Rapid Finance: Speedy Loans, Poor Customer Service
Rapid Finance is an online lender that provides multiple financing options for established small-business owners who can’t qualify for bank loans.
The bottom line:
Rapid Finance offers funding for established small businesses. Its streamlined application process can lead to fast funding. But if you have questions before applying, you’ll find it impossible to reach customer support.
Loan details
Min. Loan Amount
$5,001
Min. Term Length
3 months
Max Loan Amount
$1,000,000
Max Term Length
5 years
Qualifications
Min. credit score
650
Min. Time in Business
3 years
Min. Annual Revenue
$120,000
Pros & Cons
Pros
Wide variety of business financing options available.
Potential to receive funding within 24 hours.
Simple application process.
No prepayment penalties.
Cons
Website provides limited information on eligibility and loan terms.
Customer service is impossible to reach, in NerdWallet’s experience.
Automatic payments may impact cash flow.
Long time-in-business requirements.
Compare to other loans
4.9
NerdWallet rating
4.7
NerdWallet rating
Min. credit score
650
Min. credit score
600
Min. credit score
625
Min. credit score
570
Min. Time in Business
3 years
Min. Time in Business
3 months
Min. Time in Business
12 months
Min. Time in Business
6 months
Need more options? Check our picks for best small business loans of 2026
Rapid Finance is an online lender that offers small-business loans to established entrepreneurs in need of fast financing. Founded in 2005, Rapid Finance stands out for its streamlined application process and ability to fund quickly. But its customer service is unreachable, in NerdWallet’s experience, and the company has high time-in-business requirements.
While Rapid Finance offers other types of business loans, this review focuses on its business term loan, line of credit and merchant cash advance (MCA).
Is Rapid Finance right for you?
| Consider Rapid Finance if you: | Skip Rapid Finance if you: |
|---|---|
| Need fast funding. | Don’t want payment automatically withdrawn from your business bank account. |
| Prefer to build a relationship with a single lender. | Are just starting up your business. |
| Have an established business but can’t qualify for bank financing. | Have strong qualifications all around. (Try for a bank loan or SBA loan instead.) |
How much do you need?
We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.
Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.
Rapid Finance loan details
Here’s what you can expect from Rapid Finance’s term loan, line of credit and merchant cash advance.
Rapid Finance term loan
| Loan amount | $5,001 to $1 million. |
| Estimated APR | Not disclosed. |
| Fees | No prepayment penalty. |
| Terms | 3 to 60 months. |
| Repayment schedule | Daily, weekly or monthly. |
| Funding speed | As fast as 24 hours. |
| Minimum requirements | |
| Credit score | 650. |
| Time in business | 36 months. |
| Annual revenue | 120,000. |
Rapid Finance line of credit
| Loan amount | $5,001 to $250,000. |
| Estimated APR | Not disclosed. |
| Fees |
|
| Terms | 3 to 18 months. |
| Repayment schedule | Daily, weekly or monthly. |
| Funding speed | As fast as 24 hours. |
| Minimum requirements | |
| Credit score | 620. |
| Time in business | 24 months. |
| Annual revenue | 150,000. |
Rapid Finance merchant cash advance
| Advance amount | $5,000 to $500,000. |
| Estimated factor rate | 1.12 to 1.50. |
| Fees | No prepayment penalty. |
| Terms | On average, borrowers repay their advances in 3 to 18 months. |
| Repayment schedule | Daily or weekly. |
| Funding speed | As fast as 24 hours. |
| Minimum requirements | |
| Credit score | 600. |
| Time in business | 36 months. |
| Annual revenue | 120,000. |
Rapid Finance’s loan application process
This Writer's Take
I'm Karrin Sehmbi, editor and content strategist for small business at NerdWallet. I tested Rapid Finance’s pre-application flow, and here's what I learned.
Fast facts
- Time to complete: 12 minutes.
- Total clicks: 7.
- Number of follow-up emails: 11.
What impressed me
The online application has a clean, easy-to-navigate interface. The sidebar offers clear, concise explanations for why Rapid Finance needs the information it solicits on each screen. I was especially grateful for the clarification this sidebar offered on the personal information page. It informed me that the lender performs only a soft credit pull at this stage, which doesn’t impact a credit score.
The application software was also surprisingly intuitive. It correctly identified and auto-filled my business industry and category based solely on my business name!
About two-thirds of the way through the application, I accidentally closed out the window. I was momentarily annoyed with myself, figuring I’d have to start it all over again. However, I received an email one minute later reminding me to finish applying. It conveniently included a link back to my application with all of the information I’d previously filled still there. Phew!
What annoyed me
The first screen of the application informs you that by clicking the button to move to the next page, you’re granting the lender and any of its third-party funding providers the right to contact you by email or phone, even if you’re on a Do Not Call Registry. This is not the first time I’ve seen this fineprint footnote on a lender application (looking at you, Balboa Capital), though I will say it’s not something I encounter on a majority of lender sites. I find it sneaky. This essentially forces you to opt-in to spam communications in order to enter the app flow.
