PayPal Working Capital and Business Loan: Fast Cash at a Low Barrier to Entry
If you process payments through PayPal, you may qualify for PayPal Working Capital or PayPal Business Loan. One is a merchant cash advance, and both require frequent payments.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
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Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Rosalie Murphy covers small business topics for NerdWallet. Previously, she led editorial strategy for a local news startup and covered business at The Desert Sun. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern California and is currently pursuing an MBA.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
Sally Lauckner has over a decade of experience in print and online journalism. Before joining NerdWallet, Sally was the editorial director at Fundera, where she built and led a team focused on small-business content. Her prior experience includes two years as a senior editor at SmartAsset, where she edited a wide range of personal finance content, and five years at the AOL Huffington Post Media Group, where she held a variety of editorial roles. She has a master's in journalism from New York University and a bachelor's in English and history from Columbia University. Email: slauckner@nerdwallet.com.
NerdWallet's content is
fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness, and relevance by humans.
It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure
the information is as clear and complete as possible. Learn more by checking
our
Editorial Guidelines.
Content was accurate at the time of publication.
Why trust NerdWallet
250+ small-business products reviewed and rated by our team of experts.
80+ years of combined experience covering small business and personal finance.
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NerdWallet's small-business loans content, including ratings, recommendations and reviews, is overseen by a team of writers and editors who specialize in business lending. Their work has appeared in The Associated Press, The Washington Post, MarketWatch, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, ABC News, MSN and other national and local media outlets. Each writer and editor follows NerdWallet's strict guidelines for editorial integrity to ensure accuracy and fairness in our coverage.
Advertiser disclosure
You’re our first priority.
Every time.
We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with
confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or
financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance
we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are
objective, independent, straightforward — and free.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence
which products we review and write about (and where those products
appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or
advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our
partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products
or services. Here is a list of our partners .
PayPal Working Capital Loan
Overview
The bottom line:
PayPal Working Capital is a fast-cash option for PayPal users with bad credit and/or low revenue. But repayment schedules can be aggressive, and the fixed fee structure makes it tricky to compare with other financing options.
Loan details
Min. Loan Amount
$1,000
Max Loan Amount
$300,000
Qualifications
Min. credit score
300
Min. Time in Business
3 months
Min. Annual Revenue
$15,000
Pros & Cons
Pros
No credit check required.
Low minimum revenue requirements based on PayPal sales.
Funding available within minutes after approval.
Cons
Automatic daily repayments deducted as a percentage of your PayPal sales.
Minimum payment of 5% or 10% of your total loan amount every 90 days.
Fixed fee structure can make it difficult to compare costs to other loans.
PayPal offers two financing products for business owners: PayPal Working Capital and PayPal Business Loan. If you process payments through PayPal, you may be able to turn to the company for either option.
PayPal Business Loan is a short-term small-business loan. This loan could be helpful if you need quick financing to get you through a short-lived slump — just make sure you’re confident that your sales will recover so you can keep up with weekly repayments.
PayPal Working Capital may be a good fit for new or smaller businesses with inconsistent cash flow. But note that this is not a business loan. PayPal Working Capital is a merchant cash advance. This means you repay the amount borrowed from PayPal through a percentage of your sales. Payments are automatically deducted on days you have sales volume. But MCAs are almost always the most expensive form of financing, and the frequent repayments can impede cash flow.
We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the
unique needs of your business.
Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you
on the process moving forward.
Consider PayPal financing options if you:
Have bad credit. PayPal does not consider your credit score for PayPal Working Capital. A sales representative informed us that the minimum credit score requirement for the PayPal Business Loan is typically around 620.
Don’t have enough revenue to qualify for other business loans. At $15,000 for PayPal Working Capital and $33,300 for PayPal Business Loan, minimum revenue requirements are among the lowest compared with other business loan products. (Check out our list of the best low-revenue business loans.)
Need funding fast. PayPal Business Loan funds can be available the next business day after approval, and the timeline for PayPal Working Capital loans is even shorter.
