The biggest difference is how you repay. Lumi is a business lender: its business loan and line of credit are repaid weekly over terms of up to five years, whenever your customers pay. FundTap is invoice finance, not a loan: you fund the invoices you choose, and there is one repayment, on the date your customer is due to pay. FundTap has no setup or ongoing fees, and you only pay when you use it. Lumi suits larger amounts, longer terms, or funding that is not tied to invoices.
Last reviewed 7 October 2026
Lumi provides business loans and lines of credit of up to $1M for Australian businesses, with features such as Rate Ease, Payment Pause and Payment Holiday. FundTap is on-demand invoice finance for Australian and New Zealand small businesses. Both are ways to cover a cash flow gap, but they are different products: a business loan and invoice finance. They repay and cost differently enough that comparing the headline numbers will mislead you. Here is how repayment, cost and those repayment features work for each.
At a glance
| Feature | FundTap | Lumi |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment | One repayment, by direct debit, on the date your customer is due to pay the invoice | Weekly repayments for the term of the loan or line of credit, regardless of when your customers pay |
| What it is | On-demand invoice finance. You fund the unpaid invoices you choose | Business loan (a lump sum) or a revolving line of credit |
| Commitment | None. No setup fees and no ongoing fees. You only pay when you fund an invoice | Once a loan is drawn, you are committed to its weekly repayment schedule for the term |
| Cost structure | From 4% per invoice, quoted in full before you accept. No setup fees, no monthly fees, no exit fees | Rates from 15.5% APR, set for each business by its credit profile. Lumi says it charges no ongoing or early repayment fees. Ask for the establishment fee and the total repayable in dollars |
| Does paying early cost less? | Yes. The fee is recalculated for the actual number of days, so it comes down if your customer pays early | Lumi says there are no prepayment penalties on any loan or line of credit |
| Repayment features | Not needed: nothing is repaid until the invoice is due | Rate Ease lowers the rate each month you pay on time, for up to 12 months. Payment Pause gives a 4-week interest-free break. Payment Holiday defers the first 6 weeks, with interest added to the loan. Business loans only, one at a time |
| Amounts | Up to $300,000 to start, and the limit grows as your invoicing grows. Invoices from $300 | Business loans and lines of credit up to $1M |
| Entry criteria | Connect Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or Reckon and pick an eligible invoice. Three months of trading activity and more than $5,000 a month in revenue, subject to standard credit assessment of you and your customer | Published minimums: 6 months in business, $50,000 annual revenue and a valid ABN or ACN |
| Security | No property security. A general security agreement over the business, and for limits over $30,000 a personal guarantee backed by property the guarantor owns | Lumi says most loans and lines of credit up to $300,000 are unsecured, and larger amounts may need property backing |
| Term | No term. Each invoice is funded on its own | Up to 5 years |
| Speed | Approval usually within a day. Once approved, funded within 2 hours | Same-day approval and funding, on their published claim. Lumi says loan funds typically arrive 6 to 8 hours after approval |
| Markets | Australia and New Zealand | Australia |
Lumi amounts, rates, entry criteria, security, timings and repayment features are taken from Lumi's own published pages, including its business loan, line of credit and Rate Ease pages, read on 7 October 2026. Lumi sets each business's rate individually, so confirm current terms with Lumi directly.
One repayment, or weekly repayments
FundTap is repaid once, on the date your customer is due to pay the invoice. Lumi loan repayments come out every week until the loan is paid off, whatever your customers are doing.
That difference often matters more than the headline rate. With a weekly schedule, money leaves your account from the first week, including in the weeks when customers pay late. Each repayment reduces the cash you have to run the business, so a loan taken out to cover a cash flow gap can keep the gap open. With FundTap nothing comes out until the invoice is due, and the one repayment lines up with the money you are already expecting to receive.
It also changes what you are signing up to. A Lumi business loan runs for a set term of up to five years. FundTap has no setup or ongoing fees and no term, so you only pay when you choose to fund an invoice.
What Rate Ease, Payment Pause and Payment Holiday actually do
Lumi's repayment features are genuinely useful, and they are also easy to misread. Here is what each one does, on Lumi's published terms.
- Rate Ease lowers your interest rate each month you pay on time, for up to 12 months, and Lumi says it can cut up to 11% off your interest charges. That is 11% of the interest, not 11 percentage points off the rate. Miss a payment and you keep your current rate but lose future reductions.
- Payment Pause lets you stop repayments for up to 4 weeks, interest-free, during the loan. Lumi says you must not have missed a payment to use it.
- Payment Holiday defers repayments for the first 6 weeks of a loan. Interest keeps accruing and is added to the loan balance, so your weekly repayments are higher once they start.
All three apply to Lumi business loans, not the line of credit, and they cannot be combined. They make a weekly schedule easier to live with. They do not change the fact that the schedule is weekly, and they are there because a fixed schedule can clash with when your customers actually pay. With FundTap there is no schedule to pause: the one repayment is already set to the invoice due date.
Comparing the cost
Lumi's rates start from 15.5% APR, and each business's rate is set by its credit profile. FundTap's fee starts from 4% per invoice. Those two numbers are not the same unit and cannot be compared directly.
