Balboa Capital Review
Balboa Capital offers options to businesses that need money quickly and may not have excellent credit, but the company is plagued with customer complaints.
Balboa Capital

Total Rating | 4.0 |
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Terms & Fees | Good |
Application Process | Good |
Sales & Advertising Transparency | Good |
Customer Service | Fair |
User Reviews | Good |
Pros
- Borrower qualifications are lower than what banks offer
- Multiple types of financing are available
- Funds are disbursed quickly
Cons
- Opaque terms and fees
- Customer service is inconsistent
Balboa Capital Overview
Balboa Capital is an alternative business funder and a division of Ameris Bancorp. Balboa is a direct lender (not a brokerage) and does not require borrowers to have good credit. This review focuses on Balboa Capital’s working capital products, including short-term loans and credit lines.
Though Balboa is both well-established and flush with cash, the company seems plagued by an unusual number of customer complaints. While the picture painted doesn’t imply a scam, I’d recommend caution when dealing with Balboa. This is in addition to our more general warnings about the world of alternative lending, which often feature sky-high interest rates and punishing payment schedules.
Keep reading our full Balboa review to get all the details!
Table of Contents
Services Offered
Balboa Capital offers quick online business financing and a fairly large variety of lending products to established businesses with strong revenue and decent credit.
- Lines Of Credit: Lines of credit allow you to apply for a credit limit rather than a lump sum. You can then draw on that credit at will for a specified time period. You only pay interest on the amount you use.
- Short-Term Loans: Short-term loans typically last months rather than years and are paid back daily or weekly rather than monthly. They generally have flat fees rather than interest rates.
- Equipment Financing: Equipment financing includes loans and leases designed to provide temporary or permanent access to equipment. The equipment serves as collateral.
Balboa Capital also specializes in providing industry financing:
- Franchise financing
- Vendor financing
- Commercial financing
Borrower Qualifications
You must meet these prerequisites to qualify for short-term working capital funding from Balboa:
Time In Business | 12 months |
Credit Score | Unknown |
Revenue | $300,000/year (lines of credit & short-term loans; $100,000/year (equipment financing) |
Balboa does not give a specific required credit score minimum but states that applicants must have “decent” credit. This likely means somewhere in the 600s.
Additional qualifications include:
- The borrower must own at least 1/5 of the business
- Clean banking history (few overdrafts)
- Balboa Capital won’t lend to a borrower with senior debt (in other words, Balboa Capital will not take a second position amongst your debts)
Finally, Balboa Capital does not lend to the following industries:
Terms & Fees
Balboa Capital doesn’t divulge its interest rates directly, so you’ll ideally want to ask for a quote as early in the process as you can. You can use the calculators provided on Balboa Capital’s website to get a general sense of the rates it offers. Just remember that your actual offer will depend on your specific circumstance and borrower profile.
Here’s what we know about Balboa Capital’s products.
Short-Term Loans
Borrowing Amount | $5,000-$250,000 |
Term Length | 3-24 months |
Factor Rate/Interest Rate | Unknown (see below) |
Origination Fee | Up to 2% |
Effective APR | Learn more |
Collateral | UCC lien |
Balboa Capital short-term loans are repaid with daily or weekly automated repayments, whereas its line of credit and equipment financing may qualify for monthly repayments.
Balboa’s working capital funding is unsecured, meaning you don’t have to put up any collateral. That said, Balboa Capital will generally file a UCC-lien on borrowers, which can expose your assets to collection if you default.
You should expect a flat rate rather than an interest rate for short-term loans. That means you’ll pay back the loan’s principal plus a percentage of the loan. This will be expressed as either a percentage or a multiplier. The calculator’s base rates spread between x1.12 and x1.18, but actual offers may fall outside this range.
Lines Of Credit
Borrowing Amount | $5,000-$250,000 |
Term Length | 6-18 months |
Factor Rate/Interest Rate | Unknown |
Origination Fee | Unknown |
Effective APR | Learn more |
Collateral | UCC lien |
Balboa Capital’s lines of credit can be used for most business expenses. Repayment periods can be daily, weekly, or monthly. As is the case with Balboa Capital’s short-term loans, its lines of credit are unsecured.
