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7 alternatives to Square Capital business loans

Compare other lenders with competitive rates, fast turnaround and more.

Square Capital offers online and off-line sellers a merchant cash advance with a wide range of loan amounts and a flat fee. The only requirements? Your business must use a Square point of sale system, make at least $10,000 a year and process weekly credit or debit card payments through Square. If you’re not eligible for business financing from Square Capital or just want to compare similar providers, here are some alternatives.

Pros

  • No formal application
  • No credit requirement
  • Minimum loan amount starting at $500
  • Find out if you’re eligible on your Square dashboard
  • Funds in as little as one business day

Cons

  • Can’t choose loan amount you prequalify for
  • Must use Square
  • Daily repayments
  • Need to make at least one sale a week on Square to qualify

Don’t have Square? Want something that’s open to more point-of-sale systems — or offers something other than a merchant cash advance? We take a look at seven lenders like Square that might be able to get your business the funding it needs.

Alternative sites like Square Capital

  • LoanBuilder, A PayPal Service
  • PayPal Working Capital
  • American Express® Business Line of Credit
  • FundingCircle
  • Fora Financial
  • OnDeck
  • National Business Capital

1. LoanBuilder, A PayPal Service

LoanBuilder business loans

8.5 Great

This online lender specializes in short-term loans for small and midsize businesses in a pinch. LoanBuilder offers slightly higher amounts than Square Capital from $5,000 to $500,000. The loan is also more customizable, allowing borrowers to choose their loan amount and term to adjust repayments.Like Square Capital, LoanBuilder’s loans come with a flat fee and no interest payments. While this might make it easier to estimate your costs, it’s typically more expensive than paying interest and means you can’t save by paying off your loan early. To qualify, your business also has to meet tighter eligibility requirements, like making $42,000 a year, being at least one year in business and having a personal credit score of at least 550.
Loan amount$5,000 – $150,000
APR2.9% to 18.72%
Min. Credit Score680

2. PayPal Working Capital

PayPal Working Capital loans

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This PayPal option is similar to Square: You borrow funds based on your PayPal transactions and then repay it plus a fixed fee through your PayPay sales. It’s one of the quickest financing options out there, potentially depositing funds in your account within minutes after applying.Like with Square, PayPal Working Capital doesn’t involve a credit check or require your business to be around for a minimum amount of time. Applying is similarly painless — no documents involved — and PayPal lets business owners choose how much they want to borrow.There is no minimum loan amount required, but first-timers are limited to borrowing 30% of their yearly PayPal sales or up to $300,000. After paying off your first two loan with a percentage of each PayPal sale, your business can potentially qualify for an even larger loan amount up to $125,000. Like Square, this type of financing only works with one point of sale system, so it’s not great if your business relies heavily on other types of payments.
Loan amount$1,000 – $300,000
APRFee based

3. American Express Business Line of Credit

American Express® Business Line of Credit

8 Great

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American Express Business Line of Credit is one of the most popular financing choices for small e-commerce businesses. If you’re having an off season or need continual financing, American Express Business Line of Credit might be a better fit than Square Capital. That’s because you’re less likely to qualify for a Square Capital loan if you don’t make regular sales — at least one a week on Square. To qualify, you’ll need to have a min credit score of 660, be in business at least a year and have an average monthly revenue of at least $3,000, which is higher than Square Capital’s requirement. Applying to open your credit line can take a few more minutes than getting funds through Square: You’ll actually fill out an application and link your business accounts. Unlike Square, it considers your personal credit score, though it doesn’t give it as much weight as more traditional lenders. And it can take up to three days to get your funds with American Express Business Line of Credit, as opposed to Square Capital’s one-day turnaround.
Loan amount$2,000 – $250,000
APRN/A
Min. Credit Score660

