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1West Finance Small Business Loans: 2024 Review

Updated Nov 27, 2024

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At a glance

4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down Icon
Accessibility
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Affordability
Rating: 3.7 stars out of 5
Customer experience
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
Transparency
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Flexibility
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
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Overview

With digital doors open since 2017, 1West Finance is an online loan marketplace offering six main business loans from over 50 lenders. Its choices include loans for working capital, real estate, equipment and accounts receivable financing.

Lender Details

  • Money Bag Icon

    Loan amount

    $5,000-$20 million

  • Rates Icon

    Interest rate

    5.00% APR

  • Clock Wait Icon

    Term lengths

    2 months-25 years

  • Dollar Icon

    Min. annual revenue

    $120,000; N/A for real estate loans

  • Briefcase Icon

    Min. time in business

    3 months

Who 1West Finance is best for

As a loan marketplace, 1West Finance lenders can take on everyone from startups with three months in business to established small businesses. Most online lenders set the standard to at least six months or a year in business, and traditional lenders can require two years or more.

Plus, you don’t need stellar credit to qualify. 1West small business loans include options for many credit levels, including bad credit, starting with a minimum personal credit score of 500. That score drops much lower than the typical credit score of 600 or higher required by online lenders.

Who 1West Finance may not be best for

Applying through 1West Finance may not be the best choice if you’re expecting the fastest turnaround time. Most business loans offered through the platform can take several weeks until you see funding, including for equipment, real estate, SBA and accounts receivable financing.

But getting funding quickly isn’t impossible through this marketplace — you just have to keep a close eye on the type of loan. You can get a working capital loan or line of credit within 48 hours of approval. 

1West Finance: in the details

1West Finance pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    Wide network of 50+ lenders

  • Checkmark Icon

    Low starting interest rates

  • Checkmark Icon

    Friendly to startups

  • Checkmark Icon

    Accepts bad credit and minimal income

Cons

  • Loans may take weeks to fund

  • Must create a 1West account

Business loan types offered

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $5,000 to $1 million
  • Terms: 2 to 24 months
  • APR: from 18.00%

1West Finance working capital loan overview

A working capital loan is a short-term loan that provides financing to cover small purchases or day-to-day operational expenses when cash flow tightens. 1West’s 24-month maximum is slightly longer than many online lenders that only offer repayment terms of up to 18 months or less.

Its interest rates are also standard for online lending. You can find lower rates, such as 7 percent, if you have strong credit, especially if you look for term loans through a bank

With 1West, you can qualify with as little as three months in business and $10,000 in gross monthly sales. The repayment schedule is a bit aggressive with daily or weekly payments. But you won’t be required to secure the loan with collateral.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $5,000 to $500,000
  • Terms: 3 to 24 months
  • APR: from 6.00%

1West Financial business line of credit overview

A business line of credit works great as a recurring loan that you can pull from whenever you need funds. Lines of credit tend to have lower borrowing amounts than other business loans. The lower limits are true of 1West Finance lenders, though some online lenders stop even shorter than $500,000. 

Startups can apply for a line of credit with just three months in business and $10,000 in gross monthly sales. These relaxed eligibility requirements make this loan more accessible than some of 1West’s other options.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $10,000 to $5 million
  • Terms: 5 to 60 months
  • APR: from 7.00%

1West Finance equipment loan overview

Whether you’re looking to buy or lease, 1West Finance can help you finance equipment up to a hefty $5 million price tag. Equipment loans use the equipment being financed as built-in collateral. Because this type of loan is less risky, some lenders can fund higher amounts. But 1West’s maximum loan sizes are unusually high — most online lenders fund up to $500,000 or less for equipment loans. 

You will need a personal credit score of at least 550, which is slightly higher than other 1West loans. You also need a minimum of one year’s experience under your belt and $10,000 in gross monthly sales before you can apply.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $30,000 to $5 million
  • Terms: 10 to 25 years
  • Interest rates: 5.75% to 15.00%

1West Finance SBA loan overview

1West Finance helps you do the legwork of finding an SBA loan while comparing the best terms and rates that match your credentials. Researching SBA lenders on your own can be a time-consuming task since not every lender offers this business loan. 

