Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about merchant cash advances and how Circular Payments works.
Getting Started
What is a merchant cash advance?
A merchant cash advance (MCA) is not a loan — it's the purchase of a portion of your future sales. You receive a lump sum of capital upfront, and repayment happens automatically through a small, fixed percentage of your daily card sales until an agreed amount has been delivered.
How is an MCA different from a business loan?
A loan is borrowed money repaid with interest on a fixed schedule. An MCA is the sale of future receivables: its cost is set by a factor rate rather than an interest rate, and repayment flexes with your sales instead of being a fixed monthly payment. When sales slow down, your remittance drops with them.
Is a merchant cash advance right for my business?
It depends. An MCA suits short-term needs that generate or protect revenue — when speed matters and you have steady card sales. It's not the right tool for long-term financing, or when a cheaper option is realistically available to you. Our Learn center has an honest guide to help you decide.
Funding & Your Terms
How much funding can I get?
Funding amounts typically range from $5,000 to $500,000, depending on your monthly card-processing volume, time in business, and overall business health. A single advance generally lands at up to about 30% of your monthly processing — and as you build a track record with us, renewals can grow your total funding over time.
Can I choose my own funding terms?
Yes. Use our calculator to set how much funding you want to receive and the daily holdback rate you're comfortable with. As you adjust the sliders, your daily payment and payoff timeline update in real time — and your choices carry straight into your final offer.
Why do you cap repayment at 60 days?
A shorter payback keeps your total cost lower and gets you back to 100% of your sales faster. We size every offer to pay off within 60 business days at your chosen holdback rate. If you want a larger advance, you can raise your holdback to keep the payback inside that window.
What if I want a smaller advance?
Slide the funding amount down — the daily holdback drops with it. You're never required to take the maximum we offer, and many merchants prefer a smaller, faster-paying advance to test the relationship before scaling up.
Can I get more funding later?
Yes. Once you've paid down a meaningful portion of your advance, you can apply for a renewal. As you build a repayment track record with us, the funding available to you can grow over time.
What can I use the funds for?
However your business needs — inventory, equipment, payroll, marketing, renovations, covering a slow season, or seizing a time-sensitive opportunity. The funds are working capital, and you decide how to put them to work.
Repayment
How does repayment work?
Repayment is automatic and based on a fixed percentage of your daily card sales — the holdback. You pay more on strong sales days and less on slow ones, so repayment moves with your cash flow rather than against it.
What is the holdback rate?
The holdback (sometimes called the retrieval rate) is the percentage of your daily card sales that goes toward repaying your advance. You choose it with our calculator — a higher rate pays the advance off faster, a lower rate keeps more cash in your business day to day.
What happens if my sales slow down?
Because repayment is a percentage of sales, your remittance automatically drops on slower days. You're never locked into a fixed payment that ignores how business is actually going.
Can I pay off my advance early?
Yes — you can settle your remaining balance at any time. Reach out through your merchant portal or to our team to get your current payoff figure.
Eligibility & Applying
What are the requirements?
The main requirements are processing at least $10,000 per month in card transactions and having been in business for at least 3 months. We do not require a minimum credit score or any collateral.
Does my personal credit score affect qualification?
Qualification is primarily driven by your business's monthly card processing volume. Personal credit is one of several signals we may review during underwriting, but it is not the primary qualifier. Each application is evaluated individually based on business performance.
Will this affect my credit score?
No. We don't perform hard credit pulls during the application process, and merchant cash advances aren't reported to the credit bureaus. Your personal and business credit scores are not affected.
Do I need collateral?
No. Your future card receivables support the advance, so there's no need to pledge personal or business assets.
How fast can I get funded?
Most applications are reviewed within hours, and funds are typically deposited within 24 hours of approval. In some cases, same-day funding is available.
What documents do I need to apply?
Usually just a few months of recent business bank statements, your card-processing statements if you have them, basic business details, and a voided check or bank account details for the deposit. The application itself is short.
How do I apply?
Start the short online application from any page on this site, or give us a call. Most of what we need can be verified quickly, and you'll see your offer — with the full cost — before you commit to anything.
Your Account & Tools
How do I track my application and advance?
Your merchant portal is your home base. From there you can check your application status, monitor your advance as it's repaid, and request a renewal when you're ready for more funding.
What is Cirra, your AI assistant?
Cirra is the AI assistant available on every page of our site. Ask it anything — how merchant cash advances work, what you might qualify for, or where your application stands — and get a clear answer right away. For anything that needs a human, our team is a phone call away.
Why do you ask me to connect my bank account?
Connecting your business bank account lets us verify your revenue quickly and securely, which speeds up your offer. The connection is read-only — it's used to review your cash flow, never to move money.
Security & Trust
Is Circular Payments a legitimate funder?
Yes. Circular Payments provides merchant cash advances to small businesses across the United States. We show your full cost before you commit, size every advance to a clear payoff window, and never run a hard credit check — transparency is built into how we work.
Is my information secure?
Yes. We use bank-level encryption to protect your data, connect to your bank through a secure read-only integration, and never sell your personal information.
Still have questions?
Ask Cirra, our AI assistant, anytime — or apply now and see your offer with the full cost laid out, no obligation.