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Compare Merchant Cash Advance Loans

Loans for businesses of every size and industry, from top UK lenders including:

9 providers
  • Funding Options logo
    Broker

    Funding Options Cash Advance

    Credit/debit card sales required
    • Finance for SMEs in the UK with no fixed payments, fixed terms or security required
    • The advance is repaid monthly as a percentage of future card terminal sales
    • Fixed cost agreed upfront
    • Must take card payment through a physical or online card terminal. E-commerce businesses considered
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £12,000
    • Available amounts
      £3,000 - £1,000,000
    • UK Available terms
      3 - 18 months
    See Deal
  • Portman Asset Finance logo
    Broker

    Portman Finance Group

    • Loans for any business purpose, from cashflow to new equipment, vehicles or expansion
    • Term business loans, recovery loans, short-term and flexible funding, asset finance, vehicle finance
    • Dedicated account managers to guide you, understand your business and find solutions tailored to your needs
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £100,000
    • Available amounts
      £10,000 - £2,000,000
    • UK Available terms
      3 months - 6 years
    See Deal
  • YouLend logo

    YouLend Cash Advance

    Credit/debit card sales required
    • Optimise your cash flow and make repayments in line with your sales
    • No interest rate is charged, just a one-time fixed fee
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £36,000
    • Available amounts
      £3,000 - £1,000,000
    • UK Available terms
      1 - 18 months
    See Deal
  • 365 Business Finance logo

    365 Business Finance Merchant Cash Advance

    Credit/debit card sales required
    • Pay back via a small % of future card sales
    • No security or business plans required
    • One all-inclusive cost. No admin fees, APRs or extras
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £120,000
    • Available amounts
      £10,000 - £400,000
    • UK Available terms
      4 - 18 months
    See Deal
  • Swoop Funding logo
    Broker

    Swoop Funding Merchant Cash Advance

    Credit/debit card sales required
    • Access an unsecured advance of cash based on your future credit and debit card sales, not business profits
    • Only available to businesses that take card payments
    • Use for any business purpose
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £50,000
    • Available amounts
      £5,000 - £5,000,000
    • UK Available terms
      3 - 12 months
    See Deal
  • Funding Xchange logo
    Broker

    Funding Xchange Merchant Cash Advance

    • Discover instant & personalised Cash Advance offers in just 3 minutes
    • A flexible way to raise working capital
    • Repayments are based on your credit & debit card sales
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £10,000
    • Available amounts
      £3,000 - £1,000,000
    • UK Available terms
      1 - 12 months
    See Deal
  • MyCashline logo

    mycashline Merchant Cash Advance

    • Hassle-free repayments based on your card sales
    • Stay in control with just one fixed fee
    • Funding possible within 24 hours
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £120,000
    • Available amounts
      £5,000 - £100,000
    • UK Available terms
      1 - 12 months
    See Deal
  • Capify logo

    Capify Merchant Cash Advance

    Credit/debit card sales required
    • Borrow funds against future credit card sales
    • A small percentage of your credit and debit card takings will be paid towards your repayments
    • Same day approvals & funding possible in 24 hours
    • Minimum annual turnover
      No minimum
    • Available amounts
      £5,000 - £500,000
    • UK Available terms
      3 - 12 months
    See Deal
  • Newable logo
    Broker

    Newable Unsecured Loans

    • Access to loans from £25,000 - £500,000
    • Loan terms from 3 months to 6 years
    • Access 108+ lenders, providing the right solution for your business
    • Minimum annual turnover
      £100,000
    • Available amounts
      £25,000 - £500,000
    • UK Available terms
      3 months - 6 years
    See Deal

    • Suppliers that don't offer Merchant Cash Advances but may offer suitable alternatives:

      • Funding Circle logo

        Funding Circle

        • Short & long term business loans from £10,000 to £500,000 at fixed rates
        • Apply online in minutes, get a decision in as little as 1 hour and funds typically within 48 hours
        • UK-based support team - rated 'Excellent' on TrustPilot
        • Minimum annual turnover
          £25,000
        • Available amounts
          £10,000 - £500,000
        • UK Available terms
          6 months - 6 years
        See Deal
      • 2 more from Funding Circle
      • iwoca logo

        iwoca

        • Flexible finance for small businesses from £1,000 to £500,000
        • No long term commitments and flexible repayments to fit your business
        • Apply online in minutes for a quick decision (some may take up to 24 hours)
        • Minimum annual turnover
          £10,000
        • Available amounts
          £1,000 - £500,000
        • UK Available terms
          0 months - 2 years
        See Deal
      • 2 more from iwoca
    • Tide logo
      Broker

      Tide Business Loan

      • This product is regulated only if the business is a sole trader or partnership, and has requested to borrow less than £25,000
      • Business loans can be used by businesses to manage their cash flow, expand or purchase new assets
      • There is often no requirement for any assets to be used as security.
      • Minimum annual turnover
        £60,000
      • Available amounts
        £1,000 - £500,000
      • UK Available terms
        6 months - 6 years
      See Deal
      • Barclays logo

        Barclays

        • Flexible borrowing for your business - unsecured (up to £100,000) and secured loans available
        • Fixed interest rates available on all loans, plus variable interest rates for loans over £25,000
        • Subject to application, financial circumstances and borrowing history. Eligibility criteria applies
        • Minimum annual turnover
          No minimum
        • Available amounts
          £1,000 - £100,000
        • UK Available terms
          12 months - 25 years
        See Deal
      • 2 more from Barclays

Our comparison service features a selection of providers from whom we receive commission. This table is initially ordered according to our commercial arrangements. Use the sorting options at the top of the comparison table to order by other criteria.

