Most recently before joining Bankrate, Robert worked as an editor and writer at The Ascent by The Motley Fool, covering a number of personal finance topics, including credit cards, mortgages and loans.
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Through direct lending or partnering with other lenders, Credibly offers small business loans to businesses with a minimum annual revenue of $180,000. Loan options include working capital, business lines of credit and merchant cash advances.
Lender Details
Loan amount
$5,000-$10 million
Interest rate
1.11 Factor rate
Term lengths
3 months-10 years
Min. annual revenue
$180,000
Min. time in business
6 months
Who Credibly is best for
Credibly business loans are best for businesses that need fast, short-term funding and relaxed business loan requirements. Unlike traditional banks and credit unions, Credibly provides business loans to business owners with poor credit and a minimum amount of time in business. It may be possible to secure a loan with a credit score of 550 or higher and only six months in business.
Who Credibly may not be best for
Credibly does not offer loans to brand new startups. If you don't have at least six months' time in business, you'll need to look for a different startup lender. Plus, this lender states on its website that business owners need an annual revenue of $180,000 to qualify.
But a spokesperson told us it's $300,000. That comes out to a minimum of $25,000 deposited monthly in a business bank account. If you don't have a business bank account or don't show an average minimum monthly deposit of $25,000 when Credibly reviews your bank statements, you'll likely be denied and need to look elsewhere.
While Credibly’s loans could be a good fit for business owners looking for bad credit business loans, its rates may not be low enough for well-qualified borrowers who might find lower rates elsewhere.
Credibly: in the details
Loan amount
$5,000-$10 million
Interest rate
1.11 Factor rate
Term lengths
3 months-10 years
Fastest funding
1 business day
Min. annual revenue
$180,000
Min. time in business
6 months
Personal credit score
550
Credibly pros and cons
Pros
Fast funding
Relaxed credit requirements
Variety of loan options
Cons
Potential fees
Potentially high revenue requirement
Potentially high factor rates
Business loan types offered
Credibly offers many types of business loans. You can choose from traditional options like unsecured business lines of credit and alternative lending options like merchant cash advances and more.
Working capital
Merchant cash advances
Business line of credit
Long term loans
Equipment financing
Invoice factoring
SBA loans
Loan quick facts
Amounts: $25,100 to $400,000
Terms: 6 to 15 months
Factor rate: Starting at 1.11
Credibly working capital loan overview
Credibly is a direct lender of working capital loans. These are short-term loans with shorter repayment periods than other lenders. This is helpful if you want to save on the total cost of the loan, but only if you are able to pay your loan back quickly. For short-term loans with repayment periods of two years or longer, you'll need to shop around.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: $5,000 to $400,000
Terms: 3 to 15 months
Factor rate: Starting at 1.11
Credibly merchant cash advance overview
Credibly is also a direct lender of merchant cash advances. With this option, you can borrow against your future credit and debit card sales. Then you repay the amount borrowed along with fees and factor rates. This is one of the most accessible forms of business financing available to business owners. But it can also be one of the most expensive, especially if you don't qualify for the lowest possible rate.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: Up to $300,000
Terms: Up to 24 months
Factor rate: Not disclosed
Credibly business line of credit overview
Credibly offers secured and unsecured business lines of credit through its partner lenders. You can borrow up to $300,000 as needed. To qualify, you’ll need at least a 650 personal credit score, which is slightly higher than other types of loans offered by Credibly.
Credibly doesn’t show its interest rates or repayment terms on its website, which can make it harder for you to quickly compare rates with lenders.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: $50,000 to $10 million
Terms: Up to 10 years
Interest rate: 7.00% to 20.00% APR
Credibly long-term loans overview
Long-term loans are offered through Credibly lending partners with terms as high as 10 years. It also offers loan amounts up to $10 million. It’s unusual to find long-term loans through an online lender, and many online lenders stop loans at $500,000. You’ll need a FICO score of at least 700 to qualify for this loan.
You may be charged fees of 3 percent to 8 percent of the loan amount. Loan speeds are also slow, with funding timelines ranging from one to six months.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: $10,000 to $10 million
Terms: Not disclosed
Factor rate: Starting at 1.09
Credibly equipment financing overview
Credibly offers equipment financing with high loan amounts. While most lenders stop financing at $500,000, Credibly equipment loans offer a broad range for as little as $10,000 or as much as $10 million. You can finance anything from construction equipment to commercial kitchen appliances.
Although its website states a benefit of an equipment loan is that it "doesn’t require a minimum credit score or annual revenue to qualify," a spokesperson stated you'll need a minimum credit score of 550 to qualify.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: Up to $400,000
Terms: Not disclosed
Factor rate: Starting at 1.11
Credibly invoice factoring overview
Invoice factoring involves selling your invoices to a factoring company in exchange for an advance on your invoices. The factoring company generally gives you up to 90 percent of the total invoices and releases the rest of the funds, minus factoring fees, once the invoices have been paid. Although factoring rates may be expensive, invoice factoring could be a solid option if your business needs cash fast to cover short-term needs.
Loan quick facts
Amounts: Up to $5.5 million
Terms: Not disclosed
APR: 11.50% to 16.50%
Credibly SBA loans overview
You can apply for SBA loans through Credibly’s lending partners to cover day-to-day working capital expenses, equipment purchases, real estate purchases or renovations. To qualify for an SBA loan through Credibly, you need at least a 620 credit score, two years in business and at least $100,000 in annual revenue. That credit and revenue requirement is lower than most SBA lenders set their minimums.