To qualify, you’ll need a personal credit score of at least 650 and three years in business. 1West doesn’t specify how much revenue you need, but many SBA lenders require a steady income of $200,000 or higher. You’ll also need collateral for SBA loans above $350,000. 

Expect the approval process to take at least a month from beginning to end. But SBA loans can take up to 90 days to fully approve.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $100,000 to $20 million
  • Terms: 6 to 60 months
  • APR: from 6.00%

1West Financial real estate financing overview

A commercial real estate loan (CRE) is essentially a mortgage for business property. CRE loans offer high-dollar loan amounts to help qualified businesses invest significantly in property, especially for real estate that will directly turn a profit, like rental property. CRE loans through 1West offer typical repayment terms and interest rates. 

1West lenders don’t require a set minimum amount of revenue. But you will have to show at least two years of business tax returns. The funding process can take up to three weeks for final approval.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $10,000 to $10 million
  • Terms: 30- to 120-day invoice due dates
  • APR: from 5.00%

1West Finance accounts receivable financing overview

Accounts receivable financing bases your funding on a percentage of your unpaid invoices. You can receive up to $10 million if you have the outstanding invoices to support it. 1West Finance lenders accept invoices with payment dates anywhere from 30 to 120 days, whereas some lenders only go up to 90 days.

You also don’t need to meet a minimum credit or revenue requirement. 1West lenders only want to see that you have stable, growing revenue. But you’ll have to be patient about receiving funds since it can take up to two weeks to get approved.

Do you qualify? 

Business lenders in 1West Finance’s network keep lending criteria lenient and welcoming to startups and bad credit borrowers. Ultimately, the loan requirements depend on the loan and lender, but at a minimum, you need:

  • 500 minimum personal credit score
  • At least 3 months in business
  • $0 to $10,000 in monthly revenue, depending on the loan

What we like and what we don’t like

This loan marketplace caters to startups and bad credit businesses with lenient criteria to apply. But established businesses can find options to finance a business venture costing millions of dollars. 

You will need to consider funding timelines, though, since some loans take several weeks to get fully approved. Let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of 1West Finance in detail.

What we like

  • Wide partner network. 1West works with over 50 lenders to compare options and loan features suitable to your business.
  • Low starting interest rates. If you have strong credit, you could score interest rates as low as 5 percent. But the exact interest rate depends on the loan. 
  • Friendly to startups. Some loans accept businesses with just three months’ experience, a shorter timeframe than many online lenders and marketplaces.
  • Accepts bad credit and minimal income. 1West lenders approve borrowers with credit scores as low as 500. The loans offered either don’t consider revenue or require a low $10,000 in monthly sales.   

What we don’t like

  • Some loans take weeks to fund. It’s possible to get working capital loans or lines of credit within 48 hours, but all other loans take one to four weeks to approve.
  • Must create a 1West account. You’ll need to first create an account with 1West Finance before getting matched with business lenders. 

How 1West Finance compares to other lenders

1West Finance offers a suite of business loans through a wide network of over 50 partner lenders. But other lenders or marketplaces may offer more accessible loan amounts or longer repayment terms. Let’s see what similar lenders offer for small business loans.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
4.5

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    $5,000-$20 million

  • Interest rate

    5.00% APR

  • Term lengths

    2 months-25 years

  • Min. time in business

    3 months

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $120,000; N/A for real estate loans

Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
4.7

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    $5,000-$10 million

  • Interest rate

    0.75% Monthly rate | 5.00% to 18% Simple interest

  • Term lengths

    1-10 years

  • Min. time in business

    6 months

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $100,000

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    $10,000-$10 million

  • Interest rate

    5.00%-60.00% APR

  • Term lengths

    6 months-10 years

  • Min. time in business

    1 year

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $500,000

Read our review

on Bankrate

1West Finance vs. Fundible

Fundible isn’t exactly a loan marketplace like 1West, but it does use partner lenders when you don’t qualify for its in-house financing. Both 1West and Fundible offer similar business loans with some notable differences. Fundible tends to offer longer repayment terms. 

