TruePillars: equipment, rideshare and property-backed business finance

TruePillars is a lender whose story has changed more than most. It launched in 2016 as one of Australia’s first marketplace lenders, letting everyday investors bid to fund small business loans. A decade on, that investor side has closed, and what remains is a specialist lender for the jobs many others avoid: equipment for brand-new ABNs, cars for rideshare drivers on visas, and property-backed loans assessed on bank statements alone.

This profile is based on TruePillars’ own website as at October 2026. Its product pages are written mainly for brokers, so confirm current details with TruePillars or your broker before applying.

What changed in 2026

According to its website, a notice of closure went to all investors on 29 June 2026, and the TruePillars Investment Trust closed on 30 June 2026 with capital returned. That ends the peer-to-peer model many older reviews still describe.

For borrowers, the important part is that TruePillars’ four lending products remain listed and its application system is live. If you read an article describing TruePillars as a place where investors bid on your loan, it’s out of date.

The four products

Product	Key published details	Who it’s aimed at
Equipment finance	Chattel mortgage, up to 100% of the purchase price (a deposit may be required), terms from 24 months, balloons up to 30%	Trades, transport, construction, hospitality, health
Rideshare vehicle finance	Terms up to seven years, nil-deposit options on preferred electric and hybrid models	Rideshare and food delivery drivers
Secured business loan	Up to $300k by second mortgage or $150k by caveat; up to five years (two for caveat)	Established businesses with residential property
Trail book loan	Up to $200k against a broker’s trail commission, up to five years, monthly principal and interest	Mortgage and finance brokers

Equipment finance: open to new ABNs

This is TruePillars’ main product, and it’s built for the operator other lenders often turn away: someone who has only just registered an ABN but has done the same work for years. TruePillars says new ABNs are considered where there’s business or employment continuity, and both property owners and non-property owners are accepted. The minimum published credit score is above 450 (Veda, now Equifax).

What it funds:

• Primary assets: cars, utes and vans, trucks, trailers, prime movers, buses, forklifts, boom and scissor lifts, non-mining earthmoving gear and agricultural equipment. These can be quite old, with the published limit at up to 30 years by the end of the term.
• Secondary assets (new only): trade tools, earthmoving attachments, and compressors and generators.
• Business equipment across hospitality (kitchen, barista, refrigeration, brewing), IT and point-of-sale, fit-outs, and medical and dental equipment.

The equipment has to be for business use, bought from a verified vendor and identifiable, ideally with a serial number. Sale-and-leaseback isn’t accepted. A balloon of up to 30% lowers the monthly repayment but leaves a sizeable final payment owing; our balloon payment entry and equipment finance calculator show the trade-off in dollars.

Rideshare vehicle finance

A genuinely niche product. TruePillars lends to rideshare and food delivery drivers, including visa holders with work rights and at least two years left on their visa, and new ABN holders. All makes are accepted, with a preference for electric and hybrid vehicles. Private sales are capped at $40k, dealer purchases aren’t capped, and the vehicle can be up to 10 years old by the end of the loan. The published minimum credit score is 550. Our page on rideshare and taxi driver finance covers the wider options.

The secured business loan

For established businesses, TruePillars offers a loan secured against residential property only:

• up to $300k by second mortgage, over up to five years; or
• up to $150k by caveat, over up to two years.

There are no financials required: it assesses on six months of electronic bank statements. You’ll need ABN and GST registration for more than a year and a minimum credit score of 509. If you need more than $300k against property, or a lender that accepts commercial property, private lenders such as EquityTap work across a wider range.

Not sure whether equipment finance or a property-secured loan suits your plans better? Ask our team for a steer; there’s no credit check involved.

Who TruePillars suits, and who it doesn’t

Good fit: a newly self-employed tradie buying a ute or excavator; a hospitality operator fitting out a kitchen; a rideshare driver on a work visa; a business owner with home equity who wants a loan without handing over full financials.

Weaker fit: businesses wanting an unsecured working capital loan or line of credit (it doesn’t list either); anyone needing more than $300k against property; owners with only commercial property to offer; and anyone who wants to apply entirely on their own, without a broker.

Questions to ask

• Across the whole term, how many dollars will I hand back, establishment fee included?
• On equipment finance, does my deal need a deposit, and how big would any balloon be?
• Will the asset be registered on the PPSR, and are personal guarantees required?
• For the secured loan, what valuation will be used, and what are the costs if I repay early?
• How do I apply if I don’t have a broker?

Alternatives worth comparing

• For equipment and vehicles: Dynamoney and Angle Finance both specialise in asset finance.
• For a larger established business: Banjo Loans lends up to $2m, including asset finance, but asks for two years of trading.
• If you’re a very new business: see business loans with an ABN under 6 months.

And remember your bank: if you have a trading history and a solid relationship, a bank’s equipment finance can be very competitive. Get a quote before deciding.

Buying equipment or tapping your home? Let’s find the right lender

TruePillars covers some real blind spots in the market, particularly for fresh ABNs and drivers on visas. Plenty of other lenders work in that space too, though, and which one suits you hinges on what you’re buying, your time in business and whether there’s property in the picture.

Sorting that out is our job. The form asks for roughly sixty seconds of your time, and lodging it leaves your credit report untouched. Nobody on our side forwards your enquiry to a long list of financiers. Instead, one of our team looks over your circumstances personally and phones you. If you describe the asset and your trading time honestly, our first suggestion is much more likely to be the one that works.

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