Fundera By NerdWallet Review

Pros

• Multiple types of financing are available
• Website advertising is clear and informative
• Customer service is helpful

Cons

• Rates can be expensive
• Charges additional fees

What Is Fundera?

Fundera is a business funding matchmaker. Much like a loan broker, this company does not originate loans but matches you up with other business lenders. Fundera’s partners offer merchant cash advances, short-term loans, lines of credit, medium-term loans, SBA loans, equipment loans, invoice financing, and personal loans (that can be used for business).

Not only is the company convenient and helpful, but everything about the service is transparent. The customer service is reportedly friendly and informative and has an excellent reputation across the web. Because Fundera is selective about the funders it partners with and provides tools and information to help merchants find the financing they need, it is undoubtedly one of the best matchmakers out there.

Services Offered By Fundera

Fundera is a business funding matchmaker. With this online service, you complete a single application, which Fundera uses to match you with suitable business financing options on offer from affiliated lenders in its network.

Some business lenders Fundera might match you with include BlueVine, Credibly, OnDeck, Fundbox, and others. Some of the financing services offered through Fundera’s network include:

• Installment Loans: Installment loans provide a lump sum of cash that’s repaid over time until the loan and interest are repaid. These loans typically have terms longer than a year and are repaid monthly or weekly.
• Short-Term Loans: Short-term loans often have expedited application processes and term lengths of less than a year. Rather than pay interest, you’ll typically pay a flat fee that is a percentage of the borrowing amount. These loans are usually paid weekly or daily.
• Lines Of Credit: Lines of credit are more flexible than traditional loans. Instead of one lump sum, you’re assigned a credit limit and can make multiple draws as needed provided you don’t exceed the credit limit. Interest is paid only on borrowed funds.
• Equipment Loans: These installment loans are used to purchase equipment. The equipment that is purchased serves as the collateral for the loan.
• SBA Loans: The Small Business Administration guarantees a portion of the loans distributed through its loan programs, giving businesses access to low-cost, long-term loans.
• Invoice Financing: Invoice financing allows you to receive a portion of unpaid invoices to resolve cash flow issues.
• Merchant Cash Advances: An MCA gives a lump sum of cash in exchange for future credit and debit sales. Repayments are made daily or weekly until the advance is repaid. This is an expensive form of funding best suited for new businesses or bad-credit borrowers who are unable to qualify for funding elsewhere.

Fundera doesn’t offer a mobile app to apply for funding on the go, which only slightly lowered our rating in this category. Overall, Fundera’s lending partners offer a wide variety of products suitable for nearly any business need, which led to our rating of 4.5/5 for Fundera’s services.

Borrower Qualifications

Because Fundera partners with several different lenders, it does not have any specific requirements regarding how long you’ve been in business, how much revenue you make, your personal credit score, or any other business characteristics.

Each of Fundera’s partners has its own requirements regarding business characteristics; as such, you may not be eligible for certain products.

If you make an account and find you are not eligible for the products you’re interested in, Fundera offers an eligibility tracker that can inform you when you do qualify for new products.

Because there are no set requirements and there are options for startups, applicants with credit challenges, and businesses that may not qualify for traditional funding, we rated Fundera a 4.9/5 for this category.

Rates & Fees

Fundera’s rates vary based on factors such as the lender you work with, your selected funding product, and your credit history. Here are some general guidelines Fundera provides about some of its partners’ products:

You will not have to pay a fee directly to Fundera at any point during the process. Instead, Fundera receives compensation from its funding partners. Whenever a loan is funded through Fundera, the company collects a fee of 2%-5% of your loan amount from its partner. If you are not matched with a lender through Fundera, the company will not receive any money.

Because Fundera acts as a middleman, there is a possibility that the lending partner may pass some costs on to you. In a worst-case scenario, that means your loan might cost a little more if you go through Fundera than it would have if you went directly through the lender.

Otherwise, loan fees vary depending on the lender you’re ultimately partnered with.

Compared to some other lending marketplaces, Fundera is quite transparent about rates and fees for its partners’ products. This transparency, along with good rates and terms, contributed to our score of 4.8/5 for this category.

Application Process

Fundera provides a comprehensive explanation of the application process on its website.

