Royal Bank of Scotland has announced the launch of a new digital platform where small and medium sized businesses will be able to obtain unsecured loans of up to £150,000 within hours.

The site, called Esme Loans, will be launched under RBS’s NatWest brand. It will give customers a fast decision on their lending application which, if successful, will result in rapid funding, potentially within an hour. Customers will also benefit from no early repayment charges.

Born out of an ‘Innovation Cell’, working with Fintech - Ezbob Limited – Esme has been developed in response to the emergence of innovative direct and P2P lending platforms, and aims to simplify and speed up the lending process.

The new automated, lending platform will originate unsecured and unregulated loans of up to £150,000 for a maximum of 5 years for UK SME customers, whether they bank with NatWest or not.

Alison Rose, CEO of commercial and private banking at NatWest, said: “We are excited to launch the trial of Esme this week offering SMEs yet more choice in how they access the funding they need to invest and grow. Esme will offer SMEs a quick decision and almost instant funding, allowing those customers to go on and do what they do best – run a business.

“Through Capital Connections, our panel of five P2P and alternative lenders, we’ve already broadened choices for customers but we wanted to go one step further and create our own alternative lending platform. At NatWest we are committed to designing, developing and trialling innovative customer solutions so we can offer services and products that will really make a difference to our customers.”