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iwoca business loans: at a glance
With iwoca, you can access flexible business loans to suit a range of purposes. This could be anything from expanding your business, covering a cash flow issue, or hiring new employees.
iwoca is a dedicated business loans provider that currently offers two types of loans: the Flexi-Loan, which is a form of unsecured loan, and the Revenue Based Loan, which is a merchant cash advance.
Promotion
Iwoca Flexi-Loan
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Representative APR49%
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Representative Example49% APR representative based on a loan of £10,000 for 12 months with an interest rate of 40% p.a. (variable). Total amount payable £12,294.
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Available amounts£1,000 – £500,000
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Available Terms1 day – 2 years
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iwoca business loans pros & cons
Pros
- It offers flexible term lengths, with no early repayment fees.
- Phone and online customer service and support is available.
- You can borrow up to £500,000 with the Flexi-Loan.
Cons
- It has no app, so there is no app-based customer service.
- It has no branches, so there is no face-to-face customer service.
These pros and cons are based on an exclusive survey of UK business owners on what they found important when selecting a range of business products, conducted by NerdWallet in December 2022.
iwoca business loans key features
- Borrow from £1,000 to £500,000 with the iwoca Flexi-Loan, and pay it back over term lengths from one day to two years
- Borrow from £1,000 to £100,000 with the iwoca Revenue Based Loan, and repay it as a percentage of your monthly revenue
- No early repayment charges on the iwoca Flexi-Loan
iwoca business loans full review
Launched in 2011 by Christoph Rieche and James Dear, iwoca is an online business lender operating in the UK and Europe.
The company states that it has designed its loans “with small businesses in mind” and currently offers funding from £1,000 to £500,000.
iwoca is a direct lender, but not a bank. It is an independent company that offers finance to smaller businesses that may struggle to get funding through traditional lenders.
Even though it isn’t a bank, iwoca is still regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is a member of the Consumer Credit Trade Association (CCTA).
We’ve put together everything you need to know about iwoca business loans at a glance in our table below.
| Amount borrowable | £1,000 to £500,000 (Flexi-Loan) £1,000 to £100,000 (Revenue Based Loan) |
| Term length | One day to two years (Flexi-Loan) Variable, in line with trading (Revenue Based Loan) |
| Web-based customer service | [email protected] |
| Customer service numbers | 020 3778 0274 |
| App | No |
| Face-to-face customer service | No |
| Access to loans without pre-existing account | Yes |
| Trustpilot rating | 4.7 out of 5 (as of 21 February 2023) |
iwoca business loan features
The following are some of the key features to consider when taking out a business loan with iwoca.
Loan amounts and terms
When surveying business owners, NerdWallet discovered that the flexibility of loan term length was far and away the most important factor when choosing a lender. The maximum amount borrowable, meanwhile, is in the top five ranking criteria.
Both of iwoca’s loans, the Flexi-Loan and Revenue Based Loan, are flexible in different ways, and have their own maximum amounts borrowable:
Flexi-Loan
With this type of iwoca business loan, you can currently borrow between £1,000 and £500,000, with terms starting from one day and going up to two years.
You then repay the loan in monthly instalments, with interest. This product has similarities with credit lines, unsecured loans and working capital loans.
With the iwoca Flexi-Loan, there are no early repayment charges, meaning you can repay the full amount before the end of your loan term. You may also be able to apply for a top- up if you need more funds.
Your interest rate will be informed by the results of iwoca’s risk assessment process. This is based on your company’s trading history and cash flow forecasts.
Revenue Based Loan
iwoca’s Revenue Based Loan is a form of merchant cash advance. With this type of loan, you can currently borrow between £1,000 and £100,000. You then repay the loan as a percentage of your monthly sales, with a fixed fee instead of interest. This fixed fee is charged as a percentage, and will be informed by iwoca’s risk assessment of your business.
Since you repay this type of loan as a percentage of your revenue, if you have a slower month you will repay less, and if you have a good month you will pay more. However, you must meet minimum performance requirements every two months. This will vary based on the amount borrowed and the turnover of your business.
Customer service
According to NerdWallet’s survey, business owners want web-, phone- and app-based customer service from their lender. They make up numbers two, three and four in the top five most important criteria when picking a provider.
iwoca has two of the three. While it doesn’t have an app, and therefore no app-based customer service, you can call the lender from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday on 020 3778 0274.
Similarly, you can contact iwoca via email at [email protected].
Security
Most business lending is unregulated. However, if you are a sole trader, a partnership with fewer than four partners, or an unincorporated association, then business lending of up to £25,000 generally falls within Consumer Credit regulation.
This means a lender must be authorised and meet the standards set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Under these rules, if you take out a loan of £25,000 or less from iwoca, and are one of the business types mentioned above, then your borrowing should be regulated.
Customer reviews
On Trustpilot, iwoca has a score of 4.7 out of 5, based on over 5,500 reviews. Bear in mind that this rating is for the entire iwoca brand and is not specific to any one product they offer.
Information correct as of 21 February 2023.
iwoca business loans eligibility
In general, to be eligible for the iwoca business loan, you will need to:
- be based in the UK
- be a sole trader, partnership or limited company
- supply basic details about your business
- supply your bank statements from the last year, or link to your bank account via Open Banking
If you are applying for the Revenue Based Loan, you will need to:
- have been trading for at least six months
- be generating at least £500 in monthly sales through card and online purchases
- have access to online banking with Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest or Santander, in order to use Open Banking during your application
How to choose an iwoca business loan
If you are choosing between the iwoca Flexi-Loan and the Revenue Based Loan, or are comparing iwoca with other lenders, you should consider:
- How much money do you need to borrow?
- How long do you want to be repaying your loan?
- Do you want a fixed or variable interest rate?
- Will you want to repay your loan early?
- Do you want a fixed repayment each month or repayments in line with your revenue?
How to apply for an iwoca business loan
If you want to apply for an iwoca business loan, then you need to fill out an application online. You will likely need to supply the following information:
- your company name
- your personal details, including name and date of birth
- whether you are a limited company, sole trader, ordinary partnership, limited liability partnership or other
- when your business started trading
- your turnover in the last 12 months
- whether your business is VAT registered or not
- your bank statements and VAT returns
According to iwoca, your application should only take five minutes to complete, and you should hear whether or not your loan has been approved within 24 hours. You can then expect the funds in your bank account within hours of your approval.
Review methodology
At NerdWallet Ltd UK we base our reviews on the results of surveys we conduct to understand what key product features are important to those who use them, and align them to the product we review.
Product details reflect the information that was available at that time but may have changed since. We strive to give you a review on as many products as possible but it is likely there are others available that we have not reviewed. The review is our opinion, but it does not constitute advice, recommendation or suitability of your financial circumstances.
You can view our review methodology here.
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