Every month Loan Lounge gives 10% of its trail income to organisations working to end human trafficking. It has done since the first month of trading in 2015. It costs clients nothing, because the lender pays the commission either way.
Every month, 10% of Loan Lounge’s trail income goes to organisations working to end human trafficking. It has done since the first month of trading in 2015. Right now that’s more than $6,000 a month, and the stated goal is $1,000,000 a year. This page explains where the idea came from and what it does and doesn’t mean for you as a client.
Where did the idea come from?
In 2012 Nathaniel Truong was living in London and went to a leadership conference at the Royal Albert Hall. One of the speakers, a woman from the western suburbs of Sydney, talked about human trafficking and said there were 21 million people in slavery at the time, the most in history. He describes getting angry at that and deciding that whenever he started a business, part of it would go to fixing it.
Loan Lounge opened in Burwood in April 2015 and the giving started that month, at a few dollars, which is what 10% of trail on a handful of loans comes to, and it has grown with the loan book every year since because trail keeps paying for as long as the loans stay on the books.
The number has got worse since that conference. Walk Free’s Global Slavery Index estimates 50 million people were in modern slavery on any given day in 2021, up 10 million on 2016.
How the money moves
We don’t charge clients for arranging a residential loan. When your loan settles the lender pays an upfront commission, and then a trail commission while the loan stays with them. Loan Lounge takes 10% of that trail, every month, and gives it to charity partners. The main one named on our site is A21, a counter-trafficking organisation with offices in nine countries and aftercare facilities in Greece and Bulgaria.
Because it comes out of trail, the giving lasts as long as the trail does. That’s why the figure grows and why Nathaniel uses the word “sustainably” in the mission statement.
Our impact page splits the work into three parts, prevention, rescue and restoration, and reports what’s been funded: over 100 micro-business loans since 2024, and seven or more rescue missions funded in 2024 alone. Those are the partners’ numbers as reported to us, and we publish them as given.
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What it costs you
Nothing. Your loan is assessed and priced by the lender on your application. The commission the lender pays is the same whether we give a tenth of it away or not. So the honest framing is that you don’t donate anything by using us. We do.
We say this plainly because the alternative, implying that a client is somehow the donor, would be a stretch.
What it doesn’t mean
We’re not a charity. We’re a licensed credit business (ACL 515608) that has to make a profit to keep paying staff and keep giving. Nathaniel’s phrase for it is people, planet and profit.
It doesn’t change our legal duties. Since 1 January 2021 brokers have had a best interests duty to the client, and the giving sits underneath that. Commission differs between lenders (Moneysmart tells borrowers to ask about exactly that). If the right loan for you happens to be with a lender that pays us less, that’s the loan we recommend, and the charity gets less that month.
It also doesn’t mean we’ll lecture you about it. Most clients find out because they read this page or saw a review. Some pick us for it, some don’t care, both are fine.
Where can I read more?
The full founder story and the video are on our Financing a Difference page. The impact page has the partner list and the numbers. If you want to know the current monthly figure at any point, ask, it’s not a secret.
Frequently Asked Questions: Financing a Difference
Does the donation cost me anything as a client?
No. Your loan is priced by the lender on your application. The commission the lender pays is the same whether we give a tenth of it away or not.
Who receives the money?
Organisations working against human trafficking. A21, which runs aftercare facilities in Greece and Bulgaria, is the partner named on the site.
Why give from trail income rather than profit?
Trail is paid monthly for as long as a loan stays with its lender, so the giving keeps running without anyone having to decide to be generous again.
Related reading
- About Loan Lounge: Who We Are and Why It Matters
- Is Loan Lounge Legit? ACL, Reviews and How We Work
- Meet the Loan Lounge Team
- More on about Loan Lounge
Book a broker or find a broker near you. Or call the Burwood office on 02 9037 2825.
General information only. This article does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account, and is not financial product, tax or legal advice. Lending criteria, fees and rates vary by lender and change without notice. Loan Lounge, Australian Credit Licence 515608.