Kikka Reviews 109

Reply from Kikka

Jun 13, 2018

Hi David

Thank you for taking the time to complete a review regarding your recent Kikka experience. Here at Kikka, we are always looking to improve the customer experience and feedback does play a role in shaping the way we do business.

We will address your points below.

David: "Unfortunately I found Kikka to be very underhanded in the way they go about this with the information on their website ranging from exaggerated to dishonest. Their site shows an example loan with a 2% fee per month (24% p/a)."

Kikka: A disclaimer is displayed under our repayment schedule explaining our months 1 and 2 fees are based on your credit assessment and range between 2% and 9.75% of the principle and then 1% for the remaining 4 months (16% p/a).

David: "Their site offers “Free to sign up, no obligation to Borrow, Start Here”. However there is no point in their system where they ask you how much you would like to borrow, tell you how much you could borrow, or inform you what it will cost you."

Kikka: Should an application be successful and offered a line of credit, at no time, is the customer obligated to draw funds. Yes, we do not ask for a specific amount that you want to borrow. We pride ourselves on being a Responsible Lender, which means we only offer a line of credit that is affordable and appropriate to help your business grow. In our FAQ’s we advise there are no upfront fees, monthly account or early repayment fees.

David: "Once you click “Start Here” they collect your name and basic details with the obligatory check boxes regarding information collection, privacy and permission to perform a credit check. I assumed they would contact me to discuss what my needs where before they did a credit check. Don’t get me wrong, my credit history is fine but every time a company like this does a credit check it is going to show on your permanent record. That is not a positive, and ideally that should only happen once you have been given further information about their offer and chosen to proceed with the application."

Kikka: Prior to submitting your application, you are required to give us authorisation to access a consumer and company credit report. During the application process, one of our customer service agents explained over the phone how our products worked when you were inquiring about your concerns with providing us access to view your last 3 months of banking transactions. At any time you are not obligated to continue completing the application.

David: "Then they direct you to a page asking for your Bank account sign in details. I stopped at that and called them. I was assured that it was a third party secure site where I would be able to choose only the accounts I wanted them to see details for. So I continued, but they ended up with the details for all my accounts despite their assurances.
Anyway I waited for more information…. The next thing I knew, they had completed the credit check and approved a line of credit for $2200 with a 9.75% fee per month (117% p/a). At no point did they ask me how much I wanted to borrow or give me any clue about what they would offer or how much it would cost."

Kikka: When you link your bank account for assessment, we never see or store your passwords. The system we use to handle your banking information is trusted by hundreds of thousands of small business each year. When you were offered a line of credit, one of our customer service agents called and an email was sent to explain how our product works. Should you decide to draw funds, a repayment schedule is shown on your dashboard with a cost breakdown prior to signing the loan agreement. We only charge 9.75% for the first two months then 1% for the remaining 4 months, this is an APR of 47%. At any point in time, you can repay your line of credit and only pay for only what you use. We do not charge an early repayment fee.

David: "I called them to express my surprise and point out that I had been expecting more information before they actually approved and processed my application. I was told all the information is on the website. However that information bears no resemblance to what actually happened.
From what they have told me it appears they use the average daily balance, over three months, of one of your business bank accounts, chosen almost randomly. Their system takes that figure plus details about the amount of deposits and withdrawals through your accounts and your score from Equifax, applies an Algorithm and presto, decision made. There does not appear to be much happening in the way of actual decision making.
Kikka’s website is big on the idea that they want to support small businesses but I found that they have very little interest or knowledge with respect to how small businesses operate. In the best case scenario they may simply be under the misapprehension that all small businesses are the same.
To put this all into perspective my business has a regular reliable income of approx. $100,000 per month or an average of $5000 per business day. They approved a line of credit for $2200 at 9.75% per month, less than half our average daily turnover without asking me a single question about my business or our requirements. The whole process was a complete waste of time."

Kikka: Unfortunately as discussed we are unable to accept a savings account to use for a credit decision, we require the business transaction account to make an accurate assessment on the health of the business. We take responsible lending very seriously, and would never offer a line of credit that is higher than what a business can afford to pay back. We automatically assess the business performance over the past 3 months, and this determines the size of the line of credit and rate. That line can be anywhere from $1,000 to $100,000. Over time as we get to know the business your line of credit can increase and rate decrease. We know there are instances where we will not be able to offer a line of credit that is suitable to business requirements. During a call, you requested a review of your line of credit offered to be increased. The customer service agent referred your application to myself, but after reviewing the application in detail I confirm that we have reached the same conclusion as the original amount. We did advise that once we see repayment history and updated bank transaction data we will review your line of credit and rate.

David: "For the record I have given Kikka the opportunity to respond to my concerns prior to posting a review and whilst they have cleared their interaction with my Credit record they have not responded to any of my concerns about the accuracy of the information they provide or their approval process."

Kikka: As stated in our response to your email, we thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and experience. We wish you every success with your business.

Kind regards
Barb McGirr
Head of Customer Experience

Reply from Kikka

Apr 18, 2017

Thank you for the feedback, your account is continually assessed each day and the line of credit can increase and the interest rate may reduce for future drawdowns.

Reply from Kikka

Apr 13, 2017

Glad we could help you with your business Wayne and look forward to helping more in the future.

Reply from Kikka

Apr 13, 2017

We will endeavour to keep up with the pleasant experience so far Rob.

Reply from Kikka

Apr 6, 2017

Thank you for your kind feedback Robert, look forward to speaking with you in the future and helping you build your business.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 23, 2017

Glad you found the process easy and thanks for the great feedback.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 21, 2017

Thanks Andrew for the positive feedback

Reply from Kikka

Mar 16, 2017

Thank you for your feedback, we are glad we could help and look forward to building a great relationship between us and your business.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 14, 2017

Hi Rob, Glad you found the process fast and hope the funds help you grow your business.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 10, 2017

Benjamin, thank you for the feedback, we are pleased you found the process quick and easy and look forward to watching your business grow.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 10, 2017

That's great James thanks for the feedback.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 10, 2017

Thanks for the feedback Mary-Joy

Reply from Kikka

Mar 8, 2017

Thank you for the very positive feedback Jesse, we look forward to continually working with you.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 2, 2017

Jacob, thank you for the feedback, we are pleased you found the process quick and easy, we hope we have helped your business grow.

Reply from Kikka

Mar 1, 2017

Always happy to help our customers, thanks for the positive upbeat feedback Debbie, we appreciate it.

Reply from Kikka

Feb 28, 2017

Look forward to your continual use of our service. The account will be continually reviewed and hopefully an increase will be available in the future.