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What is a business loan?

A business loan is a form of finance that can be used to help support and expand your organisation.

As with personal loans, you borrow a sum of money, and pay it back, with interest.

One of the most important differences between personal loans and business loans is that with a personal loan, you will be personally liable for repaying the amount you have borrowed.

With a business loan, as long as the appropriate company structure is in place, that responsibility falls to the business instead. This will not be the case, however, if you are a sole trader, or you have secured your business loan with a personal guarantee.

You can also typically borrow more through a business loan, while the interest payments on your business loan may be tax deductible unlike payments on a personal loan.

Types of business loan

Secured business loans

Secured business loans require that you put down an asset such as property as security. Secured loans often come with lower interest rates than unsecured loans as they represent less risk for the lender. They may also give you access to a larger loan amount over a longer term. However, secured loans come with the added risk that you could lose your assets if you miss the payments.

Compare secured business loans

Unsecured business loans

Unsecured business loans are a type of finance that does not require security. These types of loans tend to have higher interest rates because there is a greater risk of the lender losing money if you can't pay off what you owe. Unsecured business loans also require a good financial history and credit rating as evidence that the business will be able to repay the loan.

Compare unsecured business loans

Government loans

There may be government-backed business loans you can access. Examples include the Recovery Loan Scheme, introduced to help with the financial stresses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now been extended. What schemes are available can vary depending on government policy and changing economic circumstances across the country. So it can be useful to regularly check the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy's search tool for guidance on the business loan schemes available in your region.

Start up business loans

The Start Up Loan Scheme is a government-backed fund that currently offers personal loans of up to £25,000 to UK businesses owners that have been fully trading for less than 36 months or those looking to start a business. You can apply for free, and there are no early repayment charges. If your application is successful, you'll also get up to 12 months of free mentoring. Government Start Up Loans have a fixed annual interest rate of 6% and must be repaid over a period of one to five years.

Compare start up business loans

Small business loans

Small business loans are for start ups and small businesses to access funding. They can be used for a variety of purposes from hiring new staff to managing cash flow. As with all loans, small business loans are repaid over an agreed time period with interest. Large business loans tend to be cheaper than small business loans because there is less perceived risk with lending to a bigger company.

Compare small business loans

How do merchant cash advances work?

A merchant cash advance is, essentially, a type of unsecured business loan. As with a traditional business loan, you borrow money from a provider and then pay that sum back.

However, a merchant cash advance is specifically for businesses with a high volume of customer debit and credit card transactions. You borrow a lump sum and then, instead of making a fixed monthly repayment, pay off the merchant cash advance through a pre-agreed percentage of your future customer card payments.

This means that your repayment plan is flexible and can accommodate the ebbs and flows of your trading. If you have a busy period, you will pay off your merchant cash advance loan more quickly. If trading is slow, however, you will repay less – you won’t need to find money that you don’t necessarily have to pay off a fixed amount.

What is a factor rate?

Instead of an interest rate that you would typically get on a traditional business loan, merchant cash advances are charged at a fixed rate of pennies per pound borrowed. This is called the factor rate and is mostly displayed as a decimal figure, such as 1.2 or 1.4.

To work out how much you will need to repay overall, the lender will multiply the amount you are borrowing by the factor rate. So if you took out a merchant cash advance of £10,000 at a factor rate of 1.4, you would pay £4,000 in fees on top of the sum borrowed, making a total of £14,000.

The factor rate will be determined by your lender, based on your business sector, and your business’s health and performance.

Pros and cons of merchant cash advances

Pros

  • Merchant cash advance repayments are based on a percentage of your monthly card sales, and will rise and fall in line with your business’s performance.
  • The factor rate and percentage of monthly card sales taken are both fixed at the start of your agreement.
  • Your repayments will be taken automatically.
  • You don’t need to provide a business plan to get a merchant cash advance.
  • You don’t need to provide collateral, or assets, to receive a merchant cash advance.
  • It is available for businesses with a weaker business credit score.

Cons

  • The total cost of a merchant cash advance can be expensive when compared to other forms of business finance.
  • You will only be able to borrow an amount in line with your monthly card sales.
  • It is only suitable if your business processes the majority of its transactions via debit or credit card.
  • Some lenders will only work with specific card terminal providers.
  • If you are a start up, you may struggle to get a merchant cash advance unless you meet the minimum trading and turnover requirements.

Merchant Cash Advance FAQs

What is a merchant cash advance used for?

A merchant cash advance can be used for anything you see fit. This might be hiring new staff, training your current staff, purchasing stock or equipment, or expanding your business premises.

What is the difference between a loan and a merchant cash advance?

With a traditional business loan, you would borrow a sum of money, and then repay that money, with interest, by making fixed monthly repayments.

With a merchant cash advance, you still borrow a lump sum of money, but you then repay it not in fixed monthly payments, but through a percentage of your monthly debit and credit card sales. This means your repayments will rise and fall with your card sales.

And instead of an interest rate, a factor rate will determine how much you repay overall. So if you borrow £10,000 with a factor rate of 1.2, you will need to repay £12,000.

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