Business LoansSmall Business Lender Reviews
How Does LendingTree Get Paid?
LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

Funding Circle Business Loan Review

Updated on:
Content was accurate at the time of publication.

 Estimated APR range: 15.22% to 45.00% for term loans

 Best for: Established small business owners with moderate revenue and fair to good credit looking for speedy business financing

ProsCons

  Quick funding times

  Transparent requirements

  No hard credit check for most applicants

  No prepayment penalties

  Hard credit check for partnerships

  Collateral and personal guarantee required for loans

  Doesn’t work with every type of industry

Established in 2010, Funding Circle is a marketplace lending platform connecting small business owners with institutional investors, similar to peer-to-peer lending. With Funding Circle’s business term loan, you can access up to $500,000, with extended repayment terms giving you up to 84 months to repay the debt. Funds can be used for working capital, supplies, inventory, payroll, refinancing business debt and more.

Even though Funding Circle relies on investors for capital, it oversees the entire loan process — making a lending decision in about a day, delivering funds in as soon as 48 hours and managing loan payments. In addition, Funding Circle offers free entrepreneurial resources to help you grow and strengthen your business’s financial health.

A small business loan from Funding Circle could be a good option if you need quick financing and your company has been in operation for at least two years with a fair to low credit score. However, certain types of industries are not eligible, such as nonprofit organizations or gambling businesses. Furthermore, you must provide non-real estate collateral and a personal guarantee, meaning your personal assets could be seized if you fail to repay the debt.

In August 2024, Funding Circle was acquired by iBusiness Funding. The lender’s name is expected to change in the next few months, but the acquisition isn’t expected to affect their loan products.

Who is Funding Circle for?

  • Businesses looking for long-term financing. Funding Circle’s long-term business loans come with flexible repayment terms ranging from 6 to 84 months, allowing you to find an option that works best for your business’s needs.
  • Well-established business owners looking for quick business loans. Your business must operate for at least two years to qualify for a business term loan with Funding Circle. If you qualify, you can receive funds as quickly as two business days.
  • Companies with collateral. Funding Circle requires non-real estate collateral to secure your loan, such as equipment, vehicles, inventory and accounts receivable (money owed to your business)

ProductLoan amountsRepayment termEstimated APR rangeFees
Business term loans$25,000 to $500,0006 to 84 months15.22% to 45.00%Origination fee: 4.49% - 10.49%

Late payment fee: 5% of missed payment amount

Term loans

Funding Circle offers quick business loans from $25,000 to $500,000, with funds hitting your business bank account in as little as two days after approval. Repayment terms range from 6 months all the way up to 84 months, with no penalties for repaying your debt early.

The estimated interest rate range for these term loans is 7.49% to 28.99%, which is higher than a traditional bank loan’s typical starting rate of 6.25%. Note that Funding Circle’s annual percentage rate (APR) can run from 15.22% to 45.00% APR, which includes all additional loan charges like origination fees. However, you won’t know your exact rate until you apply.

The good news is Funding Circle doesn’t run a hard credit check at any stage in the application process unless your company operates as a business partnership.

loading image

Minimum annual revenue$50,000
Minimum time in business24 months
Minimum credit score660

Funding Circle only provides secured business financing. This means you need to provide some type of collateral to secure your loan, such as business equipment, accounts receivable (money owed to your business), inventory or delivery vehicles. However, Funding Circle doesn’t accept real estate as collateral. If you fail to repay the loan, Funding Circle can seize whatever assets you provided.

Any owners with at least a 20% stake in the business will also need to sign a personal guarantee, agreeing to repay the loan from their personal funds if the business fails to repay the debt.

In some cases, you may need to jump through a few extra hoops when applying for a business loan, such as joining one of Funding Circle’s partner credit unions.

Required documents

Funding Circle will ask for a few documents to verify that you meet its business loan requirements before approving your application:

  • Bank statements: Six most recent months
  • Personal tax returns: Most recent year from all owners with 20% equity or more in the company (for loan amounts of $75,000 or more)
  • Business tax returns: Two most recent years (for loan amounts of $75,000 or more)

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?
LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.

How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
Funding CircleBluevineFundbox
Minimum credit score660625600
Loan products offeredTerm loans
  • Lines of credit
  • Term loans (through partner network)
Lines of credit
Time to funding2 to 5 business daysSame day to 3 business days1 to 3 business days
Starting interest rate7.49%7.80%4.66% fee for each 0.00-week repayment plan
Maximum loan size$500,000$250,000$150,000
Minimum annual revenue$50,000$480,000$100,000

Funding Circle vs. Bluevine

Bluevine is another popular online lender providing lines of credit up to $250,000. Credit score requirements start at 625, but your company must operate for at 12 months with at least $120,000 in annual revenue — which could be a struggle for many companies, especially startups.

If you need fast access to capital, Bluevine makes credit decisions in about five minutes, with funds deposited as soon as the next business day. You can even get same-day financing if you have a Bluevine checking account or are willing to pay a $15 wire transfer fee.

While Funding Circle only has one business product, Bluevine offers business credit cards, business checking accounts with no monthly fees and an automated bill management system. Because of this, Bluevine could be the better choice if you want to streamline all of your business finances into one platform. However, low-revenue companies might have better luck with Funding Circle since it only requires $50,000 in annual revenue. Plus, you can see estimated APR ranges in advance with Funding Circle, whereas Bluevine doesn’t list its upper range of business loan interest rates.

Funding Circle vs. Fundbox

Compared to the similar-sounding Funding Circle, Fundbox offers business lines of credit up to $150,000 with next-day funding availability. Fundbox could be a good choice for those needing bad credit business financing since it accepts credit scores as low as 600.

Additionally, companies with at least six months of operation can consider Fundbox for a startup business loan. However, you need at least $100,000 in annual revenue to qualify.

While Fundbox’s starting rate of 4.66% is lower than Funding Circle’s lowest rate of 7.49%, you won’t know your final rate until you submit an official application. If you decide to move forward with Fundbox, make sure your business budget can handle the quick repayments — each draw comes with automated weekly payments over the course of 12 or 24 weeks.

Recommended Reading