Is a merchant cash advance a loan?
No. A merchant cash advance is a purchase of future card receivables, not credit. What that changes about cost, term, regulation and the protections you can rely on.
■ LIBRARY / GUIDES
Merchant loans, guide by guide
Six reference guides, in reading order: what these products are, why most of them are not loans, who provides the money, and how to tell a good offer from an expensive one. Each carries its review date and names its author.
■ 01 / DEFINITIONS
Definitions
What the words mean, and why the wrong one costs money. Start here if you are not certain whether you have been offered a loan or an advance.
Merchant business loans
A card-taking business can raise money two ways: a genuine unsecured business loan, or an advance against future card sales. We compare cost, cash flow and term.
Merchant services loans
Funding offered through the company that handles your card payments. How acquirer and terminal programmes work, what ties you in, and what to check before accepting.
What is a merchant loan?
A merchant loan is the phrase businesses search for, but most products sold under the name are merchant cash advances rather than loans. We explain the difference.
■ 02 / COMPANIES
Companies
Who actually provides the money, how the four kinds of provider differ, and what each structure means for you as a customer.
Merchant loan companies
Direct funders, embedded platforms, card acquirer programmes and brokers all sell merchant loans. We explain what each type of company is and what it means for you.
■ 03 / DECISIONS
Decisions
How to judge one offer against another when nobody publishes a price and no ranking would be honest.
How to judge the best merchant loan
There is no single best merchant loan. We set out the criteria that separate a good offer from an expensive one: total cost, collection, counterparty, guarantees and fees.
■ WHERE TO GO NEXT / DISCLOSED
We explain it. Specialists do the rest.
Merchant Loans is an editorial hub rather than a broker. When you want a requirement put to a panel of funders, or the numbers modelled properly before you commit, these are the sites that do that work. We may receive a fee where a reader takes funding through a firm we refer them to.