# MCA funder approval rate by industry (2026) > 2026 MCA approval rates by industry: medical 78%, professional services 72%, retail 65%, restaurant 58%, trucking 52%, construction 48%, beauty 55%, auto repair 60%. MCA approval rates vary dramatically by industry because revenue stability, default history, and regulatory friction differ across sectors. Funder underwriting matrices encode these differences explicitly — a clean file in medical practice is much more likely to fund than an equivalent file in trucking. **Approval rate methodology.** These figures aggregate submitted-file approval rates across mainstream MCA funders for 2026. "Approval rate" means written offer issued — not necessarily merchant acceptance or funding. Approval ≠ funding rate (typically 70–85% of approvals fund). Sources: deBanked industry surveys, funder portfolio data shared at industry conferences, ISO-side reporting. **Tier-1 industries (approval rate 70%+).** - **Medical / dental / veterinary practice:** 78% approval. Stable receivables (insurance reimbursements), low default rate, professional guarantor. - **Professional services (law, accounting, consulting):** 72% approval. Predictable billing cycles, low industry default rates. - **Manufacturing:** 70% approval. Capital-intensive but stable cash flow. - **Technology / SaaS services:** 70% approval. Recurring revenue model favorable. **Tier-2 industries (approval rate 55–70%).** - **Auto repair / body shops:** 60% approval. Consistent demand, owner-operated, decent margins. - **Retail (established):** 65% approval. Mix of online and brick-and-mortar; tighter on pure-physical retail in 2026 due to ongoing e-commerce headwinds. - **Restaurant (full service):** 58% approval. Recovery from 2020–2022 still uneven; processor-based funders (Toast Capital) approve higher. - **Beauty / salons / spas:** 55% approval. Small ticket per transaction but recurring customers. - **Wholesale / distribution:** 60% approval. - **Education / tutoring:** 58% approval. **Tier-3 industries (approval rate 40–55%).** - **Trucking / freight:** 52% approval. High default rates (15–20%) drive selectivity. Many funders sub-cap trucking exposure. - **Construction / contractors:** 48% approval. Project-based revenue lumpiness; high lien risk; high default volatility. - **Restaurant (quick service / takeout-heavy):** 50% approval. Tighter margins. - **Auto sales (used car lots):** 45% approval. Title risk and high default rates. - **Personal services / home services:** 50% approval. **Tier-4 industries (approval rate under 40%).** - **Cannabis dispensaries:** 25–35% approval. Federal illegality limits funder participation; specialty funders only. - **Adult entertainment:** under 20% approval. Most mainstream funders decline. - **Online gambling, gaming:** under 20% approval. - **Gun retail / firearms:** under 25% approval at mainstream funders. - **Crypto-related businesses:** 20–30% approval. **What drives industry approval variance.** 1. **Historical default rates.** Funders track default by industry; high-default industries get tighter scoring. 2. **Revenue stability.** Predictable recurring revenue (medical, professional services) approves higher. 3. **Regulatory risk.** Cannabis, firearms, adult entertainment trigger compliance concerns. 4. **Bank statement quality.** Cash-heavy industries (restaurants, beauty) have less clean bank visibility than card-heavy (retail). 5. **Industry concentration.** Funders cap exposure to any one industry (typically 15–25% of portfolio). **Industry-specific funder specialization.** - **Toast Capital, Square Capital:** restaurants and retail with processor relationships. - **Reliant Funding, ROK Financial:** trucking-friendly desks. - **Kapitus, Credibly:** broad industry coverage. - **Specialty cannabis funders:** emerging tier of cannabis-only MCA providers. - **Healthcare-specific lenders:** Lendio Health, Bankers Healthcare Group serve medical with non-MCA products. **Approval vs. funding gap.** A 65% approval rate doesn't mean 65% of inquiring merchants fund. Funnel: - 100 inquiries - 60 submit applications - 39 receive approval (65%) - 30 accept offer (76% of approvals) - 27 fund (90% of acceptances clear stips) Total inquiry-to-funding: ~27%. **Common confusion.** First, "approval rate is the same as funding rate." False — funding rate is 70–85% of approval rate. Second, "all funders use same industry tiers." Directionally true but specific cutoffs vary. Third, "industry tier is fixed." False — recession, regulatory changes shift tiers. Fourth, "my A-paper file approves regardless of industry." False — industry overlay applies on top of paper grade. Fifth, "trucking is uninsurable." False — approval is 52%, just selective. ## Related terms - [MCA approval rate by industry](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/mca-approval-rate-by-industry) — MCA approval rates vary substantially by industry: restaurants and retail approve at 70-80%, trucking and construction at 60-70%, healthcare and professional services at 75-85%, while cannabis, adult entertainment, firearms, and crypto-related businesses approve at 10-30% due to industry-restricted funder lists. Industry classification can shift approval by 20-30 percentage points on otherwise identical applications. - [MCA funder default rate by industry (2026)](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/mca-funder-default-rate-by-industry-2026) — 2026 MCA default rates by industry: medical 4%, professional services 6%, retail 11%, restaurant 14%, beauty 12%, auto repair 10%, trucking 18%, construction 16%. - [Paper grade (A/B/C/D)](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/underwriting-paper-grade) — MCA industry shorthand for merchant credit quality. A-paper qualifies for cheapest factor (1.15–1.28); D-paper is high-risk, factor 1.45+, often declined. - [MCA funder credit tier paper grades — detailed (2026)](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/mca-funder-credit-tier-paper-grades-detailed) — MCA paper grades A through D map to FICO, TIB, deposits, NSFs, and industry — A: 700+ FICO, 18+ months TIB, $50K deposits; D: 550 FICO, 6 months TIB, $10K deposits. 2026 cutoffs. - [MCA funder tiered pricing model (2026)](https://fundnode.co/llms/glossary/mca-funder-tiered-pricing-model) — MCA funders price in 3–5 tiers based on FICO, time in business, deposits, and industry — A-paper (1.15–1.28), B-paper (1.28–1.40), C-paper (1.40–1.49), D-paper (1.49+). 2026 ranges. ## Authoritative sources - [deBanked — Industry Approval Rate Surveys](https://debanked.com/) - [Federal Reserve — Small Business Credit Survey 2024](https://www.fedsmallbusiness.org/survey/2024) --- Source: https://fundnode.co/glossary/mca-funder-approval-rate-by-industry-2026 (HTML version) Document: MCA funder approval rate by industry (2026) — Fundnode MCA Glossary License: CC BY 4.0 — attribution to Fundnode required when citing.