Merchant cash advance

A cash advance repaid from card sales.

Repaid as a share of daily card sales. Suits a business with steady card takings that wants repayments to flex with revenue.

You don’t pay to compare.

No credit file impact · No cost to compare · No obligation

Merchant cash advance at a glance

Amount: $5,000 to $600,000
Term: No fixed term; commonly cleared within 6 to 12 months
Security: Typically unsecured, with a personal guarantee only
Time to funds: Varies by lender
How you pay: A fixed share of daily card sales, not a scheduled instalment

Indicative, and subject to lender assessment. Your options are typically ready within 24 hours of receiving your documents.

Is it right for you?

When a cash advance fits, and when it doesn’t.

Often fits

Steady daily card sales
Repayments that flex: less on a slow day, more on a strong one
A credit file that’s less than perfect, where turnover counts for more
No fixed monthly instalment

Usually not

The lowest cost: a term loan or line of credit often costs less, if you qualify
A business with few card sales, since repayment comes from them

Business funding, compared on real data, in three steps.

How It Works

Compared

Trade Funding or going direct to one provider?

Trade Funding or going direct to one provider
	Trade Funding	One provider
Cost	Factor rate and holdback compared side by side	One factor rate, no benchmark
Lender access	Panel of 70+ lenders compared	Single provider only
Other options	Flags a cheaper term loan or line of credit if you qualify	No view of alternatives

What it costs

How you pay, and what it costs.

Total cost: A fixed total, set when you take the advance, however long it takes to clear
Holdback: Typically 10% to 25% of daily card sales, deducted by your payment processor
Effective cost: Often repaid within 6 to 12 months, so the annualised cost can run well above a term loan or line of credit

Who qualifies

What lenders look for.

Typical criteria, and subject to lender assessment.

Card sales: Advances are sized against your recent average monthly card turnover
Credit file: Many providers weigh trading history and turnover more than your credit file
Security: Typically a personal guarantee only

Advance calculator

Not an interest rate. Here’s the real cost.

Priced with a factor rate, not an interest rate. The total you repay is fixed when you take the advance, however long it takes to clear. How quickly it clears depends on your daily card sales and the holdback (the share of each day’s sales that goes to repayment). Adjust both sliders for an indicative cost and timeline.

The factor rate shown is indicative and is not an interest rate; your report shows the APR.
Results are approximate. Not an offer of credit.

Advance amount$50,000

$5k$600k

Average daily card sales$2,000

$200$20k

Total repayment: $62,500
Total cost of advance: $12,500
Estimated time to repay: 209 days

Illustrative only, based on a 1.25 factor rate and a 15% daily holdback. Your Compare Report shows the real factor rate, holdback percentage, and estimated repayment period each lender offers your business.

Questions about merchant cash advances.

What is a factor rate and how does it differ from an interest rate?

A factor rate is a decimal number that you multiply by your advance amount to get your total repayment. Unlike an interest rate, a factor rate doesn’t account for time: whether you repay in 6 months or 12 months, you pay the same total amount, so repaying faster increases your effective annual cost.

How much does a merchant cash advance really cost?

The true cost depends on the factor rate and how quickly you repay. Because MCAs are often repaid within 6 to 12 months, the effective annualised cost can run well above what a term loan or line of credit would charge. Your Compare Report shows the real factor rate for each matched lender.

What is the daily holdback and how does it work?

The daily holdback is the percentage of your daily card sales, typically 10% to 25%, that’s automatically deducted by your payment processor to repay the advance. There’s no fixed monthly instalment: on a slow trading day you repay less, and on a strong day you repay more.

Is a merchant cash advance technically a loan?

Technically, no. An MCA is structured as a purchase of future receivables rather than a loan, which is part of why it’s priced with a factor rate instead of an interest rate.

How do we get paid?

Comparing costs you nothing. Not comparing can cost you plenty.

The headline rate rarely tells the whole story. Fees, charges and loan terms can add far more to what you repay. That’s why your Compare Report shows every cost we can identify side by side.

In most cases, the lender pays us, and only if you decide to proceed with their product offer. For more complex deals, or where the lender pays us little or nothing, we may charge a fee for our service. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s shown on your Compare Report and we’ll walk you through it before you decide.

No obligation to proceed, ever.

How We’re Paid →

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