An APR is an annual rate on a loan you repay over months or years. FundTap's fee is the complete cost of funding one invoice for the days it is outstanding, shown in dollars before you accept. The fair test is the total dollar cost of the funding you actually need, for the time you actually need it.
Ask any lender for two numbers: the amount that lands in your account, and the total of every repayment and fee. The difference is your cost in dollars. Then ask FundTap for the fee on the invoice in front of you, and compare like with like.
If you are weighing up a loan against invoice finance more generally, invoice finance vs a business loan covers the wider trade-offs.
Six questions to ask any lender
- What is the total amount repayable, in dollars? Not the rate. The total.
- What fees are there on top? Ask about establishment fees, and any other charges that are not in the repayment figure.
- When does the first repayment come out, and how often after that? Weekly repayments hit cash flow very differently from a single repayment.
- If I take a payment holiday or pause, what does it add to the cost? Ask whether interest accrues during the break.
- What security is involved? Ask specifically about personal guarantees, caveats over property, and general security agreements, and at what amount each one starts to apply.
- What happens if a repayment is missed? Ask what the fees are, and what you lose, such as future rate reductions.
Ask FundTap the same six. The answers are: the exact dollar fee is shown before you accept; there are no setup or ongoing fees; there is one direct debit on the invoice due date; there is no schedule to pause, so nothing is added; FundTap does not take property security, though limits over $30,000 need a personal guarantee backed by property; and if something goes wrong we call you.
When FundTap is likely the better fit
- You have a short-term or occasional cash flow gap, and you want to fund selected invoices rather than take out a loan.
- You want one repayment on the invoice due date, not weekly repayments for years.
- You only want to pay when you use it: no setup fees, no ongoing fees, no term.
- You want the cost to come down if your customer pays early.
- You have unpaid invoices out to business, government or council customers, and the problem is timing rather than a shortfall.
- Your business is younger or smaller than Lumi's minimums of 6 months and $50,000 a year.
- You trade in New Zealand, Australia, or both.
When Lumi is likely the better fit
- You need a larger amount than your invoices can support, up to $1M.
- You need funding that is not connected to invoices, for example equipment, a fit-out, expansion or refinancing.
- You do not invoice other organisations, so there is nothing to fund against.
- You want a longer term and are comfortable with weekly repayments, and features such as Rate Ease and Payment Pause suit you.
Switching to FundTap takes four steps
- Connect your accounting software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks or Reckon). Takes about 10 minutes.
- Pick an unpaid invoice you would like to fund.
- See the exact fee for that invoice before you commit to anything.
- Receive funds, typically within 2 hours of approval.
More detail on each step is on how FundTap works.
Common questions
What is the difference between FundTap and Lumi?
The main difference is repayment. Lumi lends you a lump sum or a line of credit, repaid weekly over terms of up to five years, whenever your customers pay. FundTap advances money against the invoices you choose, and there is one repayment, by direct debit, on the date your customer is due to pay. FundTap has no setup or ongoing fees and no term. Lumi suits larger amounts, longer terms, or funding that is not tied to invoices.
What is Lumi Rate Ease?
Rate Ease is a Lumi business loan feature that lowers your interest rate each month you pay on time, for up to 12 months. Lumi says it can save up to 11% on interest charges, which means 11% of the interest, not 11 percentage points off the rate. If you miss a payment you keep your current rate but lose future reductions. It does not apply to Lumi's line of credit.
Does Lumi's Payment Holiday mean no repayments?
For the first 6 weeks of a loan, yes, but interest keeps accruing and is added to the loan balance, so your weekly repayments are higher once they start. With FundTap, nothing is repaid until the invoice due date, and there is one repayment.
Is 15.5% cheaper than 4%?
The numbers are not comparable. Lumi's from 15.5% is an annual rate on a loan, and each business's rate is set by its credit profile. FundTap's from 4% is the complete fee for one invoice for the period it is outstanding. Compare the total dollar cost for the same amount over the same time.
Does it cost less if I repay early?
With FundTap, yes. The fee is recalculated for the actual number of days the funding runs, so it comes down if your customer pays early. If the repayment date moves out, the extra days are added. Lumi says it charges no prepayment penalties on its loans or lines of credit.
Who qualifies for Lumi and for FundTap?
Lumi's published minimums are 6 months in business, $50,000 annual revenue and a valid ABN or ACN, and it lends in Australia only. FundTap's general guide is at least three months of trading activity and more than $5,000 a month in revenue, in Australia or New Zealand, subject to standard credit assessment of you and your customer.
Do I need property security?
FundTap does not take property security. It takes a general security agreement over the business, and for funding limits over $30,000 a personal guarantee, which needs to be backed by property the guarantor owns. Lumi says most of its loans and lines of credit up to $300,000 are unsecured, and larger amounts may need property backing. Whichever provider you use, ask exactly what security applies at the amount you need.
How quickly can I get funded?
Once your accounting software is connected and your account is approved, eligible invoices are typically funded within 2 hours of approval.
Lumi amounts, rates, entry criteria, security, timings and repayment features are taken from Lumi's own published pages, read on 7 October 2026. Lumi sets each business's rate individually and terms may change. This page is for general information only and is not financial advice. Outcomes depend on circumstances, invoice profile, and approval. Confirm current terms directly with each provider.
