We have just past the anniversary of when Bounce back loans started dropping into everyone bank accounts.
You will have received notifications from your bank over the last few months saying that you will be able to make changes to the loan to assist with cashflow.
What seems to have happened (or I just missed it) is that most of the banks actually have the system live – they just haven’t told us about it.
In most cases you simply log onto your bank online (not many have this facility within their phone apps) and find the Bounce Back loan and select up to 2 of the 3 options (listed below). They tend to say “Apply Here” but it is an automatic process of acceptance so no need to worry.
PLEASE NOTE – Pay as You Grow does not apply to CBILS loans.
Example of extending to a 10 year repayment period
- A £50,000 loan is £937.50 per month over the next 5 years.
- Converting it to 10 years reduces this payment to £567.13, reducing your monthly payment by £370.37
- The extra 5 years means you will pay and extra £2,500 in total in interest.
Summary
If you need more flexibility with payments or are struggling to repay your Bounce Back Loan, Pay as You Grow options may help.
With these options you can choose to:
- Extend the length of your loan from six years to ten years. These is no other term available other than repaying the loan part way through in full – say in year 7.
- Make interest-only payments for six months, with the option to use this up to three times throughout the loan
- Request a six-month repayment holiday – you can do this only once.
You are able to use these options individually or in combination with each other, as well as having the option to fully repay your loan early with no early repayment charges.
You can overpay into the loan at any point and as many times as you like. You can thus make your own repayment period if you calculate the extra amount to pay each month to meet an 8 year loan.
You can use any of the options throughout the loans life.
I.e., if after one year of repaying it you wished you had made it a 10 year loan then it can be switched to pay off over the remaining 9 years as if you had selected that option at the beginning. The reduced payments start from the next due date and the amount will be determined by how much you still owe and the number of years left.
See the British Business Banks video – here – https://vimeo.com/540711636