Metro Finance: non-bank finance for vehicles, trucks, plant and green assets

Ask an equipment broker which non-bank lenders they send truck and machinery deals to, and Metro Finance usually comes up. It calls itself one of Australia’s leading non-bank lenders, says more than 4,000 brokers use it, and features a CAFBA award on its site. Its commercial menu runs from a sole trader’s ute to a semi-trailer, a grader or a header, with a separate green finance range called MetroEco.

Metro also lends to consumers (car loans and novated leases), but this profile covers only its business products, using its website as at October 2026.

What will Metro Finance fund?

Metro organises its commercial lending by asset class. Here’s how its range maps to the kinds of businesses that typically use it:

Asset class	Examples Metro gives	Often used by
Passenger vehicles	Cars, sedans, SUVs (including electric and hybrid), people movers	Sales reps, real estate agencies, consultants
Light commercial	Utes, vans, small delivery vehicles	Tradies, couriers, mobile services
Heavy commercial	Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVM, trucks, semi trucks, trailers	Transport operators, owner-drivers
Yellow goods	Excavators, bulldozers, graders, skid steers	Civil and earthmoving contractors
Agricultural	Tractors, harvesters, sprayers, mower conditioners	Farmers and contractors
Tertiary assets	Computers, printers, specialised tools and machinery, medical and dental gear	Clinics, offices, workshops, hospitality
MetroEco	Solar panels, charging technology, energy-efficient equipment, EVs	Businesses cutting energy costs

It finances new and used assets. If you’re buying something with wheels or tracks, our guides to truck finance and commercial vehicle finance explain how lenders weigh the age and type of vehicle.

Loan or lease: Metro’s two structures

Metro writes most commercial deals in one of two ways:

Commercial finance agreement. A loan to buy the asset, with fixed repayments over 2 to 5 years. You can clear it completely across the term or leave a balloon at the end to lower the regular repayment.

Finance lease. Metro holds ownership while your business rents the asset for 2 to 5 years, with an advance rental and a residual option on some products. It is for business use only, and Metro notes possible tax benefits, which your accountant should confirm for your situation.

With either one, the asset itself is usually the security, and Metro debits repayments monthly. On its tertiary, truck and yellow goods pages Metro quotes $10k to $1m for both structures, though the same pages also show $10k to $500k in another section. Treat $1m as the ceiling and confirm the figure for your deal. For a plain-English comparison of the two structures, see our chattel mortgage vs finance lease page.

Planning for the balloon

Balloons are where many equipment borrowers get caught. A balloon cuts your monthly repayment but leaves a lump sum due on the last day. Metro says that when a contract with a balloon or residual reaches its end, it writes to you with the outstanding balance, and you can either pay it out or refinance it.

Here’s a simple illustration. A transport business finances a $180k prime mover over five years with a 30% balloon. That leaves $54k due at the end. If the truck is worth more than $54k at that point, the business can sell or trade it and clear the debt. If the truck has had a hard life and is worth less, the owner will have to find the shortfall or refinance it. Model a few balloon sizes in our equipment finance calculator and read our glossary note on the balloon payment before agreeing to one.

Buying a truck or machine and unsure whether Metro or another lender suits your situation better? Ask us first; we’ll be straight with you, and no credit enquiry is recorded.

Costs: what Metro publishes

Metro advertises competitive fixed rates (it doesn’t publish them, and we never quote rates) and no annual or account keeping fees on its commercial products. Its FAQs flag fees that may apply: documentation, title and registration, and late payment. It also says some loans carry a penalty for early repayment. That’s worth asking about if you think you might upgrade before the term ends. Compare total dollars, not just the monthly figure, with our loan cost comparison calculator.

Who suits Metro Finance?

• Transport and logistics businesses, including owner-driver truckies and fleet operators
• Civil, earthmoving and agricultural operators buying yellow goods or farm machinery; see our page on farmers’ business loans
• Businesses going green, using MetroEco for solar or efficient equipment; our guide to solar and energy upgrades covers the funding options
• Newer businesses with a plan, since Metro says it will consider them on factors such as a business plan, projections and other security

It’s less of a fit for working capital, fit-outs without a clear resale value, or deals well above $1m.

If Metro Finance says no

Ask your broker what drove the decision. If the asset itself was the issue (too old, too specialised), another asset lender may take a different view: Angle Finance, Finance One and Dynamoney all have profiles here. If credit or trading history was the issue, see business loans with defaults. Where the asset alone won’t support the amount and you have real estate, HomeSec Business Finance lends against real estate for business purposes.

Your next truck, ute or machine: let’s line up the finance

Getting the asset is the exciting part. Getting the structure right, with a sensible balloon, the right term and a lender that suits your history, is what makes it pay off over the next five years.

Filling in our form is roughly a sixty-second job. Your credit score stays where it is, and because we don’t share your details around, there’s no barrage of unexpected calls afterwards. One of our people reviews the enquiry and calls you. Correct details about the asset, its age and your business help us choose a well-suited lender at the outset.

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