Equipment Financing
Borrowing Amount | Up to $500,000 |
Term Length | 2-5 years |
Factor Rate/Interest Rate | Unknown (see below) |
Origination Fee | Unknown |
Effective APR | Learn more |
Collateral | The equipment |
Balboa Capital doesn’t provide much information about the terms of its equipment financing. As is typical with equipment financing, however, you’re looking at longer borrowing/leasing terms than with unsecured working capital.
Balboa Capital will finance a wide variety of equipment, including (but not limited to):
- Construction equipment
- Fitness equipment
- Office products
- Cloud software
- Forklifts
- Restaurant equipment
- Commercial trucks
- Manufacturing equipment
- Tech hardware
Application Process
You can begin the application process online. Depending on the amount of money you’re seeking, the funding will be available within days. If you want to borrow more than $250,000, you should call first, as you’ll have to submit more documents and undergo a lengthier process. After you’ve submitted all your necessary documents, you should quickly receive an offer, frequently the same business day.
Balboa Capital will perform a soft pull on your credit when you apply. Once you accept, Balboa Capital will do a hard pull on your credit. If all goes well, you can potentially get your funds the same day.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
Balboa Capital’s transparency is typical for the alternative funding industry. The website offers basic information about the products offered and the qualifications necessary to receive funding. The most useful tool the lender offers are its loan calculators.
Customer Service & Technical Support
You can reach Balboa Capital’s customer service by phone, but it’s a bit of a crapshoot whether you’ll be able to get someone who can address your needs and questions. Also, some customers have complained about Balboa Capital customer service phone reps being rude, unhelpful, or even downright deceptive — though other customers have praised the lender’s customer service.
If you’re not into phone calls, you can submit a form through Balboa’s website or contact the company through social media. The lender also maintains a presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram.
Balboa Capital User Reviews
Negative Reviews & Complaints
Balboa Capital has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, with 47 customer complaints filed in the last three years. The company previously had an “A” rating due to government action against the company for failing to file an annual report and operating without a license. This is from before Ameris Bank acquired Balboa Capital. Customer complaints include:
- Billing Issues: Many customers appeared to encounter billing issues ranging from unforeseen interest to leases that were automatically renewed. While the company resolved many of these complaints, the sheer quantity of them raises red flags.
- Unclear Or Deceptive Terms: A number of customers reported that they either didn’t understand the terms of the agreement or that the terms had changed over the course of the loan/lease. For example, some customers said they were told there were no early payoff penalties but were later charged a fee for repaying their loan early. Other customers complained about different types of hidden charges they were not informed of prior to accepting the loan.
- Aggressive Marketing: Several people mentioned receiving aggressive cold calls from Balboa Capital.
- Bad Customer Service: Many unhappy customers complain about the quality of Balboa’s customer service, criticizing the phone reps as being rude or less than knowledgeable.
- No Flexibility During COVID-19: Multiple customers complained that unlike many other creditors and financial institutions, Balboa Capital was unwilling to defer loan payments or offer any other concessions during COVID-19.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
Balboa Capital rates a 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot. The company’s happier customers liked the following:
- Streamlined Process: Users appreciated how quickly and smoothly the application process went.
- Quick Turnaround: Balboa Capital has a very fast time-to-funding, often providing funding within a couple of days.
- Customer Service: Many customers found Balboa Capital’s staff to be professional and helpful.
- Rates: As online lenders go, many customers found Balboa Capital’s rates to be quite reasonable.
Final Verdict
Now under new ownership, Balboa Capital seems to have weathered the COVID storm in one piece. As a direct lender, Balboa Capital offers a pretty broad variety of options to businesses that need money quickly and may not have excellent credit. Customers generally seem to be satisfied with the offered rates, which is always a strong selling point for alternative lenders.
Still, Balboa Capital’s lack of full transparency and lingering customer service issues makes it difficult to recommend without any reservations. Check them out, but have a backup plan.
If you’re looking for alternatives, take a look at our comparison charts for small business loans and lines of credit.
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Organization Name: Citrus county outboard recyclin
No customer service, They will never contact you after the sale, Can’t get anyone on the phone that can speak good English. They are dumber than shit. I requested to change the checking account that my payment was drawn from to be changed and I was promised it would be, 2 months later it’s still the same and they have not sent me paperwork to change it. After another call today with another person that couldn’t spell anything I gave up. I am going to try and pay my loan off and never again. I also have excellent credit, These fools could mess it up.
