BUSINESS loans in the Philippines are a varied bunch. You'll find that every legitimate financing source has something different to offer in terms of loan amount, processing speed and customer service. The great equalizer, therefore, is interest rate, which determines how affordable your business loan is going to be.

Interest rate is the amount that loan companies charge in exchange for giving you immediate access to funds. Providers use different terms to describe their interest rates, but in general, a lower interest rate means that a small and medium enterprise (SME) will pay less for taking out an SME loan.