Rapid Finance Review: Financing For High-Risk Businesses

Pros

• Financing is suited for high-risk businesses
• Low credit score requirements
• High borrowing amounts
• Funds are disbursed quickly

Cons

• Rates can be expensive
• Repayments are required frequently

What Is Rapid Finance?

Rapid Finance (formerly Rapid Advance) offers various alternative business financing products, such as merchant cash advances and short-term loans. Unlike many of its competitors, Rapid Finance provides a number of variations on the typical MCA, leading to a slightly longer application process but better rates in many cases.

In addition to short-term financing, Rapid Finance has expanded its offering to include lines of credit, invoice factoring, and 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.

Services Offered

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)
• Commercial 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, except for 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.

For its services, we rated Rapid Finance a 4.3/5, only deducting points for the lender’s lack of a mobile app.

Borrower Qualifications

Rapid Finance offers a wide array of loan products, even for those with newer businesses or credit challenges. There are no specific borrowing requirements to meet to qualify for some form of funding, options are available for most business types, and Rapid Finance can provide funding in all 50 states. For these reasons, we’ve rated Rapid Finance a near-perfect 4.9/5 for eligibility requirements.

Rapid Finance does not list specific requirements for funding products on its website. However, you will be required to provide your business tax ID, bank statements from the last three months, and your completed application to qualify for funding.

Take note that some of Rapid Finance’s lending products, such as SBA loans and commercial real estate loans,  will have more stringent requirements. Collateral may be required based on the type of loan you receive.

Rapid Finance Interest Rates & Fees

Here are the terms for Rapid Finance’s products:

Rapid Finance’s rates, terms, and fee structures vary since there are so many different lending products offered. 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, such as origination fees).

For some of its products, Rapid Finance 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, and 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. 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 three to 18 months.

Though Rapid Finance’s fees are mostly comparable to those of other short-term business financing providers, it is possible to find competing short-term loan providers that do not charge an origination fee — LoanBuilder, for example.

The lack of transparency surrounding rates and fees did negatively impact our rating, bringing Rapid Finance’s score in this category to 3.6/5.

Application Process

As a short-term lender, Rapid Finance prides itself on quickly getting you through the application and approval process, which is reflected in our rating of 4.8/5.

To begin the process, you can either call Rapid or fill out a short application form online. You’ll need to provide documents confirming your identity and business revenue, including:

• Form of identity validation
• Business bank routing and account numbers
• Last three months of business bank statements

Depending on which product you’re applying for, you may not even need all of these things. 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. If you qualify, a hard pull will be performed later in the underwriting process.

Approval can come within a few hours, with funding available in as little as one to three days. Same-day funding may also be available for some products. Certain loans, such as SBA loans, will have longer application and approval timelines.

Sales & Advertising Transparency

A lot of the information on Rapid Finance’s website isn’t especially useful. 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.

To get more details, you can contact Rapid Finance directly for a quote. Note that this is only a quote, and actual products, rates, and terms that you qualify to receive may vary.

Rapid Finance has a social media presence but doesn’t update as frequently as other lenders we’ve seen. This — combined with the lack of information on the Rapid Finance website — led to our rating of 4.2/5 for sales and advertising transparency.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Unlike many similar funders, Rapid has a large customer review footprint. Customers generally reported positive experiences dealing with Rapid’s staff.

Customer service can be reached by phone Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM EST, or via email. Rapid Finance also has a blog, small business guides, and social media profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Unfortunately, Rapid Finance is lacking in some areas. There are no dedicated support representatives, and the company lacks a knowledgebase that provides information to borrowers. These shortcomings are reflected in our 2.9/5 rating in this area.

User Reviews

Rapid Finance reviews from users of the service are 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 a total of four customer complaints on record for the past three years.

Rapid Finance reviews on Trustpilot are also overwhelmingly positive, boasting a rating of 4.6 out of 5 based on 1,900+ reviews. Based on the quality and quantity of reviews, we calculated our own rating of 4.9/5 based on overall user feedback and reviews.

Professional reviews are a little more measured, but on the whole, Rapid’s reputation is pretty good.

Negative Reviews & 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 cost 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 an 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.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

• Fast Funding: Several users report receiving their funds the same day they applied, and many others say they received their money within one or two days.
• Comparatively Good Rates: A lot of customers found that Rapid’s rates were lower than those of similar business funders.
• Easy Application Process: Most users appreciated the application process being 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, boasting a positive reputation and the potential for relatively low rates. With an overall rating of 4.2/5 following our comprehensive review, we recommend Rapid Finance for businesses with poor credit or that otherwise struggle to get the financing they need, whether it’s a same-day business loan or a larger, longer-term business loan.

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 for other merchant cash vendors to ensure you’re making an informed decision.

Business Loan & Funding Products Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business lenders since 2015. Our writers have tested over a hundred different funding products, including traditional term loans, online loans, lines of credit, start-up loans, merchant cash advances, and equipment financing. In each review, we evaluate rates and fees, services, eligibility requirements, application process, sales and advertising transparency, customer service, and user reviews.

Read more about how we rate business loans and funding products.

When comparing different lenders and loan products, we consider many data points, including the ease and transparency of the application process, interest rates, repayment structure, sales ethics, time to funding, revenue and time in business qualifications, and credit score requirements. Our lists of the best funding products include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points, and often share qualities such as widespread accessibility across fifty states, low rates, flexible requirements, and competitive borrowing amounts.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the loans and funding products included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆

Rapid Finance	Apply Now

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	Apply Now

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.