Rapid Finance Review
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Expert Analyst & Reviewer
- 3 comments
- Updated on:
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Rapid Finance
| Total Rating | 4.0 |
|---|---|
| Interest Rates & Fees | Good |
| Application Process | Good |
| Sales & Advertising Transparency | Good |
| Customer Service | Good |
| Reviews, Complaints, & Testimonials | Good |
Pros
- Financing is suited for high-risk businesses
- Multiple types of financing available
- Low credit score requirements
- High borrowing amounts
- Time to funding: 1-3 days
Cons
- Rates can be expensive
- Repayments are required frequently
Rapid Finance Overview
Rapid Finance (formerly Rapid Advance) is a Maryland-based alternative small business funder. This lender offers various short-term business financing products, such as merchant cash advances and short-term loans, among others. Unlike many of its competitors, Rapid Finance provides a number of variations on the typical MCA, leading to a slightly longer application process but also better rates in many cases.
In addition to short-term loans, Rapid Finance has expanded its offering to now include lines of credit and invoice factoring, as well as long-term financing solutions such as SBA loans and commercial real estate loans.
Rapid Finance could be a viable source of funding for any business that wants fast funding, including businesses with bad credit. The online application is simple and streamlined, and you might even be able to apply with just your smartphone. The main downside of using the service is that Rapid Finance interest rates and fees can be high.
Table of Contents
Services Offered By Rapid Finance
Rapid Finance offers the following types of funding to small businesses:
- Merchant Cash Advances (MCA)
- Short-Term Loans (STL)
- Lines of Credit (LOC)
- Invoice Factoring (IF)
- Bridge Loans
- SBA Loans
- Asset-Based Loans
- Commercial Real Estate Loan
Most of the financing products Rapid Finance offers are intended for short-term business financing needs, with the exception of SBA loans and commercial real estate loans. Rapid Finance’s asset-based and bridge loans are also short-term loans, though the exact terms might be slightly different than Rapid Finance’s standard short-term loan. Invoice factoring and merchant cash advances are not short-term loans per se, but they are short-term advances you’ll have to repay quickly.
In some cases, Rapid Finance itself will not originate the loan but will arrange your loan through one of the lenders in its lending network.
Rapid Finance Borrower Requirements
To qualify for funding from Rapid, you must meet these minimum prerequisites:
| Time In Business | 2 years (STL) 3 months (MCA) |
| Credit Score | 550 |
| Annual Revenue | $120,000 (STL) $5,000 (MCA) |
Additionally, you must have a business bank account, with no more than six days in which you had insufficient funds. You also need to have deposits from at least five different sources each month.
You’ll note that this is not a complete list of borrower requirements for all of Rapid Finance’s lending products; SBA loans and commercial real estate loans in particular will have more stringent requirements. Unfortunately, Rapid Finance does not make its borrower qualifications for all of its financing products readily available on its website.
Rapid Finance Interest Rates & Fees
Here are the terms for Rapid’s products:
| Borrowing Amount | $5,000-$1 million (STL, Bridge) $5,000-$500,000 (MCA) $5,000-$250,000 (LOC) $20,000-$10,000,000 (IF) $50,000-$10,000 (Asset-based) $75,000-$2,000,000 (Real estate) $500-$5,500,000 (SBA) |
| Term Length | 3-60 months (STL, Bridge) 3-18 months (MCA)* 3-18 months (LOC) 3-18 months (IF) 6-36 months (Asset-based) 5-20 years (Real estate) 1-30 years (SBA) |
| Fixed Fee |
9%-31% of the borrowing amount (STL) |
| Origination Fee | 0%-2.5% (depending on the product) |
| Effective APR | Learn more |
| Collateral | UCC-1 blanket lien on most loans; specific collateral for asset-based loans |
*estimated completion date
Rapid Finance’s rates, terms, and fee structures vary a lot since there are so many different lending products on offer. Depending on the type of loan/financing product, you may be charged interest or a flat/fixed fee, as well as other fees, including an origination fee. Automatic payments are deducted daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the product.
With a fixed fee, instead of paying interest, you’ll pay off the amount you borrowed times a multiplier referred to as a “fixed fee” or “factor rate.” So if you’re borrowing $10,000, at Rapid’s lowest factor rate, you’ll be paying back $10,900. You can expect to pay back between $1.09 and $1.20 for each dollar you borrow (not including other fees, including origination fees). For some of its products, Rapid may instead quote a monthly interest rate (1.25%, for example). To find out how much you’ll owe, take the amount you’re borrowing, multiply it by your monthly interest rate, then multiply the result by the length of your term in months. For example: $10,000 x 0.0125 x 12 = $1,500.
Like short-term loans, MCAs have fixed fees, meaning that instead of interest, you’ll be charged a percentage of the amount that you’re advanced. Each business day, Rapid will hold back a percentage of your daily credit and debit card sales until you’ve “paid back” the terms of your advance. Since your sales will likely vary day by day, there’s no hard and fast term length for MCAs, only an estimated completion date. If your business is booming, you’ll pay them off quickly. If it’s not, it’ll take longer. In most cases, you’ll repay the advance within 3 to 18 months.
Application Process
As a short-term lender, Rapid prides itself on getting you through the application and approval process quickly.
