Kalamata Capital Review

Pros

• Borrower qualifications are lower than traditional banks
• The application process is fast and easy
• Funds are disbursed quickly
• Customer service is easy to reach

Cons

• Rates can be expensive
• Some additional fees charged
• No long-term financing options available
• Website advertising is misleading

Kalamata Capital Overview

Kalamata Capital is a Maryland-based merchant cash advance (MCA) provider founded by former Goldman Sachs employee Steve Mandis. In 2018, the company merged with Kings Cash Group to form Kalamata Capital Group, retaining the brand name.

Online funders such as Kalamata offer capital to small businesses with poor credit. The catch is that this funding usually comes at a high price.

Despite coming up short in the transparency department, Kalamata’s rates are lower than many of its competitors. However, businesses with very poor credit or a short history may not qualify.

Note: You should approach the world of alternative funding with caution; the rates are often usurious, and the terms can be punishing for the unprepared or unlucky. You should always make sure you’ve exhausted other potential sources of funding first (take a look at our handy short-term funding comparison chart to make sure).

Services Offered

Kalamata Capital offers merchant cash advances.

A merchant cash advance isn’t a loan. Instead, your funder purchases a percentage of your future credit/debit card receivables at a discount. Each business day, they’ll collect a percentage of your card-based sales until they’ve collected the full amount you were advanced, plus a flat fee equal to a percentage of that amount.

Borrower Qualifications

Here are the prerequisites for getting an advance from Kalamata:

Additionally, your business has to have had no bankruptcies within the last three years and must fall within one of the following industries:

• Accounting firms
• Automotive dealers and service
• Beauty and nail salons
• Dental practices
• Education providers
• Gas stations
• Health services
• Auto Repair, services, and parking
• Business, specialty, and personal services
• Construction
• Restaurants
• Franchises
• Government contractors
• Hotels
• Industrial services
• Liquor stores
• Medical practices
• Oilfield services
• Security
• Technology
• Transportation
• Landscaping
• Manufacturing
• Mobile phone dealers
• Retail
• Staffing
• Telecommunications
• Wholesale and distribution

Terms & Fees

Below, you’ll find a rough outline of the terms offered by Kalamata.

The Kalamata representative I spoke with stressed that all of the products are advances. Depending on your state of residence and other factors, you may have some flexibility in how the repayment is structured. Typically with MCAs, you’ll sign over a percentage of your daily credit card sales until your advance is paid off. However, Kalamata also offers the ability to make fixed daily payments through an automated clearing house. Term lengths are estimates in the former case and hard and fast with the latter.

You won’t find Kalamata’s rates anywhere on its site, but the representative I talked to said they usually fall between 12% and 28.3%. That means that, for every dollar you borrow, you’ll owe Kalamata between $1.12 and $1.29. That’s actually pretty reasonable for an online, short-term lender. Kalamata charges an origination fee.

Be careful not to confuse the flat fee percentages with the APR percentages, as they aren’t the same. A cash advance doesn’t technically have an APR since all of its costs are factored in upfront. However, you can use the terms of an advance to extrapolate a rough APR if you want to make it easier to compare the advance to a traditional loan. Just be aware that, contrary to bank loans, an advance’s APR is higher the shorter its term length is.

At least one user said Kalamata made their MCA offer contingent upon signing a confession of judgment. You want to avoid signing one of these if you can help it, as it prevents you from contesting your debt in court should you default.

Application Process

One of the big stated selling points of online funding is how fast and easy it is. While these claims can be a little exaggerated, the truth is that MCA providers are significantly faster than traditional banks. Kalamata, for example, claims you’ll get a funding decision within 24 hours. Realistically, it’s probably closer to 48.

You can call to start the process, but it’s probably better to fill out the online form since there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to reach an underwriter immediately, and you can do it off-hours. The application is a short form asking you the basics about your business: address, ownership, and industry, as well as the amount you’re seeking. Be prepared to provide supporting documents, such as bank statements, which will be asked for when a representative contacts you. Expect a hard pull on your credit.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

I’m not going to mince words: Kalamata’s online transparency is absolutely terrible. There’s barely any useful information on the site (aside from the company’s phone number and the maximum amount of money you can borrow). The site also can lead you to believe that there’s a lot more diversity in the product offerings than there actually is. Kalamata isn’t technically lying, of course — it’s just describing the types of needs it’s willing to underwrite rather than talking about distinct products with unique characteristics.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Kalamata’s personal customer service seems to compensate for some of its opaque online strategies. I found the staff easy to talk to and helpful, with minimal sales pressure tactics.

User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

Kalamata is accredited by the BBB, where it has an A+ rating and three recent customer complaints on file and a single (negative) review. Elsewhere, you’ll find scattered reviews, but generally not in large enough quantities to form a convincing aggregate score. Here are some of the complaints users have made about Kalamata:

• Lack Of Transparency: Online funders as a group aren’t going to win any awards for truth in advertising, but Kalamata is particularly bad in this respect.
• Cost: Though the nature of the expenses isn’t laid out in much detail, users have complained about predatory practices.
• Repayment Options May Not Be Available In Every State: Check and make sure you’re being signed up for the product you think you’re getting.
• Confession Of Judgment: Some customers report being asked to sign a confession of judgment, which should be avoided in all but the most desperate circumstances.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

There are some reasons to give Kalamata a look:

• Quick: While the advertised 24-hours-to-funding is a best-case scenario, you can safely assume that you’ll get your funding far more quickly than you would with a traditional lender.
• Rates Aren’t Terrible: We’re grading on a curve here, but the rates Kalamata quoted to me aren’t that bad as MCAs go.
• Customer Service: Given how little information the company discloses online, I had expected Kalamata staff to stonewall me, but they were actually pretty forthcoming in human-to-human interactions.

Final Verdict

Kalamata looks pretty decent on paper as far as alternative lenders go, but a couple of red flags keep me from giving the lender an enthusiastic thumbs up. The biggest is that the company isn’t entirely transparent about the products it provides or its terms and rates. If you’re feeling brave enough to give Kalamata a shot, make sure you get as many details upfront as you can and in writing.

Still, given Kalamata’s overall lack of transparency, it would be wise to approach with caution. You can check out our alternative suggestions page to see what other options you might have.

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