Capital One Business Loans: A Possible Fit for Existing Customers
Capital One offers several small-business loan options, including SBA loans, but the bank reveals so little about its loan products on its website that it’s tough to know whether this lender is one worth pursuing.
Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
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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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.
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Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
Senior writer | Small business banking and credit cards, Paycheck Protection Program, consumer spending, and household finances
Kelsey Sheehy is a NerdWallet authority on small business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Nasdaq and MarketWatch, among other publications. Kelsey has appeared on the <a href="https://www.today.com/video/christmas-in-july-sales-to-take-advantage-of-now-64075333536">"Today"</a> show, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/tax-code-changes-leave-many-americans-with-unhappy-returns-1440385091860">NBC News</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/cost-smartphones-reaching-time-high-54166111">"ABC World News Tonight"</a> and has been quoted by the Los Angeles Times, CNBC and American Banker, among other publications. Email: <a href="mailto:ksheehy@nerdwallet.com">ksheehy@nerdwallet.com</a>.
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.
50+ categories of the best business loan selections.
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. While we don’t cover every company or financial product on
the market, we work hard to share a wide range of offers and objective
editorial perspectives.
So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us for advertisements
that appear on our site. This compensation helps us provide tools and
services - like free credit score access and monitoring. With the
exception of mortgage, home equity and other home-lending products or
services, partner compensation is one of several factors that may affect
which products we highlight and where they appear on our site. Other
factors include your credit profile, product availability and
proprietary website methodologies.
However, these factors do not influence our editors’ opinions or ratings, which are based on independent research and analysis. Our partners cannot
pay us to guarantee favorable reviews. Here is a list of our partners .
Capital One Business Line of Credit
Overview
The bottom line:
Capital One reveals very little about its small-business loan offerings. What’s certain, though, is that you’ll need to have an established business with two or more years in operation plus a Cap One business checking account.
Loan details
Min. Loan Amount
$10,000
Max Loan Amount
$5,000,000
Qualifications
Min. credit score
700
Min. Time in Business
24 months
Pros & Cons
Pros
Quick funding for simple loans.
Competitive rates and terms.
Variety of loans available.
Offers specialized medical practice and other industry-specific financing.
Cons
Must apply in person.
Branches located in only a handful of states.
Limited SBA lending.
Very little information available online.
Capital One offers a wide variety of small-business loans, from business lines of credit and commercial real estate loans to equipment and medical practice loans. The bank also issues SBA loans. Across its business lending programs, Capital One held more than $45 billion in commercial banking loans at the close of the fourth quarter of 2024
To qualify for some of that capital, your business needs at least two years in operation and a Capital One business checking account (which you can open when you apply). Strong financials and excellent credit history are also important, though Capital One doesn’t specify those lending criteria on its website.
Businesses interested in a loan from Capital One need to apply in person, which could prove inconvenient if your business isn’t located near a branch.
Consider Capital One business loans if you:
Have an established business. Capital One doesn’t disclose much about its lending criteria, but it does specify that you need two years in business, at a minimum, to qualify.
Prefer an in-person loan experience (and are near a Capital One branch). To apply for a Capital One business loan you must visit one of its full-service branch locations, which are only in a handful of states. The bank does not offer online or phone applications.
Need large loans. Capital One offers lines of credit, commercial real estate loans and SBA loans up to $5 million.
Banks don’t often disclose too many details about their lending products online, which can make it difficult to shop and compare bank loans. Capital One, though, offers even less than some of its peers, such as Bank of America, Chase and Wells Fargo.
Here’s what we do know:
Amounts for most of Capital One’s business loans range from $10,000 to $5 million.
The business line of credit is revolving, meaning the line replenishes as you pay it off.
Terms for the commercial real estate loans stretch up to 20 years.
Some lenders stick to one or two loan products. Not Capital One. This bank offers half a dozen options, from SBA and real estate loans to equipment and medical practice loans. However, you’ll need to visit a branch to learn about qualifications, terms, rates, etc. Details on Capital One’s website are scant.
Where Capital One falls short
Application and location limitations
To get a Capital One business loan, you have to visit a branch location to apply in person. That alone limits access for business owners who don’t live in Capital One’s service area, which covers a handful of states in the Northeast and South United States, plus the District of Columbia.
Very little information available online
Capital One keeps the details of its business loan offerings very close to the vest. Little information is disclosed on its website. Instead, business owners seeking a loan need to visit a branch to find out about requirements, terms, fees and rates.
While it’s not uncommon for banks to publish limited information on loans, Capital One is on the extreme end of the spectrum. This lack of transparency makes it difficult for business owners to compare financing options. By contrast, many online lenders publish average rates, fees and terms.
Limited SBA lending
SBA loan applications are nuanced and time consuming. It’s essential that your lender is well versed with all the ins and outs. While Capital One is the sixth-largest bank by assets, according to the Federal Reserve
Looking for an SBA loan from a large national bank? Wells Fargo is a solid bet. The national bank offers both SBA 7(a) and 504 loans. Wells Fargo is one of the top SBA lenders and its status as a preferred lender means the bank doesn’t need to wait for the SBA to sign off on loan applications before approval. That can help speed up the often lengthy application process of applying for an SBA loan.
Additionally, Wells Fargo offers two business lines of credit, one of which requires only six months in business to qualify.
OnDeck is a good alternative for business owners who don’t have the stellar credit needed to secure a loan through Capital One (or other big, national banks). The online lender offers business term loans ranging from $5,000 to $ 400,000 and business lines of credit up to $200,000 — some with same-day funding.
You need to meet the following criteria to get a business loan through OnDeck: 12 months in business, annual gross revenue of at least $100,000 and a personal FICO score of 625 or higher. Most banks, by contrast, require two years in business and a FICO score in the high 600s, at a minimum.