• Submit A Loan Questionnaire: To start, you’ll create an account and fill out a short questionnaire with details about the age of your business, annual revenue, credit score, industry, and more. Fundera uses this information to determine what products you may be eligible to receive. This information is self-reported until you fill out an application, at which point it will be verified by the lender.
• Review Available Loan Products: After you’ve completed the questionnaire, Fundera will show you available loan products. A representative will reach out to you to explain your options, educate you on the products, and help you determine which is right for your business.
• Apply For Funding: If you’re interested in the loan products available, you can submit an application. In addition to the application, you may be required to submit documentation like bank statements, balance sheets, and P&L statements.
• Compare Loan Offers: When the application is complete, you will be presented with offers. You can compare these offers and choose the best one for your situation. Of course, if you need help choosing, your Fundera representative is available to help you out.
• Choose Your Loan Offer: When you have chosen the best offer for your business and filled out the necessary paperwork, your loan will be funded.

Fundera is very transparent about its application process, so there are no surprises along the way. The process is quite easy, and the processing of your application and disbursement of funds — while not the quickest — is pretty quick for most products. For these reasons, we’ve rated Fundera 4.5/5 for its application process.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

Fundera seems committed to providing a transparent service.

The website contains information about Fundera’s service and business loans at large. Fundera discloses what to expect from the process, how fees are collected, and any other information you might need to know before signing up. The website even has Shakespearean-style legalese in layman’s English on its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy pages.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Fundera is a signatory of the Small Business Borrower’s Bill of Rights and has therefore pledged to uphold certain standards, including “transparency, fairness, and putting the rights of borrowers at the center of the lending process.”

Fundera also provides a wealth of information about specific lenders and financial products and can serve as a solid resource.

The one area where we think Fundera could improve is with its social media profiles, which aren’t updated frequently. This had a slight negative impact on our score for sales and advertising transparency, which we rated 4.4/5.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Customer service is available by phone, email, or live chat via the website. Customers have reported positive experiences working with Fundera’s representatives — most claim that the customer service was helpful, informative, and not pushy. These factors led to our score of 4.9/5 for Fundera’s customer service and technical support.

Fundera also provides an in-depth FAQ that covers many questions you may have about the process, from application to repayment. The company also offers a well-populated resource center, including business loan calculators, lender reviews, financial templates, glossaries, and a host of other information about business loans and finances.

User Reviews

There are numerous Fundera reviews on Facebook and Trustpilot, where Fundera has earned a rating of 4.5/5 out of 970+ reviews.

The company is accredited by the BBB, and it currently has an A+ rating. One complaint has been filed over the last three years. Reviews are overall positive, with a handful of complaints mixed in. Keeping the large number of positive reviews in mind, we rated Fundera a 4.7/5 for this category.

Negative Fundera Reviews & Complaints

• Limited funding options due to fewer lending partners
• Denial after preapproval
• High interest rates and other fees
• Unresponsive customer service

Positive Fundera Reviews & Testimonials

• Informative website
• Easy-to-use customer interface
• Helpful customer service
• Fast time from application to funding

Final Verdict: Is Fundera Worth It?

Fundera is an excellent resource to help you find the funding you need. The website and customer support services are transparent and informative, and the application process is streamlined. These are just a few of the reasons we give Fundera an overall score of 4.6/5 as a marketplace lender.

One thing to keep in mind: Fundera works with relatively few lenders, so if you are not eligible for funding from Fundera’s partners, you may still qualify for funding elsewhere. However, there is a good chance that other lenders would come with higher rates and fees than those on Fundera’s platform.

Regardless, matchmakers such as Fundera provide a valuable service to small business owners. The search for business funding is often a long, confusing, and arduous process, but with Fundera, you don’t have to go it alone.

Looking for more small business financing options? Explore our team’s picks for the best small business loans, the best business lines of credit, or the best corporate credit cards.

Business Loan & Funding Products Review Methodology

We spend hours researching and evaluating each business loan and funding product that we review at Merchant Maverick, placing special emphasis on key characteristics to generate our ratings.

When rating lenders and funding providers, we use a 31-point rubric that looks at rates and fees, services, eligibility requirements, application, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews. We weigh each section differently to calculate the total star rating. This rubric is applied to traditional term loans, as well as short-term loans, start-up loans, lines of credit, online lending products, merchant cash advances, and equipment financing products.

• Rates & Fees: 20% of the total star rating
• Services: 20% of the total star rating
• Eligibility Requirements: 20% of the total star rating
• Application: 15% of the total star rating
• Sales & Advertising Transparency: 10% of the total star rating
• Customer Support: 5% of the total star rating
• User Reviews: 5% of the total star rating

Each section is further broken down into granular, weighted subsections, in which we examine specific attributes like terms lengths, conditions of repayment, credit score and revenue requirements, ease of application, length of time to funding, the ethics involved in promoting the lending product, customer support, and the overall reputation of the lender or funding provider.

Read more about how we rate small business lenders.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

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After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Fundera by NerdWallet for yourself.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Fundera by NerdWallet	Apply Now

After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Fundera by NerdWallet for yourself.