| Takeaway | What It Means |
| 🔄 New Ownership | iBusiness Funding, a division of Ready Capital, acquired Funding Circle’s US business in a deal signed June 24, 2024, for roughly $41.8 million. US borrowing continues under the Funding Circle brand. |
| 💵 Current US Terms | Term loans run from $25,000 to as much as $500,000 over terms of six months to five years, with published APRs between 22.45% and 50.24% plus origination fees between 4.49% and 10.49%. |
| 🏛️ Online SBA Path | The SBA 7(a) route accepts credit scores from 640, well under the 690 and up that most bank SBA programs expect, which is the product’s standout feature. |
| 📊 High Qualification Bar | Approval requires a 660 personal score, 24 months in business, annual revenue of at least $50,000, collateral, and a personal guarantee. Newer businesses are screened out by design. |
| ⚠️ Dated Reviews Mislead | Reviews written before the sale still quote starting rates near 4.99%. Those describe the pre-sale product; the current US APR floor is 22.45%. |
| 🇬🇧 Separate UK Company | Funding Circle Holdings plc still operates in the United Kingdom with pound-denominated products like FlexiPay and a cashback business credit card. It no longer runs the US operation. |
| 🔁 If You’re Declined | Businesses under the 660-score or 24-month bar can pre-qualify across the UCS network of 80+ lenders through one application, with a 475+ credit floor on revenue-based products. |
United Capital Source, a full-service concierge business funding marketplace, examines what Funding Circle offers before and after its 2024 US sale.
| Signal | Detail |
| Credit floor | 660 for the standard loan; 640 for the SBA 7(a) path |
| Decision and funding speed | Decisions within 24 hours; funds typically within 2-4 business days of approval |
| Funding range | $25,000 minimum, $500,000 maximum (US) |
| Funding term | Six months to five years, repaid monthly |
| Starting rate | 22.45% APR floor, plus a 4.49%-10.49% origination fee; no prepayment penalties |
| Availability | Every US state except Vermont |
Search for a Funding Circle review today, and you will find two different companies wearing the same name. In 2024, the UK parent sold its entire US operation, and nearly every rate, fee, and requirement changed with it. Many small business owners comparing business loan options today are reading numbers that stopped being true two years ago. This review separates the eras so you can judge the product that actually exists.
Funding Circle launched in 2010 as an online platform that connects borrowers to investors, and it has facilitated funding for more than 135,000 businesses worldwide. Today, the name covers two things: Funding Circle Holdings plc, a London Stock Exchange group serving UK businesses, and a US brand operated by iBusiness Funding, a division of Ready Capital. The US side centers on term loans and an unusually accessible SBA 7(a) loan path. The UK side runs small business loans, asset finance, and a FlexiPay line of credit.
Since 2011, United Capital Source has helped over 40,000 businesses access more than $1.6 billion in funding through a network of 80+ lenders, backed by 1,600+ five-star reviews across Trustpilot and Google. As a marketplace, UCS does not compete with any single name on a rate sheet; we match each file to the best-fit financing program across our network. That vantage point shapes this review: we explain where Funding Circle genuinely wins, and exactly what to do if its qualification bar screens you out.
In this guide, we’ll answer the following questions and more:
Funding Circle’s US business has operated under iBusiness Funding, a Ready Capital division, since mid-2024. The company itself dates to 2010, when it opened in the United Kingdom with the peer-to-peer model and later expanded into the US, Germany, and the Netherlands. It retired the peer-to-peer model in 2022 and moved fully to institutional capital. Across its history, the platform has facilitated more than $20 billion in small business loans for over 135,000 borrowers. iBusiness Funding is headquartered in Florida.
The ownership change is the single most important fact in any current assessment of this brand. On March 7, 2024, the London-listed parent announced it would exit the US to focus on its home market. On June 24, 2024, it signed a share purchase agreement selling the US operation to iBusiness Funding, LLC for about £33 million, roughly $41.8 million, with the deal set to close by the end of that month. Funding Circle also surrendered the SBA lending license it had received only that April, because acquirer Ready Capital already held one and ranked among the largest SBA 7(a) participants.
So is Funding Circle legitimate and still in business? Yes, on both sides of the Atlantic, just as two separate companies. Funding Circle Holdings plc trades publicly in London under the ticker FCH, is FCA regulated, and reported £222.5 million in 2025 revenue. The US brand continues underwriting under iBusiness Funding, which is BBB accredited with an A+ rating dating to 2013 and holds a Trustpilot score around 4.5 out of 5.
One honest caution for borrowers weighing the operation: its BBB customer review score sits far below its Trustpilot average, and common complaints in those reviews involve fee transparency and collections communication.