4. Funding Circle

Funding Circle business loans

8.8 Great

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Funding Circle could be a good alternative to Square Capital if your business wants to borrow a slightly larger amount with a longer loan term. Your business can borrow between $25,000 and $500,000 with up to 5 years to pay it off. These term loans come with competitive rates ranging from Starting at 7.49%. Merchant cash advances like those offered by Square tend to be more expensive.Funding Circle is not great in an emergency since it can take more than five days to get your funds after you apply. It might not have a revenue requirement, but it’s more selective in other areas: Your business must be at least two years old and a part of an approved industry. Business owners must have a personal credit score of at least 620. Another drawback is that Funding Circle loans also come with a 4.49% to 10.49% origination fee, which comes directly from your loan amount when you apply. And some borrowers have also complained about getting robocalls from Funding Circle, even after they paid off their loan.
Loan amount$25,000 – $500,000
APRstarting at 7.49%
Min. Credit Score660

5. Fora Financial

Fora Financial business loans

8.8 Great

Read review
Fora Financial is an online lender that offers short-term business loans and merchant cash advances. It’s a startup-friendly lender that offers a discount for paying off your loan early — up to 10 cents per dollar you owe.Fora Financial’s loans run slightly higher than Square Capital, from $5,000 to $500,000. To qualify, you’ll need to make $12,000 a month and be in business for at least six months — stricter requirements than with Square Capital.Getting funds from Fora might be faster than borrowing from a bank, but its three-day turnaround time is three times as long as Square Capital. Its merchant cash advances also come with a flat fee of 1.1 to 1.3 times the loan amount. With its term loans comes with a 2% to 4% origination fee. And while it offers benefits for paying off your loan early, being able to do so might be difficult with loan terms 6 to 15 months.
Loan amount$5,000 – $1,500,000
APRFactor rates from 1.1 to 1.5
Min. Credit Score570

6. OnDeck

OnDeck short-term loans

9.2 Excellent

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OnDeck is a direct online business lender that offers two different kinds of financing: term loans and lines of credit. It uses alternative sources of data to review your application, so your credit score and net revenue aren’t the only things that matter on your application.OnDeck offers a wider a range of loan amounts than Square Capital, with loans starting at $5,000 and topping off at $250,000. More than that, it’s received rave customer reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot — something Square Capital lacks.OnDeck’s application is more involved than Square Capital’s, however. To qualify, your business must make at least $100,000 annually, be at least one year old and have a credit score of at least 500. However, the two providers do have the same turnaround time of one business day. OnDeck works with over 700 industries, including some that are considered high risk, including healthcare and restaurants.
Loan amount$5,000 – $250,000
APRAverage is 55.9% to 56.1%.
Min. Credit Score625

7. National Business Capital

National Business Capital business loans

8.6 Great

Read review
Don’t have a lot of experience researching and comparing lenders? National Business Capital might be a good place to start looking for an alternative to Square Capital. This lender and connection service claims to connect 90% of people who fill out its online application with lenders that they might be eligible for.Loan amounts run higher than Square Capital, from $10,000 to $5,000,000. Such a wide range of loans comes with a wide range of terms, from 6 to 120 months. Its eligibility requirements are stricter than Square Capital’s: You must make at least $180,000 a year and have been in business for six months.It might take a little longer to get your funds, too — sometimes days. And while it offers startup funding in the form of a credit card, business owners must have a credit score of 680 to qualify. National Business Capital loans can also be a bit expensive, costing as much as 30 cents for every dollar you borrow.
Loan amount$100,000 – $10,000,000
APRVaries by lender
Min. Credit Score700

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$20,000
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Businessloans.com Main Product  logo
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$5,000
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Varies by loan type and lender
Must have been in business between 1 to 2 years, have a minimum revenue of $75,000 to $250,000 and have a minimum credit score of 500 to 650.
Complete a three-minute form to see loans that fit your business’s needs. Compare offers without a hard credit check.
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The Finder Score crunches 12+ types of business loans across 35+ lenders. It takes into account the product’s interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate – this gives you a simple score out of 10.

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Editor

Anna Serio was a lead editor at Finder, specializing in consumer and business financing. A trusted lending expert and former certified commercial loan officer, Anna's written and edited more than 1,000 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. Her expertise and analysis on personal, student, business and car loans has been featured in publications like Business Insider, CNBC and Nasdaq, and has appeared on NBC and KADN. Anna holds an MA in Middle Eastern studies from the American University of Beirut and a BA in Creative Writing from Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, CUNY. See full bio

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Anna has written 157 Finder guides across topics including:
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