Worry Less About Financing, And Focus More On Business Growth

Running a business is often an all-consuming journey. Especially for start-ups, micro enterprises and sole proprietorships, where business owners juggle many responsibilities from closing sales and handling customers, to managing suppliers and running day-to-day business operations.

With so much stress already on you, the last thing you want is sleepless nights over cash flow.

That's where the CIMB Founders Card, which was launched in Singapore in September 2025 and designed to support SMEs, comes in. As a financing lifeline that’s both fast and founder-friendly, you can spend less time worrying about money, and more time building your business.

Why Small Businesses Struggle With Financing

Many early-stage entrepreneurs experience irregular income and do not have very deep cash reserves – making it challenging to access financing from traditional lenders.

Here’s why:

• Relatively short track record: With limited years of financial history, traditional financing products may be harder to access.
• Limited credit histories: Many small businesses are built on personal savings or informal funding, so they have very little official financial data or any credit history to assess.
• Barriers to traditional loans: Traditional lenders often require collateral, guarantors, and lengthy documentation.
  
• Costly alternatives: Alternative financing options like overdraft facilities, trade loans, and invoice financing may fill gaps, but they tend to come with higher costs or rigid repayment structures.

As a result, even strong businesses with growing revenue can be starved of short-term liquidity. This is the financing gap that the CIMB Founders Card aims to cover.

What The CIMB Founders Card Brings To The Table

The CIMB Founders Card is built with the financial realities of small business owners in mind:

Don’t Just Get By: 5 Ways The CIMB Founders Card Helps Grow Your Business

1. Smooths Over Cash Flow Gaps

Whether it’s covering supplier bills before your receivables come in, or stocking up for seasonal demand, having access to interest-free working capital offers breathing space as cash inflows and outflows do not always line-up perfectly, especially for a fledgling business.

2. Move Faster on Opportunities

Business often rewards speed. Having instant credit available means you don’t have to wait for loan approvals when a growth opportunity arises.

3. Potentially Negotiate Better Rates

As an extension to the point above, moving faster and paying faster (while you enjoy up to 113 days of 0% interest on eligible retail transactions) can give you an upper hand in negotiating better prices.

4. Enjoy Business Savings

Reduce your operational expenses with zero FX fees and discounts on digital business tools. This money can be better spent reinvesting into growing your business.

5. Keep Financing Simple

Instead of wading through tedious paperwork for loans, you can get instant working capital easily with no additional documents submission required.

Understand The Benefits And Weigh The Considerations

Like any financial product, it’s important to understand the benefits and weigh the considerations when using CIMB’s Founders Card:

• The annual card service fee of S$338 is non-waivable. There’s also a 1% (EIR up to 4.47%) processing fee for working capital drawdowns. This can still result in cost savings for businesses compared to a traditional SME Term Loan, as you enjoy up to 114 days of interest-free cash to use as working capital.

• CIMB’s Founders Card is especially useful for managing shorter-term cash flow gaps for day-to-day transactions, offering up to 114 days zero-interest working capital.

• Regardless of the financing tool you use, you have to be disciplined in making repayments and prudent in understand the features. This can be an early step to training small business owners to be more prudent of their cash flow management and make timely payments. Missing repayments can negate much of the benefits you enjoy in the first place.

Finally, you also have to understand that using the Founders Card will not help build corporate credit since it’s tied to personal credit.

Designed For Small Businesses That Need Quick, Flexible & Low-Cost Credit

For founders without long track records, steady income patterns, or extensive credit histories, CIMB Founders Card offers entrepreneurs a flexible and accessible financing option.

By helping you bridge cash flow gaps, save on costs, and move quickly when opportunities arise, you can focus on what matters most: growing your business.

The one thing most founders and their team also need to be more productive is a cup of good coffee! Apply for the CIMB Founders Card today and receive a Nespresso Essenza Mini Pure White (worth S$209). While stocks last, Terms & Conditions apply, for more details visit here.