Leasing Without Creditworthiness: Is It Possible?
A bank or a standard leasing company looks at your BIK (the Polish credit bureau) score, credit history, and how long you've been in business. If any of those is missing, you get turned down. Alternative leasing works differently: it evaluates the value of the asset, not the owner's history. We look at when it's a real option and what it costs.
Why does a bank refuse leasing?
A standard leasing company (bank-owned or a manufacturer's captive) assesses an applicant against several criteria:
- Track record: usually 12–24 months of operation required
- BIK/BIG history: entries, late payments, restructurings
- Financial statements: profit or turnover required at a set level
- Credit scoring: a risk-assessment algorithm whose details nobody discloses
A business operating for 8 months, with a BIK entry from 3 years ago and seasonal revenue, gets turned down, even with a full order book and the real ability to cover the instalments.
How does alternative leasing work?
Non-bank institutions offering alternative leasing shift the focus: instead of assessing the borrower's history, they assess the value and liquidity of the asset.
The logic is simple: if the client stops paying instalments, the lender repossesses the asset and sells it on the secondary market. The more standard and liquid the asset (a semi-trailer truck, a wheeled excavator, a refrigeration unit), the easier it is to resell, and the easier it is to get financing.
What we assess instead of a scoring model:
- Market value of the asset (new and used)
- Liquidity: can the asset be sold efficiently on the secondary market?
- Ratio of down payment to value (a higher down payment means lower risk)
- The company's cash flow: not necessarily accounting profit
- Contracts and orders (even without a track record)
Who can use it?
Alternative leasing is a real option for:
- Businesses under 12 months old: startups, new sole proprietorships, entities spun off from a larger structure
- Businesses with BIK history: older entries (2+ years), closed proceedings, successfully completed restructurings
- Businesses with irregular income: seasonal, project-based, working on contracts instead of steady revenue
- Businesses turned down by a bank: if the bank refused for a formal reason, not a financial one (e.g. too short a track record)
- Sole proprietorships without extensive financial documentation
What assets can be financed?
Not everything can be financed this way. The more standard and easy to value the asset, the higher the chance of a positive decision:
| Category | Examples | Availability of alt. leasing |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy vehicles | Tractor units, trailers, delivery vans | High |
| Construction machinery | Excavators, loaders, cranes, dump trucks | High |
| Production machinery | CNC machines, presses, packaging lines, welders | Medium |
| Catering equipment | Ovens, cold storage, service lines | Medium |
| IT equipment and electronics | Servers, POS terminals | Low |
| Prototypes / custom-built | Custom-made machinery, no secondary market | None / difficult |
How much more does it cost than a bank?
Let's be honest: alternative leasing is more expensive. The lender takes on higher risk. It has to price that in.
Bank leasing
8–14%
effective annual rate
Requires: 12–24 months of history, no BIK entries, financial documentation
Alternative leasing
12–24%
effective annual rate
Requires: a valuable asset, a 10–30% down payment, cash flow
The difference is realistically PLN 500–2,000 more per month at typical amounts (PLN 200,000–500,000). The question to ask yourself: how much does the machine or vehicle earn during that time? If a semi-trailer truck generates PLN 25,000 a month in revenue, and the difference in the instalment is PLN 800, the decision is easy.
What improves the odds of a positive decision?
- A higher down payment: the standard is 10–20%, but 30% noticeably improves the terms
- A contract or order: even one signed contract shows the asset will be put to work
- A new asset: new machinery and vehicles are easier to value and resell
- A brand-name manufacturer: Volvo, Caterpillar, John Deere have a liquid secondary market
- No current enforcement proceedings: historical BIK entries aren't a problem, active bailiff proceedings are
A real-life example
A construction company, 6 months on the market, owner with an old BIK entry (a loan repaid late in 2021). Wants to finance a used Volvo EC220 wheeled excavator for PLN 480,000 net.
- Bank: refused, too short a track record
- Standard leasing company: refused, BIK
- Alternative leasing: 25% down payment (PLN 120,000), instalment of PLN 11,200/month over 48 months, effective rate ~18%
The excavator generates PLN 38,000 a month in revenue. The leasing cost is 29.5% of that revenue. Decision: it pays off. The company took the financing, and after a year switched to standard bank leasing, refinancing the remaining balance at a lower rate.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. In alternative (non-bank) leasing we evaluate the value and liquidity of the leased asset, not your BIK (the Polish credit bureau) score. Businesses with BIK entries, a short track record, or bank refusals can still get financing.
Alternative leasing is more expensive than bank leasing: the effective financing rate is usually 12–24% a year vs. 8–14% at a bank. The higher cost reflects the higher risk taken on by the lender. It can still be worthwhile if the asset generates income higher than the leasing cost.
Production machinery, heavy vehicles, construction equipment, catering equipment, medical equipment: assets with an established market value and liquidity. The easier it is to resell an asset on the secondary market, the easier it is to get financing.
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