at anytime to discuss your individual circumstances.

We encourage customers who can begin repayments to do so as soon as they can as that’s in their best interests.

Can you reduce my interest rates or remove my fees?

Small businesses will automatically receive an additional 100-basis point (bps) reduction on variable rates for business options loans from Monday 30 March 2020. This is on top of a 25-bps reduction in early March.

What options are available for me to restructure my current loans?

We have a range of relief options available to support our business customers impacted during this difficult period. You can talk to your relationship banker or you can contact our Small Business Support team on 1300 881 661.

What if I can’t pay my minimum monthly credit card payment?

Your account may be stopped for future use until a minimum payment has been made.

If you can’t make your minimum monthly payments or if you’re likely to go into hardship, then please reach out to our NAB Business Customer Care team. Due to high call volumes and longer than usual response times, we recommend submitting our hardship form and we’ll contact you as soon as possible. You can also call our customer care team on 1300 961 577 to discuss your options.

If I only pay my minimum monthly credit card payment, what happens to the interest?

Interest is calculated daily on the outstanding balance, so it’s always best to pay as much as you can to reduce this balance. If you only pay the minimum amount, you’ll be charged more interest than if you were to pay a larger amount or if you were to pay your balance in full.

What if I have a direct debit set up to pay the minimum monthly credit card payment?

The reduced minimum monthly payment will be applied automatically to any statement that is issued on or after 27 April 2020, including connected direct debits.

How do I change my direct debit amount?

If you have a direct debit set up to pay your NAB credit card account, you can change this by completing our Direct Debit Request Form(PDF, 361KB) and returning it to your banker or local branch.

What if I require JobKeeper payment assistance?

If you have a question about how we’re providing support with JobKeeper Payment assistance, you can call us on 1800 JOBKEEPER (1800 562 533).

For more than 160-years, we’ve supported Australian’s through challenges. We're well-capitalised and stand ready to play our critical role in this global crisis. This means working with the Government and regulators on other necessary measures to support Australians and make sure credit keeps flowing.

Business customers experiencing financial hardship are invited to contact us through our Small Business Support team on 1300 881 661, or alternatively, contact your banker directly. Please be aware that we are currently experiencing high demand and longer than usual response times.

Our teams are working hard to help you as quickly as we can and we appreciate your patience should you experience longer than normal wait times.

As we all come to terms with the growing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our focus is clear, to support you with your financial needs in any way we can.

Guidance during COVID-19

Read how to bank with us and stay safe and avoid COVID-19.

COVID-19 support for home owners

Read about the type of support we’re offering home owners during COVID-19.

Government’s support for small business

Read about the Government’s support for small business.

Business Support Loans

This loan has been designed to help support businesses impacted by COVID-19.

Banking with NAB through COVID-19

Find updates on banking online and in person during COVID-19.

Important information

^{^} Other fees may apply.

¹ Subject to credit assessment and eligibility criteria. This relief is not available for Commercial Bill and Overdraft facilities. Invoice Finance and Trade Finance have separate relief options for customers.

²We may need you to sign documents agreeing to the changes before they’ll apply.

³Your existing facilities must have been in order for at least 90 days before requesting this relief.

⁴Interest rate current as at 6 October 2020 and subject to change.

⁵The NAB Business Support Loans are provided as part of the Australian Government’s Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme 2.0. While the Government provides NAB with a 50% guarantee on the loan, this in no way changes a borrower’s obligations to repay the loan in full by the end of term. The term of the loan is five years. Please note that while this loan requires no repayments for the first six months, interest will also continue to accrue over this period. The loan must be repaid with principal and interest repayments that begin after the first six months.

⁶ The NAB Business Support Loan is subject to NAB eligibility and lending criteria. Terms and conditions, and restrictions/exclusions apply. Interest rate current as at 6 October 2020 and subject to change. Please see NAB Business Support Loans for details.

Information, fees and rates are correct as at 6 October 2020 and are subject to change. Applications for credit are subject to NAB’s credit approval criteria. Terms and Conditions (PDF, 452KB) apply to all NAB products and are available at nab.com.au, on application or by calling us. Fees and charges are payable. This product is issued by National Australia Bank Limited ABN 12 004 937 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686 (NAB).

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