For example, Fundible’s term loans go from one to five years, while 1West’s lenders stick with terms of six to 24 months. Fundible’s line of credit offers terms up to 10 years, but a credit line with 1West stops at two years. 

With either 1West or Fundible, you can get approved for a loan by meeting unusually low criteria. 1West lenders accept a personal credit score of 500 and either bypass revenue or look for a minimal $10,000 in monthly sales. 

Fundible can approve scores down to 450, though loan options might be limited. At a minimum, you need $96,000 in annual revenue, similar to 1West, but a spokesperson stated that you’re most likely to get approved with $450,000.

1West Finance vs. National Business Capital

Both 1West Finance and National Business Capital are lending marketplaces with expansive networks. But National Business Capital compares over 75 lenders versus 1West Finance’s 50 partners. Both marketplaces offer a similar business loan selection, though 1West adds real estate financing that NBC doesn’t offer. 

1West Finance business loans have a wider range of loan sizes. For example, term loans through NBC go from $10,000 to $10 million, and lines of credit offer $25,000 to $5 million. With 1West, you can get term loans (working capital loans) from $5,000 to $1 million, and lines of credit from $5,000 to $500,000.

Both marketplaces also offer loan choices to startups with just a few months in business. 1West’s choices include working capital loans and lines of credit to these startups, and NBC offers equipment and revenue-based financing. 

Although both brands can approve bad credit business loans, 1West Finance provides five loan options to subprime credit borrowers versus NBC’s three. Both approve personal credit scores in the 500 range or don’t require a minimum credit score, as is the case with some NBC loans. 1West’s options include everything from working capital loans to lines of credit to real estate, equipment and accounts receivable financing. For NBC, bad credit borrowers can get term loans, equipment loans and revenue-based financing.

How to apply for a loan with 1West Finance

You can apply online for a 1West Finance small business loan. You will need to create a 1West account to get matched with loan offers. 

Each loan requires different documentation, which may include:

Required application information

  • At least 3 months of business bank statements
  • Business bank account information
  • Personal financial statements
  • Report of accounts receivables
  • Business debt schedule
  • Profit and loss statement
  • Balance sheet 
  • Receipt or invoices for commercial equipment

1West Finance frequently asked questions

How Bankrate rates 1West Finance

Overall Score 4.5
Accessibility 5.0 Small businesses can apply through 1West Finance even with poor credit or little time in business.
Affordability 3.7 1West lenders offer low starting rates for most loans. But you might find better rates for a working capital loan if you have strong credit.
Transparency 4.5 Its website offers more information about the loans offered via its lending marketplace than many other lenders.
Customer experience 4.3 You can get prequalified online, but you need to create an online account first.
Flexibility 5.0 You can choose from a variety of business loans offering a healthy range of repayment terms.

Methodology

Clock Wait Icon
47
years in business
Credit Card Search Icon
30+
lenders reviewed
Loan Icon
22
loan features weighed
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770+
data points collected

To select the top small business lenders, Bankrate considers more than 20 factors. These factors include loan amounts, approval and funding times, credit requirements, APR or factor rate ranges, fees, and easy-to-find rate and fee disclosures. Bankrate reviewed more than 30 lenders and gave each a rating, which consists of five categories:

  • Accessibility: Factors considered in this category include minimum loan amounts, approval and funding speed, minimum annual revenue and minimum credit score.
  • Affordability: This section measures interest or factor rates and fees.
  • Transparency: How easy it is to find important rates, fees and eligibility requirements are considered in this category.
  • Customer experience: Customer service hours, online applications and app availability are considered in this category.
  • Flexibility: This category considers factors like the number of loan products and ability to change payment due date.

Editorial disclosure: All reviews are prepared by Bankrate.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the lender’s website for the most current information.