One other annoyance I’d mention is that I have received a total of 11 emails since starting the application. There were six in the first 24 hours, and I’ve received one to two each day since. While I appreciate and expect a couple of nudges to complete the application process, six emails in a day borders on aggressive in my book.
Questions to be prepared for
Many of the pre-application questions are standard, but a couple of them stood out at this early application stage:
- What percentage of the business do you own?
- Are you currently repaying any non-bank lender?
Where Rapid Finance stands out
Streamlined application process
Rapid Finance requires minimum information to complete its online application. While you may have to provide additional information during underwriting, applicants typically receive a response within 24 hours of submission. This simplified application process can be particularly beneficial for small-business owners who need a fast business loan to manage an emergency or invest in a new growth opportunity.
Variety of funding options
Rapid Finance offers a variety of small-business financing products — something not every lender does. Rapid Finance’s offerings include:
This comprehensive offering may be beneficial for small-business owners who prefer to work with a single lender for current and future financing needs.
Where Rapid Finance falls short
Elusive customer support
While Rapid Finance provides several phone numbers and email contacts on its website, actual support is unavailable if you’re not already a customer. Despite more than a dozen outreach attempts between 2025 and 2026, NerdWallet was unable to reach customer support. Emails received no response, and phone calls were directed to voicemail without follow-up. While your experience may be different once Rapid approves you for a loan, this total lack of response upfront may be a red flag for prospective borrowers.
Won’t finance startups or newer businesses
Rapid Finance has stricter time-in-business requirements than many other online lenders. Its term loan and MCA require at least 36 months in business, while its line of credit requires a minimum of 24 months.
In contrast, lenders like National Funding and OnDeck offer term loans to businesses with as little as 12 months or less of operating history.
Are you just starting your business journey? Check out our list of the best startup business loans.
Automatic payments from business accounts
Rapid Finance’s term loan, line of credit and MCA all require automatic repayments, which means the payment amount will automatically be withdrawn from your business bank account. While this may be convenient for some borrowers, other borrowers may prefer to have control over when payments are made, especially if they have inconsistent cash flow. If there’s not enough cash in the account when the payment is taken, a borrower might have to pay overdraft fees, which can add up quickly.
Website lacks transparency
Although the website includes dedicated pages for each financing option, Rapid Finance provides minimal information about borrowing costs and eligibility requirements. This lack of detail makes it tricky for small-business owners to compare offers or determine whether they’re likely to qualify before applying.
Alternatives to Rapid Finance
Fora Financial
Fora Financial
Fora Financial - Online term loan
NerdWallet Rating
4.7
Min Credit
570
Apply now with NerdWallet Small Business
Consider Fora Financial over Rapid Finance if you:
- Don’t meet Rapid’s time in business requirement.
- Have a credit score that’s lower than Rapid’s minimum requirement.
Fora Financial offers a more accessible term loan option for newer businesses and bad-credit borrowers. Applicants may qualify with a credit score as low as 570 and just 6 months in business. In contrast, Rapid Finance requires a credit score of at least 650 and 36 months in business. However, Fora Financial’s minimum annual revenue of $240,000 is twice as high as Rapid’s, and Fora offers much shorter maximum loan terms (24 months versus 60 months).
Headway Capital
Headway Capital
Headway Capital - Line of credit
NerdWallet Rating
4.8
Min Credit
625
with NerdWallet Small Business
Consider Headway Capital over Rapid Finance if you:
- Don’t generate enough revenue to make Rapid’s minimum requirement.
- Haven’t been in business for three years.
Headway Capital’s line of credit is a flexible alternative for newer businesses with modest funding needs. It requires only 6 months in business and $50,000 in annual revenue — less than Rapid Finance’s 24-month and $150,000 line of credit minimums. However, Headway Capital’s maximum credit limit caps at only $100,000, compared with Rapid Finance’s higher limit of $250,000.
Giggle Finance
Giggle Finance
Giggle Finance - Merchant cash advance
Min Credit
300
with NerdWallet Small Business
Consider Giggle Finance over Rapid Finance if you:
- Don’t have the time in business or credit score requirements to qualify with Rapid.
- Only need a small amount of financing.
Giggle Finance’s MCA may be a good fit for independent contractors or gig workers in need of quick access to $15,000 or less. Its MCA requires only 3 months in business. However, it charges a high origination fee and doesn’t accept businesses based in New York, California or Oregon.
Want more business loan options?
If you haven’t found the right fit for your business financing needs on this page, then check out our list of the best online business loans. From startup loans and fast funding to loans for bad-credit borrowers, our list helps you compare your options and choose the best one.
» MORE: Best online business loans
Frequently asked questions
Rapid Finance says it has issued over $3 billion in business financing. Since 2010, the lender has been accredited by the Better Business Bureau, where it has an A+ rating.
Rapid Finance requires businesses to be operational for at least three years to qualify for its term loan, which does not make it a startup business loan option. Its other loan options include asset-based loans, commercial real estate loans, bridge loans, invoice factoring and lines of credit, which may have varying time-in-business requirements. The company also offers merchant cash advances, which are one of the most expensive forms of financing. As a result, we recommend exhausting all other financing alternatives before turning to a merchant cash advance.