For the successor’s full product line, including its SBA and USDA lending programs, see our complete iBusiness Funding review. The rest of this page covers what Funding Circle offers borrowers right now, era by era, so nothing here quietly describes a product that no longer exists.
| Funding Circle (UK) | Funding Circle US brand | |
| Operated by | Funding Circle Holdings plc (LSE: FCH) | iBusiness Funding, LLC, a Ready Capital division (Fort Lauderdale, FL) |
| Core products | Business loans, FlexiPay line of credit, asset finance, cashback business credit card | Fixed-rate loans, SBA 7(a) path; USDA and larger SBA programs via iBusiness |
| Regulation | FCA regulated; outside FSCS cover | US lending compliance under Ready Capital’s SBA license |
| Since the 2024 sale | UK only | All US states except Vermont |
Funding Circle offers business term loans, a path into SBA 7(a) lending, and separate UK products. Which menu applies to you depends entirely on which side of the Atlantic your business operates. US borrowers deal with the iBusiness-run operation and dollar-denominated loan products; UK borrowers deal with the plc and its pound-denominated range. Mixing the two menus is the most common error in the Funding Circle reviews you will find elsewhere.
The core US product is a set of fixed-term business loans between $25,000 and $500,000, repaid monthly over six months to five years. Decisions can arrive within 24 hours, and approved borrowers typically receive funds within 2 to 4 business days. The loan decision rests on business revenue, credit, and documentation rather than a long bank underwriting process.
The standout is the SBA route. Funding Circle’s US operation channels SBA loans through the SBA’s 7(a) loan program with a credit floor of 640, while most bank SBA programs expect 690 or higher. One example from early 2026: a Poughkeepsie, New York, HVAC contractor carrying a 645 score closed $180,000 in SBA 7(a) funding through this online path in about seven weeks, after two regional banks had declined the file at their higher floors. Through parent iBusiness Funding, borrowers can also reach SBA lending as large as $5 million and USDA programs for rural businesses.
A business line of credit reported at $5,000 to $250,000 also sits alongside the US menu, though its rates are less prominently published than the core loan’s. If revolving access is the priority, compare it carefully against dedicated line products before anchoring on the brand name.
UK firms see a different financing menu from the London-listed plc. Funding Circle’s business loans in the UK start at £10,000 and reach six figures with fixed monthly payments. The same application can route toward asset finance, which extends from £10,000 to £5 million against equipment and vehicles. Rates are risk-banded per application rather than posted as one national sheet.
Funding Circle’s current US term loan APRs run from 22.45% up to 50.24%. On top of the APR, an origination fee of 4.49% up to 10.49% comes out of your proceeds before you receive funds, a late payment costs 5% of the missed amount, and repayment terms span six months to five years with fixed monthly payments. The loans carry no prepayment penalties, so clearing the balance early genuinely reduces what you pay.
Here is the arithmetic most Funding Circle reviews skip. A Columbus, OH e-commerce seller borrowing $50,000 over three years near the middle of the band, at an assumed 30% APR, pays roughly $2,120 a month and about $26,400 in total interest. A 6% origination fee takes $3,000 off the top, so the seller deploys $47,000 while repaying the full $50,000 plus interest. Run the same lens on bigger files: a Bergen County, New Jersey, dental practice weighing a $250,000 five-year loan gives up $11,225 to origination at even the 4.49% minimum before billing a single patient against it.
Now the stale-data warning: reviews written before the 2024 sale quote starting rates of 4.99% to 7.49% per year with origination fees under 7%; those tables described the old product and linger across the web. The UK plc still prices its own loans from about 4.5% per year with arrangement fees between 1.5% and 6%, which is a different operation lending in pounds. Before trusting any rate figure in any review of this lender, including this one, check the date, then confirm the current sheet directly in your loan offer. High rates are not hidden here, but they are frequently misattributed.
| Line item | Amount |
| Loan amount | $50,000 |
| Origination fee at 6% | -$3,000 (deducted from proceeds) |
| Cash you deploy | $47,000 |
| Monthly payment (36 months) | About $2,120 |
| Total interest over the term | About $26,400 |
| Total repaid | About $76,400 |
| Check the date on every rate you read
If a review of this lender quotes rates starting near 5%, it predates the June 2024 sale or describes the UK company. The current US APR floor is 22.45%. |
Qualifying for a US Funding Circle loan takes a 660 credit score and two years in business. Each item on the eligibility list screens for something specific, and knowing what gets checked tells you whether to apply at all. The bar to borrow here is deliberately higher than most online competitors set it, because the product is priced and structured for established operators rather than startups.
