Last reviewed by:
Lindsay VanSomeren
December 3, 2021
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National Funding is an online lender that offers small business loans and equipment financing to merchants who are having a tough time getting approved through traditional channels. It’s geared toward people who have less-than-perfect credit scores or need fast funding for small business loans.
But like many alternative small business lenders, it’s not entirely transparent about how much its loans might cost you — which often means that funding is expensive. We’ll help you decide if the risk is worth it in this National Funding review.
National Funding small business loans come in two forms, small business loans and equipment financing. A merchant cash advance may be available as well — inquire with the company directly.
| National Funding Business Loans: At a Glance | |||||
| Amount | Terms | Starting rate | Fees | Min. credit score | |
| Small business loans | $5,000 to $500,000 | 4 to 24 months | 1.10 factor rate | Origination fee, amount not specified | 500 |
| Equipment financing | $5,000 to $150,000 | 24 to 84 months | 4.99% simple interest | Doc fee, 1% of equipment cost | 575 |
It’s important to note that National Funding lists several types of small business loans on its website, such as “bad credit business loans,” “business loans for women” or “unsecured business loans.” Despite the different names, these are all the same product, with the following features:
National Funding provides loans to people in a wide range of industries, such as agriculture, construction, medicine and dentistry. However, it does not offer loans for certain types of businesses, such as marijuana, weapons or adult entertainment.
National Funding also offers loans and leases for equipment, with the following terms:
There are a few things to like about National Funding’s equipment financing program. You can finance new or used equipment with it, and there are no restrictions on age, miles or the number of hours it’s been operating, according to a company representative. In addition, you won’t need to make a down payment, though this could increase the cost of borrowing the money since you’re essentially taking out a larger loan. Finally, you won’t need to make payments for the first three months.
However, financing equipment does take slightly longer than National Funding’s small business loans. Rather than a 24-hour turnaround time for small business loans (if approved), it may take up to 72 hours.
As with most alternative small business lenders, getting a loan is easier than with traditional lenders like banks or credit unions. You’ll need to meet the following requirements to be eligible for a loan:
If you’re applying for equipment financing, you’ll need to include a quote from the equipment vendor so that National Funding can verify the amount you need to borrow.
In general, most people are best served by traditional business loans, as they come with lower interest rates that make it easier to run and even grow your business.
But traditional business loans aren’t as easy to get — as such, National Funding may be a good choice if:
There are some downsides to choosing National Funding — and some of those downsides are actually cloaked as positives. For example, you don’t need to make a down payment on these loans, which is handy if you don’t have anything saved up. However, this also means that you’ll need to take out an even larger loan. The loan potentially comes with higher-than-normal fees, which could really set your business back over the long run. Plus, when businesses like National Funding aren’t upfront about interest rates or fees, it’s usually a warning sign that they’ll be high.
The good news is that there are many alternative small business lenders, and it’s a good idea to shop around before choosing one.
QuickBridge is similar to National Funding, and also offers loans from $5,000 to $500,000. You’ll need a credit score of at least 500 in order to be approved, along with other requirements. It too claims to be able to get your funds to you within a few days if you’re approved. QuickBridge advertises early payoff discounts, which National Funding does not offer.
Credibly has a different set of approval requirements than National Funding. You can get funding with a lower credit score (a minimum of 500) and less time in business (just six months), but you’ll need a higher business revenue ($15,000 per month). Credibly also gives out a smaller amount of funding — up to $400,000 for a working capital loan, or $250,000 for a business expansion loan.
CIT is an actual bank that offers a range of funding types, including SBA loans. It offers rates as low as 5.49% on equipment finance loans, with options to borrow up to $500,000. If you’re going the non-traditional route, CIT offers working capital loans of up to $150,000 through one of its partners.