Key takeaways
- It depends on the lender: A fintech lender can approve and fund in 24 to 72 hours, while a major bank often takes 21 to 35 days for the same refinance.
- Documentation drives the timeline: A complete application is the single biggest factor in a fast result, and missing paperwork is the most common cause of delay.
- Discharge is the hidden step: Closing your old loan can add days or weeks, especially on secured facilities where a security release is involved.
- Low-doc is faster than full-doc: Smaller facilities assessed on bank statements move quicker than larger loans needing tax returns and financials.
- Plan around the timeline: If you are refinancing to hit a rate reset or clear a balloon, start early so the process finishes before the deadline.
One of the first questions business owners ask about refinancing is simply: how long will this take? The honest answer is that it ranges from a couple of days to well over a month, depending on who you borrow from and how ready your paperwork is. With the Reserve Bank cash rate at 4.35 per cent as of mid-2026 and lenders competing hard for good business borrowers, approval times have become a genuine point of difference. This guide breaks down the stages of a refinance, how long each takes, and what you can do to speed the whole thing up.
The short answer
Speed depends heavily on the type of lender. Fintech and online lenders are built for pace and can approve a straightforward refinance within 24 to 72 hours, with funds often following inside a week. Non-bank lenders that hold deposits typically take 10 to 18 days. Major banks, with their heavier documentation requirements and manual assessment, commonly run 21 to 35 days from application to funding. The same business, refinancing the same loan, can wait a couple of days or well over a month purely on the choice of lender.
| Lender type | Typical time to funding | Best suited to |
|---|---|---|
| Fintech and online lenders | 24 to 72 hours | Smaller, unsecured or low-doc refinances needing speed |
| Non-bank lenders | 10 to 18 days | Asset-backed loans and businesses outside strict bank criteria |
| Major banks | 21 to 35 days | Larger secured loans where the sharpest rate matters most |
These are indicative ranges, not guarantees. A clean application at the smaller end can beat them, while a complex or incomplete one can blow well past them.
The stages of a refinance
Understanding where the time goes helps you see what you can influence. A refinance progresses through a handful of stages:
- Preparation and application: Gathering your documents and submitting the application. This is entirely in your control, and having everything ready can compress it to a single day.
- Assessment and approval: The lender reviews your cash flow, trading history, and existing loan. Modern lenders that read your bank feed or accounting software directly can complete this in hours rather than days.
- Formal offer and acceptance: The lender issues a loan offer, which you review and sign. A prompt turnaround here keeps momentum.
- Discharge of the existing loan: Your current lender must be paid out and, if the loan is secured, release its security interest. This step involves a third party and is often where the unexpected delays sit.
- Settlement and funding: The new facility funds, the old one closes, and the refinance is complete.
The assessment stage gets the most attention, but the discharge stage is where many refinances quietly lose days. Because it depends on your existing lender rather than the new one, it is worth starting early.
What makes a refinance faster
Most of the levers that shorten a refinance are in your hands before you even apply:
- Complete documentation: Incomplete applications are the number one cause of delay. A full pack of identity, bank statements, and existing loan details lets assessment run start to finish without pausing.
- A low-doc pathway: Smaller facilities under a lender's threshold can often be approved on bank statements and identity alone, skipping the tax returns and financials a full-doc loan requires.
- Digital bank feeds: Lenders that connect to your accounting software or bank feed assess cash flow in hours. Providing this access up front removes a common bottleneck.
- An unsecured facility: Secured loans need security to be valued and, on discharge, released, which adds time. Unsecured facilities skip the valuation and security-release steps.
- Prompt responses: Answering lender queries and signing documents quickly keeps the file moving. A day's delay on your side can add a day to the timeline.
What slows a refinance down
Equally, a few things reliably stretch the timeline:
- Missing or outdated documents: Every time the lender has to stop and request something, the clock resets on that stage.
- Property or asset valuations: Secured refinances often need a valuation, and regional locations can add several days for a valuer to attend.
- A slow discharge from your current lender: Some lenders take time to produce a payout figure and release security, and this is outside the new lender's control.
- Complex business structures: Trusts, multiple entities, or director guarantees add layers to the assessment.
- Consolidating several loans: Each facility being rolled in needs its own payout and discharge, so consolidation is powerful but adds moving parts.
A realistic scenario
Picture a courier business wanting to refinance a $70,000 vehicle loan to a lower rate, with a fixed-term reset only three weeks away. The owner assumes a bank refinance and starts casually collecting paperwork.
Realising a major bank could take a month, the owner instead approaches a non-bank lender that reads bank feeds directly. With six months of statements, the vehicle details, and a current payout figure ready on day one, assessment completes in two days and an offer follows. The only real wait is the discharge of the existing loan, which takes a further week. The whole refinance settles inside two weeks, comfortably before the rate reset. Had the owner waited for a bank and applied without documents ready, the reset would have passed first. The lesson is that the timeline is shaped as much by preparation and lender choice as by anything the lender does.
Frequently asked questions
Can a business loan refinance really settle in a few days?
Yes, for a straightforward, smaller, or unsecured refinance with a fintech or online lender and complete documentation. Larger secured refinances through a bank take considerably longer, commonly three to five weeks.
Why does closing my old loan take so long?
The discharge depends on your existing lender producing a payout figure and, for secured loans, releasing its security interest. Because this involves a third party outside the new lender's control, it is worth requesting the payout figure early.
Does refinancing multiple loans take longer?
Usually a little, because each facility being consolidated needs its own payout and discharge. The benefit of a single simpler loan often outweighs the modest extra time, but build it into your planning.
How can I make sure it finishes before a deadline?
Start early, prepare a complete document pack, request your existing payout figure up front, and choose a lender whose typical timeline fits inside your deadline with margin to spare.
What matters most
How long a business loan refinance takes is largely within your influence. Lender choice sets the outer bounds, from a couple of days with a fintech to over a month with a bank, but preparation decides where you land inside that range. Get your documents ready, request your payout figure early, and pick a lender whose speed matches your need. Do that, and the refinance finishes when you need it to, rather than dragging past a deadline it was meant to beat. This is general information, not financial advice, so confirm timelines with your chosen lender against your own situation.
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