The US checklist: a personal score of 660 or higher for the standard loan, or 640 for the SBA path; 24 or more months in business; $50,000 or more in yearly revenue; and no personal bankruptcy in the past seven years. Vermont businesses are outside the lending footprint entirely, and published lending policy excludes certain industries such as speculative real estate, gambling, and cannabis. The revenue floor is genuinely low for this loan size; the score floor and time requirement are what screen most applicants out.
Every US Funding Circle loan comes secured in practice. The loans require collateral, typically a blanket lien on business assets, and a personal guarantee from the owner sits on top of it. The March 2026 file of a Sarasota, FL landscaping firm shows where the edge of the bar sits: at a 655 score with 30 months of history and a $75,000 ask, the application stalled five points short of the floor, with strong revenue unable to offset the score requirement.
Funding Circle’s small business loan application process runs entirely on its online platform, from first form to funding, faster than traditional banks manage the same process. Five steps cover it.
Gather six months of statements from your business bank account and your newest financial accounts first, since incomplete uploads stall underwriting. Complete documentation on day one is the difference between a fast answer and a week of follow-up email; our specialists see the same pattern across the network.
The initial eligibility check uses a soft inquiry that does not affect your credit score. However, general partnerships can see a hard inquiry, and the underwriters review business credit reports and account activity alongside the owner’s file.
Complete the application on the platform; the process takes about ten minutes. A complete loan application with documents attached can lead to a loan decision within 24 hours, and the platform is known for fast decisions on complete files.
Review the offer’s APR, origination fee, and repayment schedule line by line before you sign.
A dedicated account manager carries the file from offer to closing, and money arrives within 2 to 4 business days of acceptance. One recent file shows the clock in motion: a Reno, NV coffee roaster uploaded six months of bank statements plus year-end financials on a Tuesday in May 2026, got a quick decision inside 26 hours, and saw $110,000 land that Friday.
Funding Circle’s strengths and weaknesses map directly onto its qualification bar. The product rewards the borrower it was built for and screens out everyone else early, which is more honest than lenders that let marginal files pay application costs first. Across UCS’s 40,000+ funded files, the 24-month rule is the single requirement we most often see send otherwise fundable owners searching for alternative business financing options. Interest rates alone also understate the cost here: the origination fee does the quiet work, so always price the full financing package.
| Pros | Cons |
| Competitive APR band next to other lenders online | 24-month minimum excludes newer businesses outright |
| SBA 7(a) access at a 640 credit floor | 660 floor for the standard product runs above many online peers |
| No prepayment penalties; fixed monthly payments | Origination fee between 4.49% and 10.49% comes out of proceeds |
| Low $50,000 annual revenue requirement | Every US loan is collateralized and owner-guaranteed |
| Fast decisions and 2-4 day funding | Common complaints cite fee clarity and support response times |
The right alternative depends on which requirement kept you from being selected. If speed is the issue, OnDeck approves files at the one-year mark with a 625 score, funding to a $400,000 ceiling with same-day capability. The trade-off is cost, with published APRs reaching well above this band, which is why comparing several speed-focused lenders side by side through one marketplace application protects you from overpaying for urgency.
If revolving quick access matters more than a lump sum, Bluevine’s business credit line reaches $250,000 with a 12-month minimum operating history. Borrowers can weigh that line of credit against several others in the UCS network before committing to any single credit box. And for young firms, Fundbox accepts businesses as young as three months with smaller loans and lines up to $150,000; a marketplace application surfaces every program whose minimum you already clear rather than guessing one name at a time.
Then there is the decline path itself. A Tampa, FL catering company at 19 months in business hit the 24-month wall in January 2026, re-routed the same packaged file through the UCS marketplace, and funded $60,000 of revenue-based capital in three days. That is the structural difference among your funding options: the network’s loan options span SBA loans priced for patient borrowers down to a 475+ credit floor on revenue based financing and equipment programs, so many small business owners who miss one lender’s bar still fund on comparable timelines. A marketplace pass is a great alternative whenever one posted minimum is the sole blocker. For owners fixated on rate, SBA paths bring lower interest rates than most online loan offers, at the price of weeks rather than days.
Funding Circle is a strong fit for established firms with fair-to-good credit and a planned use of financing. Apply with confidence if you clear 660, have been in business for two years, and want either a five-year term or the SBA path at its 640 floor; Funding Circle’s business loans reward exactly the borrower they were designed for. Skip it if you sit under those floors, need money today, or cannot pledge business assets, because the structure will not bend for growth stories alone. Businesses funding expansion should also plan future finance needs past this loan, since what Funding Circle offers is a fixed product, not an evolving credit relationship.