You need a PayPal Business account to be eligible for either of PayPal’s financing options. Both options involve a single, fixed fee over the life of the loan rather than interest. Note that neither of these financing options is available in North Dakota or South Dakota.
PayPal Working Capital
Loan amount
$1,000 to $200,000 (up to $300,000 for repeat borrowers).
Qualification requirements
90 days of PayPal Premier or Business account history.
At least $20,000 in PayPal sales in the last year if you have a Premier account or $15,000 in PayPal sales if you have a Business account.
Fees
Fixed fee paid over the life of the advance (in place of interest).
Terms
Vary depending on your sales. You’ll need to pay at least 5% of the total loan amount every 90 days if your loan is estimated to last 12 months or more, and 10% every 90 days if you’re expected to pay it off faster.
Repayment schedule
PayPal deducts a fixed percentage each day you have sales until the loan is repaid.
Funding speed
Within minutes.
PayPal Business Loan
Loan amount
$5,000 to $100,000 (up to $150,000 for repeat borrowers).
Qualification requirements
At least nine months in business.
Annual revenue of at least $33,300.
Fees
Fixed fee paid over the life of the loan (in place of interest).
$20 returned item fee.
Terms
17 to 52 weeks.
Repayment schedule
PayPal automatically withdraws weekly repayments from your business bank account.
Funding speed
As fast as the next business day.
Where PayPal Working Capital and Business Loans stand out
Fast funding
With PayPal Working Capital, you can receive funds within minutes once approved. PayPal Business Loan funds can be available as soon as the next business day after approval. That makes both options some of the fastest business loans available.
Easy to qualify for
The annual revenue requirements to qualify for both PayPal financing products are significantly lower than many other online lenders. For comparison, MCA companies like Backd, Forward Financing, Fundomate and Rapid Finance require $100,000 or more in annual revenue.
Plus, your credit score isn’t considered if you apply for PayPal Working Capital. You need only three months of PayPal account history in addition to the low annual revenue requirement.
Where PayPal Working Capital and Business Loans fall short
Aggressive repayment schedule
For PayPal Business Loans, the lender will automatically withdraw the same amount from your business checking account every week, regardless of whether your sales are up or down. Frequent repayments can be risky if you have to borrow additional funds to keep up.
For PayPal Working Capital, your repayment percentage is fixed for the life of the loan. If you start out with an aggressive repayment plan and then realize you’d prefer to put cash toward other expenses, you can’t make changes.
Fixed fee structure is less straightforward
Instead of a traditional interest rate, PayPal Working Capital and Business Loans both charge a fee spread out over the life of the loan. In practice, this isn’t that different from making loan payments that include both principal and interest. But it does make it hard to compare the costs of a PayPal financing product with other products.
A merchant cash advance should be a last-resort option for your financing needs. But if you feel that it’s the right (or only) option for your business, then compare the best merchant cash advance companies before moving forward.
If you’re interested in a short-term online business loan but not sure that PayPal Business Loan is your best option, then consider some of these alternatives:
If you only need a small loan, an SBA microloan may provide the flexible capital you’re looking for. Through this program, you can borrow up to $50,000 from a community-based nonprofit lender and have up to seven years to pay it off. The average SBA microloan is around $13,000. While interest rates vary depending on the lender, they generally fall within a range of 8% to 13%, which is much more reasonable than the interest rates you’ll find with many online lenders. An SBA loan of any kind, however, typically takes longer to fund than an online loan.
OnDeck offers a loan with terms of up to 24 months, while PayPal Business Loan terms max out at one year. You can also get up to $250,000 with a loan from OnDeck, versus the $100,000 max with a PayPal loan. But you’ll still have to make weekly repayments, and some OnDeck customers even make daily repayments. You’ll also need minimum annual revenue of $100,000 and a credit score of at least 625 to qualify.
For a larger loan amount, QuickBridge offers up to $500,000. Like PayPal, QuickBridge's loan terms are still relatively short (up to 18 months), but you can get funding in as fast as 24 hours after approval. QuickBridge also offers discounts for repaying your loan early. But you will need significantly higher annual revenue, $250,000, to qualify.