To begin the process, you can either call Rapid or fill out a short application form online. You’ll want to be able to produce documents confirming your identity and business revenue. These include:
- Form of identity validation
- Business bank account number and routing
- Last 3 months of business bank statements
You may not even need all of these things, depending on which product you’re applying for. For example, for invoice financing, you might only need proof of identity and unpaid invoices from a reputable creditor. You might also be asked for additional documents, depending on the product.
Rapid Finance will do a soft pull on your credit during the pre-approval state, and if you qualify, they’ll do a hard pull later on in the underwriting process.
Approval can come within a few hours, with funding available in as soon as 1-3 days. Certain loans, such as SBA loans, will take longer.
Sales & Advertising Transparency
There’s quite a bit going on on Rapid Finance’s website, although a lot of it isn’t especially useful information. Still, it can give you a decent, zoomed-out view of what the company offers. You won’t find much info about rates anywhere convenient, unfortunately.
The sales staff was willing to answer more specific questions when I called directly, but you’ll probably need to get a quote to get all the details.
Customer Service & Technical Support
I had an easy time reaching customer support, and they seemed agreeable to answering my questions.
Unlike many similar funders, Rapid actually has a pretty large customer review footprint. Customers generally reported positive experiences dealing with Rapid’s staff.
Customer service can be reached by phone Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, or via email.
Rapid Finance Reviews, Complaints, & Testimonials
Rapid Finance’s user review footprint trends positive overall. The company has an A+ rating with the BBB and an unusually high number of positive reviews on the watchdog site. There are four customer complaints on record. User reviews on Trustpilot are also overwhelmingly positive; the company has a 4.9 out of 5 on that site. Professional reviews are a little more measured, but on the whole, Rapid’s reputation is pretty good.
Negative Reviews & Complaints
Rapid maintains a mostly positive reputation with its customers, but there are a handful of complaints:
- Difficulty Getting Approval: Some customers reported that the approval process dragged out longer than expected and ultimately didn’t end in approval despite reassurances from staff.
- Costly: As is common with short-term lenders as a whole, you can end up paying quite a bit of money each month, both in interest or fixed fees, and in some cases so-called “hidden” fees the customer didn’t expect. Several reviewers said the loan ended up costing them a lot more than they initially believed it would.
- No Automatic Discount For Repaying Early: Unlike some other short-term lenders, Rapid Finance does not offer any automatic discount to customers who pay back their loans early. (However, upon request, they do offer a 20% discount on the loan fees if it’s paid within 120 days.)
- Customer Service: Some customers reported not being able to reach their representatives when they needed to.
Positive Reviews & Testimonials
Happy customers liked the following aspects of Rapid’s service:
- Fast Funding: Several users report receiving their funds within 24 hours, and many others say they received their money in 2 days.
- Comparatively Good Rates: A lot of customers found that Rapid’s rates were lower than those of many similar business funders.
- Easy Application Process: Most users appreciated that the application process was easy, quick, and painless.
- Good Customer Service: Many users were happy with the customer service they received.
- Repeat Customers: Many customers say they have worked with Rapid Finance for years and are highly satisfied with the service.
Final Verdict
Rapid Finance (formerly Rapid Advance) offers fast money to high-risk businesses. While that does mean higher rates and shorter terms, Rapid Finance is among the better lenders in its niche. With a positive reputation and at least the potential for relatively low rates, it’s a good option for businesses with poor credit or that otherwise struggle to get the financing they need.
With that said, well-established businesses with strong credit will likely be able to obtain a better loan elsewhere.
Are you looking for the best rates? Check out our alternative suggestions to ensure you’re making an informed decision.
Shannon Vissers
Expert Analyst & Reviewer at Merchant Maverick
The former editor-in-chief of SteelOrbis, Shannon has been researching and writing about small business software and financing since 2015. Her shopping and retail expertise has been cited in numerous publications, including Reader's Digest, MSN, Yahoo Finance, and GOBankingRates . She has also published articles for LIVESTRONG.COM, eHow, Life'd, and other websites. Shannon attended San Diego State University, graduating in 2005 with a BA in English.
View Shannon Vissers's professional experience on LinkedIn.
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The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Rapid Finance |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Rapid Finance for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Rapid Finance |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Rapid Finance for yourself.
Organization Name: Pool and patio inc
I have been using rapid advance for the past 3 years yonika is a true professional and application is easy and rapid approval same day I would highly recommend this company
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Organization Name: Hamilton Investment Properties
You did not point out one of the obvious “Cons” with Rapid Advance, and that is the resolution of disputes. I.e. my company that I lost controlling interest in after dealing with Rapid Advance. Even with the strain of paying $135 per day on a Loan or over $2,700 per month on a $13,000 Loan, I would get double payments days deducted from my Bank without Notice causing hundreds of dollars of NSF Charges as well as missed payments on other obligations. My complaint was answered simple with the claim Rapid did not do this in the Face of Documented evidence from my Bank that had no choice but to Block the automatic Bank Deductions. This company refuses any payment arrangements outside of complete control by auto deductions from Business Banking. They will file false UCC negative statements claiming you refused to pay them, and not admit they refused payment without control of you Bank Account..
If you have any kind of credit rating you should tell people tom stay away from these type Lenders.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.
Thank you Chris Matola for sharing your research on Rapid Advice. It was very detailed information as were the links.
This comment refers to an earlier version of this review and may be outdated.