Our editor’s rating and the full scoring detail follow below. What we tell our own clients is simpler: start from your numbers, not from a brand name, because the company that headlines a search result is rarely the one whose credit box happens to match your file. One application across 80+ lenders answers that question in a single pass, whether that answer turns out to be business term loans through the UCS network or a structure priced entirely differently.
Based on customer reviews, loan features, funding times, and the ease of applying, we rate Funding Circle 4.0 out of 5. Funding Circle offers many advantages, but borrower requirements and limitations by state and industry mean it is not a viable option for all small businesses.
| “We send plenty of strong files toward products like Funding Circle’s business loans when the fit is right. The value of a marketplace is that the decision starts from your numbers, not from one company’s credit box, so a decline becomes a routing event instead of a dead end.”
— Jared Weitz, CEO and Founder of United Capital Source |
Yes. Funding Circle Holdings plc still lends to UK businesses, and the US operation continues under iBusiness Funding after the 2024 sale. The company has not gone bust; retiring the peer-to-peer model in 2022 and exiting the US market fed that impression, but both successors are actively lending.
It is. The operation has been BBB accredited with an A+ rating since 2013, holds a Trustpilot score around 4.5, and has funded more than 135,000 small businesses since 2010. Do note the gap between its Trustpilot average and its much lower BBB customer review score when weighing reputation.
The eligibility process starts with a soft inquiry and does not affect your personal credit. A hard inquiry can apply to general partnerships, and underwriters also review business credit reports, which is one reason building business credit early pays off for any business planning to borrow.
Yes. These US loans require collateral, typically a lien on business assets, along with an owner guarantee, so plan to repay a secured obligation from day one, whatever you borrow. The UK plc prices secured and unsecured structures differently by risk band.
Plan on 660 for the standard loan and 640 for the SBA route. Owners below those floors are not out of funding options: revenue-based and equipment programs across the UCS network start at a 475+ floor, judged on deposits rather than score alone.
For established ones, genuinely yes. The 24-month and 660-score bars define who it serves, and owners under those bars will spend less time and money pre-qualifying across a financing marketplace than applying to one lender at a time. What Funding Circle offers works best for planned, collateral-backed borrowing.
Approved borrowers can use small business loans of this kind toward working capital, expanding operations, purchasing inventory, equipment, and refinancing costlier debt that strains cash flow. Published policy excludes certain industries, so check the list before applying, and match the loan term to how long the purchase produces money for the business.
The funding process runs a decision inside 24 hours, with money landing in your account within 2 to 4 business days of acceptance on a complete file. If that is not fast enough, same-day programs exist through other lenders, and a marketplace pass shows which ones your file clears without a second loan application.
If Funding Circle’s credit box fits your business, please review the origination math above before applying. If it does not, one application through United Capital Source matches your file for financing across a network of 80+ lenders, from SBA programs to revenue-based funding with a 475+ credit floor, with same-day capability for qualified files and network-wide funding from $1,000 to $25,000,000. You apply once; we package the file and manage the process through funding, and if one program declines, your paperwork moves to the next best fit without restarting.
| Apply through United Capital Source
Start with a free consultation and a no-obligation pre-qualification across the UCS network of 80+ lenders. Call 855-WE-FUND-U or apply online today. |
Disclaimer:
This Funding Circle review is provided for general information as of July 2026 and is not financial or legal advice. Loan products, rates, and eligibility requirements change frequently, so verify current terms directly in any loan offer, consult resources from the Small Business Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and speak with a CPA or attorney about your specific situation before borrowing.
The Funding Circle trademark is owned by iBusiness Funding, and its use herein is for reference purposes only, and it does not indicate sponsorship or endorsement from iBusiness Funding.
Jared Weitz is the Founder & CEO of United Capital Source (UCS), one of the nation’s fastest-growing business financing marketplaces. Since founding the company in 2011, Jared has built a technology-enabled platform that has facilitated over $1.6 billion in funding to more than 40,000 businesses across the United States. Under his leadership, UCS has evolved into a full-service marketplace that connects business owners with 80+ lenders while providing hands-on guidance throughout the entire funding process. Rather than selling client information like most lead generation companies in the business loans space, UCS works directly with each applicant—leveraging technology and experienced funding professionals to match businesses with the right financing options, structure deals, and guide them from application through funding and future growth. Jared’s work has earned national recognition, including the National Commercial Loan Broker of the Year award in 2019, and placements on the Inc. 5000 list in 2015 and 2017. He also serves as Broker Council Co-Chairman for the Small Business Finance Association, where he helps advocate for expanded access to capital for small businesses nationwide.
