The specs
CrediblyFunding Circle
Product typeMulti-productTerm
Amount range$5K – $600K$25K – $500K
Cost (factor / APR)Factor 1.11+ (MCA); APR varies (term)APR 7.49 – 24.99% (fixed-rate, fully-amortizing term loans)
Speed to fundAs fast as 4 hoursFunding in 48 hours to 1 week after approval
Min time in business6 months24 months
Min monthly revenue$15,000$50,000+/yr business revenue (~$4,000/mo floor)
Min credit score550+660+
Products
- MCA
- Working capital LOC
- Short-term term loan
- Fixed-rate business term loans (3 – 7 years)
- SBA 7(a) loans via partner banks
Verdicts by use case
- A-paper established business ($250K+ at lowest non-SBA APR) — Winner: Funding Circle. As of 2026-06-28 Funding Circle's fixed-APR term loans (7.49 – 24.99% APR, 3 – 7 year amortization, no prepayment penalty) materially undercut any MCA factor on cost. For genuinely A-paper merchants — 660+ FICO, 2+ years TIB, $50K+/yr revenue — Funding Circle is one of the cheapest non-bank term products in the market. A $250K Funding Circle term at 12% APR over 5 years costs roughly $84K total interest. A $250K Credibly MCA at 1.22 factor costs $55K in 9 – 12 months — looks cheaper in dollars but the APR-equivalent is 50%+ and daily ACH burden is structurally harsher than monthly amortization. On a 5-year horizon Funding Circle's cost-of-capital advantage is decisive.
- Speed — capital needed within 48 hours — Winner: Credibly. Credibly's API V2 + Cloudsquare funds in as fast as 4 hours after document review. Funding Circle's underwriting takes 48 hours to 1 week — closer to bank-grade diligence than online-lender speed, requiring tax returns, business financial statements, debt schedule, and P&L review. For emergency capital Funding Circle is structurally the wrong product despite the better pricing.
- Sub-660 FICO or sub-24-month TIB merchant — Winner: Credibly. Funding Circle's 660+ FICO and 24+ months TIB floors decline most B/C-paper merchants and any business under two years old. Credibly's 550+ FICO and 6+ months TIB floor is much wider — for the majority of MCA-cascade files Credibly is in the consideration set where Funding Circle isn't. A 620-FICO contractor with 18 months in business can fund through Credibly while building toward Funding Circle qualification.
- Predictable monthly cash flow over a 3 – 7 year deployment horizon — Winner: Funding Circle. Funding Circle's fully-amortizing fixed-rate structure with monthly payments matches the cash-flow profile of an established business planning multi-year capital deployment (equipment, expansion, acquisition). Credibly's daily/weekly ACH debits and 6 – 18 month payback aren't structured for multi-year horizon planning — forcing a multi-year need into a Credibly MCA creates cash-flow strain that fully-amortizing term debt would have absorbed cleanly.
- SBA 7(a) pathway alongside conventional term lending — Winner: Funding Circle. Funding Circle now offers SBA 7(a) loans via partner banks alongside its conventional marketplace term products. For merchants who qualify for SBA pricing (Prime + spread, currently 11 – 13% APR), the SBA 7(a) is the cheapest non-bank capital available. Credibly does not originate SBA paper — for SBA-eligible merchants Funding Circle's product set is structurally broader.
The honest takeaway
Credibly and Funding Circle solve overlapping but distinct problems. The right choice depends on three things you already know about your business: how fast you need the money, how long you've been operating, and whether the capital need is one-time or recurring.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I apply to Funding Circle first if I'm A-paper?
- Yes, if you meet their floors (660+ FICO, 24+ months TIB, $50K+/yr revenue) and you can wait 48 hours to a week for underwriting. Funding Circle's fixed APR (7.49 – 24.99%) on a 3 – 7 year amortization undercuts any MCA factor by a large margin — on a $100K, 5-year amortization the cost differential vs a 1.30 MCA factor can exceed $40K. The catch is the underwriting bar: most MCA-cascade files don't clear Funding Circle's diligence. Apply to Funding Circle first; if declined, drop into the MCA cascade starting with Credibly.
- Does Funding Circle still operate in the US after their strategic update?
- Yes as of 2026-06-28 — Funding Circle continues to originate US small-business term loans through its US platform and partner banks. Strategic updates in recent years narrowed product focus and expanded the SBA 7(a) partnership pathway but did not exit the US market. Always confirm current US origination status on FundingCircle.com before applying, since marketplace lender business models are subject to capital-availability cycles.
- What's the realistic underwriting timeline for a Funding Circle term loan vs Credibly's MCA?
- Funding Circle: 48 hours to 1 week for approval and fund disbursement on a clean application — bank-grade documentation (tax returns, business financial statements, debt schedule, P&L). Credibly: under 4 hours on approved files via API V2 + Cloudsquare for MCA, slightly longer for term and LOC products with bank statements alone. If timing matters and you're A-paper, apply to both in parallel — accept whichever quotes cleanest pricing within your decision window. The Funding Circle pricing advantage is large enough that waiting a week is usually worth it on a planned capital deployment, but emergency cash needs are Credibly territory.