Glossary
Top-up loan
Extra borrowing added to an existing loan, so you owe more under the same contract. The opposite of refinancing, which replaces the loan entirely.
By Leverage Finance · Updated 17 July 2026
A top-up keeps your current loan and adds to it. The lender advances more money, your balance grows, and your repayments or term grow with it. It's often offered when people ask their existing lender for help with cash flow.
Top-ups get confused with refinancing, but they pull in opposite directions. A refinance replaces the loan, usually to make it cost less. A top-up deepens the loan you already have, at whatever pricing that loan already carries. If the existing loan is expensive, a top-up makes more of your money expensive.
Our guide Refinance vs top-up walks through the difference with worked examples.
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