Rapid Finance Business Loans Review 2024

Rapid Finance is best for business owners who:

• Need quick financing. True to its name, Rapid Finance may be able to get you your money as soon as a few hours after your approval in some cases.
• Aren’t sure exactly what type of financing would be best. Rapid Finance offers many different types of loan options. If you’re not sure which one would be the best, a loan representative can help you decide.

Featured Partner Offers

1

OnDeck

Loan amounts

$5,000 to $250,000

APR

Not disclosed

Minimum credit score

625

1

OnDeck

Learn More

Via Ondeck's Website

2

American Express Business Blueprint™

Loan amounts

$2,000 to $250,000

Monthly fees

Varies by loan term

Minimum credit score

All businesses are unique and are subject to approval and review. The required FICO score may be higher based on your relationship with American Express, credit history, and other factors.

of at least 660 FICO at the time of application

2

American Express Business Blueprint™

Learn More

Via American Express's Website

3

National Funding

Loan amounts

$10,000 to $500,000

APR

Buy rates start at 1.11%

Minimum credit score

600

3

National Funding

Learn More

On National Funding's Website

Rapid Finance isn’t right for business owners who want:

• The lowest rates. Rapid Finance doesn’t list any of its rates. But when you opt for faster loans, you typically pay higher rates and fees.
• To compare the details in advance. Rapid Finance doesn’t provide many details to help you rate-shop. Instead, you’ll need to talk with a live representative to determine your options, and that’s not something everyone wants to do.

Rapid Finance has a wide range of options for business owners seeking financing, including:

• Small business loans. These are term loans that let you borrow money to help you start, grow or maintain your business operations. Business loans provide an upfront lump-sum payment that’s repaid weekly or monthly, depending on your lender.
• Merchant cash advance (MCA). MCAs allow you to borrow money and then repay it back as a percentage of each credit card transaction until it’s paid off. Be aware that MCAs typically come with high fees.
• Business line of credit. Lines of credit give you access to a credit line that you can borrow against as you need it, similar to how a credit card works. You only pay interest on the amount you borrow and can reuse your limit as you repay your balance during the draw period.
• Bridge loan. Short-term loans that help you pay for expenses now while you secure better, longer-term financing for a bigger purchase—these loans bridge the gap.
• U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) loan. These SBA-backed loans have more stringent qualification requirements and take longer to close than a traditional business loan. However, they tend to charge lower rates and offer terms up to 25 years.
• Invoice factoring. This type of financing allows you to sell your invoices to a third-party factoring company in exchange for a portion of the cash upfront. Your lender then becomes responsible for collecting the unpaid invoices and pays you the remaining balance, minus the factor fee, once all invoices are paid.
• Asset-based loan. These loans are secured with collateral—something of value that the lender can repossess in the case of a default, such as a vehicle, a business bank account or property—in exchange for lower rates.

Business Term Loan

Business term loans are a good choice when your business earns a steady income and wants to make fixed payments. Rapid Finance offers both unsecured loans (business term loan) and secured loans (asset-based loans).

Line of Credit

A business line of credit may be a good option if you need to borrow cash at some point in the future, but you’re not sure when. It offers you a window when you can withdraw money from your available credit limit. You only pay interest on the amount you draw.

Invoice Factoring

Invoice factoring is designed to cover your short-term business needs. It lets you sell unpaid invoices to an invoice factoring company for a portion of the money upfront, minus a fee. The factoring company then collects the invoices and pays you the remaining balance. To be eligible, your lender will analyze your customers’ creditworthiness and have you set invoice payment terms to net-30, 60 or 90 days.

Asset-based Loan

One way to get approved for cheaper rates—especially if you have less-than-stellar business loan qualifications—is to put something from your business up as collateral, such as a business account, business vehicle or account receivables. Keep in mind, though, if you default, the lender can take possession of that collateral to recoup its losses.

According to Rapid Finance, you may be able to get even cheaper rates by using more “liquid” collateral, such as savings accounts or account receivables.

Bridge Loan

Bridge loans are short, temporary loans designed to bridge the gap between when you need to cover unexpected business costs and when you’re able to secure better, long-term financing.

Merchant Cash Advance

MCAs let business owners access cash quickly without going through the traditional business loan application process. The advance can be less than, equal to or much greater than your monthly sales. Instead of fixed monthly payments like with a business loan, the money is repaid over time as a percentage of sales.

To qualify for a merchant cash advance through Rapid Finance, you’ll need to accept credit card payments or similar account receivables in order for the repayments to be automatically calculated and deducted.

Business loan applications are approved or declined based on a number of factors. All lenders have their own unique underwriting requirements, but these typically include information from an applicant’s credit profile and other factors that demonstrate the ability to repay the loan, such as business revenue. Meeting the requirements below won’t guarantee approval, but they can help you decide if a business loan is the right fit for you.

Personal Credit Score

Rapid Finance does not disclose its minimum credit score requirement for its business loans. While other Rapid Finance reviews suggest minimum credit score requirements of 550, we recommend maintaining a good personal credit score (at least 670) to receive more favorable terms, such as low interest rates.

Time in Business

Rapid Finance also does not disclose any minimum time-in-business requirements needed to be approved. Most business lenders require that you be in business for at least one to two years; however, some lenders only require your business to be in operation for at least six months.

Rapid Finance does disclose that you will need at least three months’ worth of bank account statements, so you will need to have been in business for at least this long.

Annual Revenue Requirements

Rapid Finance does not disclose minimum annual revenue requirements. Most commonly, business lenders require minimum annual revenue between $50,000 to $250,000.

Rapid Finance provides a quick application that you can use to get a quote online. The specific application requirements will vary depending on the loan type you’re applying for. However, in general, you will need:

• Business bank account and routing number
• Proof of identification, such as a driver’s license
• Previous three months’ worth of bank statements

Rapid Finance will review your application information. If it needs more information, a representative will contact you. If you’re approved, Rapid Finance will disburse the funds to the business bank account you provided during the application process. The time it takes to receive your funds varies, but Rapid Finance may fund your loan in as quickly as a few minutes to a few hours after approval.

Related: Best Small Business Loans

Rapid Finance has overall good reviews. It has a 4.9 out of 5 stars based on 1,620 reviews on Trustpilot, and 4.71 out of 5 stars with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), based on 41 reviews. It does have six closed complaints against the company over the past three years, mostly claiming that the company is quick to pressure business owners who become delinquent on payments.

We reviewed Rapid Finance based on 16 data points in the categories of loan details, loan costs, eligibility and accessibility, customer experience and the application process. We rated Rapid Finance based on the weighting assigned to each category:

• Loan cost: 35%
• Loan details: 25%
• Customer experience: 20%
• Eligibility and accessibility: 10%
• Application process: 10%

Within each major category, we also considered several characteristics, including available loan amounts, repayment terms and applicable fees. We also looked at minimum credit score and time in business requirements and the geographic availability of the lender. Finally, we evaluated Rapid Finance’s customer support tools, borrower perks and features that simplify the borrowing process—like online applications, prequalification options and mobile apps.

To learn more about how Forbes Advisor rates lenders, and our editorial process, check out our Loans Rating & Review Methodology.