Organization Name: Epoxy Floor Squad
Absolutely the worst experience I’ve ever had in my business career. We financed a truck through Balboa Capital and I regret ever giving them an opportunity to earn our business. I will never use them again for anything. They charged us a non insurance fee of over $300 even though we have never had a lapse in insurance. I spoke with 2 different representatives and both were of zero help and had terrible attitudes. Besides being condescending they simply regurgitated their policy of reviewing our insurance certificate which would take 10-14 days “because they’re busy”. We’re all Busy! Bad answer and way of handling a customer service issue. All I was asking for is confirmation that they would be crediting the improper fee and they couldn’t even provide that. My recommendation is to steer clear of this business!
Organization Name: furniture plus
Worst Company ever..they .send me a e mail saying I need to send prof of insurance. I didnt see it as I get 100 or more a day….they charge me huge no insurance fee for 4 months …when I have isurance…..when it was discovered I called them and showed them I have insurance. they said would not credit back past 3 months as I paid in auto payment and didnt realize I was being over charged. Would not credit back…said it was my problem I didnt get the info to them sooner…..they said they sent e mai but for some reason they could not call me about the insurance problem…but they call me every month wanting to loan me more money. Dont do business with this
Organization Name: WILLIAMS-WOODY NISSAN, INC
DO NOT GET TIED IN……. Being a business owner we were lured in with a company called Unified Global Solutions(Do not get tied in with them either).
We were told what we were signing was to prevent taxes to make our phone and Internet plan cheaper. It was a scam.What we signed was a 5 year contract for over 8000.00 and had a single piece of small equipment installed. Immediately I got in contact with Balboa and explained we were misled and everything we were told was a lie. We asked repeatedly for help getting out from the beginning. and told them to review the website of the people they were backing because their employees and customers said the same as us. UGS is a scam. It fell on deaf ears. Now we have had to switch back to our previous company because our fax machine didn’t work from day 1. Our Internet glitched all day long and our phones didn’t ring in half the time. Customers were always calling complaining because they couldn’t get through. We’re done using them both.
DO NOT DO NOT USE BALBOA…
Organization Name: RS SERVICE GROUP INC.
Really zero stars. We never completed the process, got the approval. Sent over requested documents. Then I received a call from a rep asking if I made up the letter from the bank. WHAT A INSULT! How about you perform your diligence and verify letters with the bank before accusing your potential client of fabricating documents. This is a clear demonstration of poor character in a business and I sign of what to expect. I do not recommend Balboa Capital or Key Capital Funding (Key Capital is who I went through that connected me with Balboa)
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Liberty Vacation Properties
Awful company to work with. Never answers emails and zero option to pay off an unwanted machine as it didn’t work, on top of zero customer service and employees hanging up on me they want more money that the actual contractual period has. Nobody to talk to who can offer explanation or help… be warned
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Sit stay aeim
This is definitely and absolutely the worst company ever. They are deceptive and rude and unwilling to provide responsible and honest explanations. You can not pay off early “because they won’t make as much money”. You have to add them to your insurance policy (which costs money) and they are rude and unresponsive. RUN don’ t walk away from any dealings with this company. And frankly, be very afraid of a company who uses this company to finance. I am so so sorry I ever heard of this company and even worse got involved with their financing.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Buckhead Functional Medicine
Egregious customer service and deceptive predatory lending practices!Stay away for the following specific reasons:1. Only online statements without itemization of principal balance, interest paid, etc…2. Late fees charged when not late on payments!3. Voice mail options total of 5, no answer on 4 out of 5 simply endless ringing!4. Supervisor for customer service “never available” leave message “never a call back”I could go on but you get the picture!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Absolutely the worst company ever. Run, don’t walk, run away from this company. Called to talk with someone who was rude and treated me as if I was a delinquent. I asked for a manager. I was referred to someone who stated he was in legal. I tried to explain my position and that I had confirmation from Wells Fargo on payment. He told me to stop and spoke to me rude. I said that I would refer to an attorney. He stated “put him on the phone right now!”. I said give me your name and number and I would have an attorney reach out to him. He gave me a number and I asked his position. He hung up. I have NEVER been treated as a delinquent. I am a professional business with impeccable financials . This company doesn’t warrant my business. RUN AWAY!!
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.