The specs
Toast CapitalClover Capital
Product typeMCAMCA
Amount range$5K – $300K$500 – $1M (varies by Clover volume)
Cost (factor / APR)Factor 1.13 – 1.36 (single fixed fee, no compounding)Single fixed fee (factor 1.12 – 1.30 typical); no APR / no compounding
Speed to fund1 – 3 business days after approval1 – 2 business days after acceptance
Min time in business6 months6 months
Min monthly revenueToast POS volume drives offers — typically $10,000+/mo processed~$5,000+ in Clover card sales typical floor
Min credit scoreNo FICO floor — underwrites against Toast POS historyNo FICO pull — underwrites against Clover POS history
Products
- Embedded restaurant working capital (Toast POS only)
- Embedded working capital (Clover merchants only)
Verdicts by use case
- Restaurant on Toast POS — Winner: Toast Capital. Toast Capital is embedded in the Toast POS dashboard and underwrites natively against Toast sales. Clover Capital underwrites against Clover POS — useless if you're on Toast.
- Restaurant on Clover POS — Winner: Clover Capital. Clover Capital is dominant in full-service restaurants and bars via Fiserv distribution. If you're on Clover, native integration with batch reporting wins over switching.
- Pricing transparency — Winner: Toast Capital. Toast publishes a single factor range (1.13 – 1.36) with one fixed fee, no compounding. Clover Capital routes through partner lenders so the exact fee depends on which capital partner Clover assigns you — less transparent.
- Largest possible advance — Winner: Clover Capital. Clover Capital scales to ~$1M via partner lender network. Toast Capital caps at $300K.
- Speed to fund — Winner: Clover Capital. Clover Capital funds in 1 – 2 business days. Toast Capital takes 1 – 3 business days. Both are fast but Clover edges on average.
The honest takeaway
Toast Capital and Clover Capital 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
- Can I switch from Toast to Clover (or vice versa) while I have an advance?
- No — both products require continued processing on the issuing platform. Switching POS terminates the advance: Toast triggers immediate payoff requirement; Clover Capital typically requires full payoff within 60 days.
- Which has lower effective cost?
- Toast if you qualify for the bottom of their factor range (1.13). Clover Capital's pricing varies by which partner lender funds your deal — get the exact fee in writing before accepting. The lack of a single Clover-published rate makes apples-to-apples comparison hard.
- Will either one pull my credit?
- Neither typically does a hard FICO pull. Both underwrite against your POS processing history on their respective platforms. This is one of the biggest advantages of embedded restaurant capital products vs traditional MCA shops.