Do you qualify?
Eligibility requirements for Credibly business loans vary by loan product. You may qualify for a business loan with Credibly if you meet these minimum requirements.
Credibly notes that not all business loan products are available in all states.
What we like and what we don’t like
While Credibly offers accessible and fast business loans, it has a few drawbacks worth considering. Make sure you compare an offer from Credibly with other lenders before making a final decision.
What we like
Fast funding. Credibly states approval can be in as little as four hours with same-day funding also an option.
Relaxed credit requirements. Credibly’s loan products are accessible to business owners with poor personal credit scores as low as 550, though it can vary with some loan products.
Variety of loan products. From SBA loans to merchant cash advances, Credibly offers a range of loans to satisfy the needs of many small business owners.
What we don't like
Potential fees. Depending on the loan, you may have to deal with origination, administrative or underwriting fees, which increase your borrowing costs.
Potentially high annual or monthly revenue requirement. Credibly's website states its minimum annual revenue is $180,000, but a spokesperson stated it's at least $300,000 in annual revenue or $25,000 in average deposits for the past three months to qualify.
High factor rates. Factor rates can add significant borrowing costs to your loan. For example, a $100,000 loan with a low factor rate of 1.09 will cost at least $109,000, but a factor rate of 1.50 would increase that same loan to $150,000. And that doesn’t include additional fees.
How Credibly compares to other lenders
Credibly is known for providing fast and flexible financing solutions for small businesses looking for $5,000 to $400,000 in capital. If you get a long-term loan through Credibly’s partners, you can get funding up to $10 million.
With its lenient lending requirements and streamlined application process, Credibly has become a reliable choice for entrepreneurs looking for accessible funding options to support their business growth. But it may not be the perfect fit for all businesses.
Credibly and Fora Financial are both suitable for borrowers with poor credit and short-term financing needs.
Credibly offers more types of business loans, including working capital loans, merchant cash advances, business lines of credit and invoice factoring up to $400,000. Its partners’ long-term loans offer funding up to $10 million.
But Fora Financial offers small business loans and revenue advances up to $1.5 million. So Fora may be preferable for those requiring a larger capital infusion.
For the credit score and annual revenue requirements, there are other differences to consider. Credibly's credit score requirement is 550, and Fora's is 500. And the minimum monthly revenue for Credibly is $25,000 compared to Fora's much lower $144,000 annually ($12,000 monthly), according to a Fora Financial spokesperson. Plus, Fora has a maximum term of 16 months. Meanwhile, Credibly gives borrowers 15 to 24 months to repay their loans unless you get a long-term loan which can go up to 10 years.
Credibly and SMB Compass offer a variety of business financing options that would be a good fit for businesses with a need for significant capital.
Businesses can choose between invoice factoring, working capital loans, business line of credit and merchant cash advances between $5,000 and $400,000 with Credibly, and long-term loans through Credibly go up to $10 million.
SMB Compass offers nine types of loans, including term loans, business lines of credit, equipment financing, invoice factoring and bridge loans, ranging from $10,000 to $10 million. All nine of SMB Compass’s loans offer loan amounts in the millions of dollars compared to Credibly’s one long-term loan that offers loans that high.
Credibly only requires a personal credit score of 550, and SMB Compass requires a 600 personal credit score or higher for its loans. So businesses with bad credit could get approved for financing with either option. But SMB Compass better aligns with businesses with good credit and long-term financing needs since it offers low interest rates that start at 5.25 percent annual percentage rate (APR) and repayment terms that go up to 25 years.
How to apply for a loan with Credibly
For a Credibly loan, you can submit a quick online application to prequalify. This involves a soft credit pull, which doesn’t impact your credit. After you prequalify, you can compare the terms with other lenders. If you like Credibly’s offer, funds could be deposited in as little as a day into your business bank account. Before applying, make sure you have the following information available:
Last three months of business banking statements
Recent tax returns for loans higher than $100,000
Copy of driver's license or government-issued ID for all business owners
Federal Tax ID number (FEIN)
NAICS or SIC code
Credibly frequently asked questions
Approval can be in as little as four hours but could take longer. Once a borrower is approved, they generally receive their funds the next business day, according to its website.
Credibly states it looks at business and personal FICO credit scores to determine loan amounts and interest rates.
Credibly doesn't issue SBA loans directly. But it does offer SBA loans through its partner lenders. To qualify for one, you need at least a 620 credit score, two years in business and $100,000 in annual revenue.
Most of Credibly’s business loan requirements are more relaxed than many lenders, especially compared to traditional banks and credit unions. Depending on the loan, you may be able to qualify with a personal credit score of over 550 and only six months of time in business. But you will also need a minimum annual revenue of $300,000, and that revenue must be deposited in a business bank account instead of a personal account.
How Bankrate rates Credibly
Overall Score
4.6
Accessibility
4.8
Credibly offers loans and fast funding to a wide range of borrowers.
Affordability
4.4
Credibly’s wide range of loans include SBA loans, which typically have affordable rates.
Transparency
5.0
You’ll find plenty of loan details on Credibly’s website.
Customer experience
4.3
Credibly offers a fast online application and online account management.
Flexibility
4.6
Credibly’s wide range of loan products can meet the needs of many small business owners.
Methodology
47
years in business
30+
lenders reviewed
22
loan features weighed
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.
