CAN Capital Review

Pros

• Multiple types of financing available
• Easy application process
• Discounts for repaying early

Cons

• Some additional fees are charged
• Opaque rates

CAN Capital Overview

Georgia-based CAN Capital (formerly known as Capital Access Network and AdvanceMe) is one of the oldest alternative lenders on the market.  While initially offering only merchant cash advances (MCA) — a type of financing in which businesses sell a portion of their future receivables in exchange for capital — CAN Capital now also offers short-term loans (STLs). (They had previously issued longer-term loans as well, but the option no longer appears in their advertising.)

Read on for the details or check out our list of the best alternatives to merchant cash advances.

Services Offered

• Merchant cash advance
• Short-term loans

Borrower Qualifications

These are the minimum requirements to get funding from CAN Capital:

Rates & Fees

These are the terms and fees for CAN Capital:

CAN Capital offers a maximum of $250K in funding per location and term lengths that range from six to 18 months.

Fees are calculated once by multiplying the factor rate by the principal. CAN Capital used to provide a loan calculator on its website that showed rates ranging between 1.15 and 1.35 — meaning you’d repay between $1.15 and $1.35 for every dollar borrowed. If, for example, you had a factor rate of 1.3 and you were advanced $30K, you would have to repay a total of $39K ($30,000 x 1.3 = $39,000).

Unfortunately, this loan calculator is no longer present, so you’ll want to confirm with the company that these rates still apply.

The factor rate is not equivalent to the APR. For short-term financing, the shorter your repayment period, the higher the APR. For more information, check out this article on how APRs work with MCAs.

Although you wouldn’t normally be able to save money by repaying a short-term loan early (because the fee doesn’t change regardless of term length), CAN Capital grants a 6% rebate on the remaining fee if you repay early, as long as you’ve had the capital for at least 90 days.

Repayment varies depending on whether you’ve taken out an STL or an MCA.

• STLs are repaid through a daily deduction of a fixed amount of your bank account made through an automated clearinghouse. There may be an additional fee for this service.
• MCAs are repaid through a deduction of a percentage of all your debit and credit card sales.

Application Process

You can begin your application online at CAN Capital’s website. This first step involves submitting basic information through a web form. They’ll ask for your contact information, business name, business type, time in business, and annual revenue.

Keep in mind, you’ll need to provide some additional information if your application is accepted. Usually, this includes:

• Your tax ID or social security number
• The last three months of bank statements or credit card statements
• Last year’s business tax return

The time from application to funding is normally 48 hours or less, but it might be slowed down if the underwriter needs to request additional documentation or has trouble verifying your information. If you’re pre-qualified, you’ll be offered a number of options for your loan amount and term length. You’ll then lock-in those options, submit the remaining documentation, and e-sign your contract.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

CAN Capital had recently experienced some growing pains wherein they went from being a very transparent lender to offering very little information on their site at all. However, the company had then taken some steps back in the right direction. While there’s still some information missing about rates, most of the other details you need are disclosed on the site. Unfortunately, with the elimination of the loan calculator, CAN Capital may be backsliding a bit.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Customer service is available by phone or by submitting a form on CAN Capital’s website. You can also contact them through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or YouTube.

Customer service seems pretty responsive to formal complaints, though some customers have complained about miscommunications and hard-to-reach representatives.

User Reviews

On the BBB website, CAN Capital is accredited with an A+ rating with one recorded complaint that has been closed within the last three years (none within the last 12 months). Additionally, the company has an aggregated score of 4.3 out of 5 on Trustpilot with over 700 reviews on record.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Aside from complaints about being able to reach customer service, these were the most common gripes:

• Expensive Capital: CANs Capital’s short-term loans are expensive.
• Daily Repayments: Having daily automatic repayments makes funding less risky, which translates to lower fees on the part of the merchant. Unfortunately, making repayments on a daily basis can be troublesome to merchants who find themselves operating on a thin profit margin.
• Hard Credit Inquiries: CAN Capital does run a hard check on your credit score, which some customers claim they weren’t informed about.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

CAN Capital has a number of positive reviews on Trustpilot and a few testimonials on their website. Customers are happiest with the:

• Low Borrower Qualifications: Can’t get capital from a bank or another online lender? You can still get funds from CAN Capital.
• Helpful Customer Service: Although some customers expressed frustration with the quality of customer service, many customers were happy with the representatives they talked to.
• Fast Time To Funding: CAN Capital can usually provide the funds within 48 hours after application if you can gather the documents quickly enough.

Final Verdict

Not long ago, CAN Capital carried a reputation similar to that of its competitor OnDeck. Namely, it was known as one of the bigger, more established players in the alternative funding business. While the company appears to be making a bit of a comeback, they’re still not quite what they were at their peak, at least not from a consumer perspective.

Take a look at our list of other services similar to short term loans and merchant cash advances; you might just be eligible for a different kind of loan.

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