If your application comes back as referred, that is not a rejection. It means the automated assessment landed somewhere between a clear yes and a clear no, so a person is taking a closer look. Here is what is actually happening and what you can do.
Why an application gets referred
A referral usually means one of two things: the picture is close to the line on affordability, or we are missing a piece of information that would let us say yes with confidence. Common examples are a thin or very new trading history, a figure that needs confirming, or a business bank account we have not been able to read yet.
What happens next
- We look more closely. A member of the team reviews the application alongside the automated assessment.
- We may ask for a little more. Often the quickest path is to connect your business bank account through read-only Open Banking, or to confirm a detail.
- You get an answer. We come back to you, usually quickly. The outcome might be an offer, an offer for a smaller amount, or — if it is genuinely not affordable — a decline with no obligation.
A referral is about whether the business can comfortably afford the borrowing, not a judgement on you personally. There is no personal guarantee, and the money-out step is always confirmed by a person — see why a human confirms every payout.
You can help by having your figures to hand and connecting your bank account if asked. For how the assessment works overall, see is my loan decision made by a computer? Because this is lending to a company for business purposes, it sits outside FCA consumer-credit regulation under Article 60B FSMA RAO 2001 and is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the FSCS.
See also: Can I ask a person to review an automated decision?, Can I find out why I was declined?, Can I reapply after a decline?.