Small business owners who need financing often have trouble qualifying at traditional lenders, like banks and credit unions. In addition to high qualifications, these lenders also take a long time to finalize and fund a small business loan – several weeks to even months.
Alternative lenders, like Greenbox Capital, aim to help businesses get funding when banks say no. The lender provides a quick and easy application with funding possible within 24 hours on some products.
However, business financing in the alternative lending space tends to cost more in interest rates and fees. As a small business owner, you must determine if getting approved and funded fast is worth the extra financing costs.
This review provides what you need to know about Greenbox Capital, including the benefits, drawbacks, and application process, to help you decide if it suits your business. Specifically, we’ll answer these questions and more:
Greenbox Capital is an alternative lender specializing in fast and easy access to working capital for small businesses. The lender states it is committed to helping small businesses succeed.
Small business owners who can’t qualify for traditional financing might be interested in the lender because it has much lower qualifications than banks and credit unions. There is no minimum credit score requirement to apply.
The online lender also provides quick turnaround on applications and can fund loans within 24 hours of approval. Funding amounts go up to $500,000, depending on the product.
All the lender’s products are short-term financing solutions, with no terms exceeding 12 months. In most cases, you’ll have daily repayments. The lender’s rates can run high, but it may be worth it if you need fast capital and struggle to qualify elsewhere.
Based out of Miami, FL, Greenbox Capital provides funding services in all 50 states, Canada, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Here are the lender’s available financing products. It doesn’t list specific terms for any product, but all funding carries 12 months or fewer terms.
A merchant cash advance provides a large sum of money upfront in exchange for a percentage of future sales. It is not technically a loan. Instead, the MCA company purchases future receivables from the client.
The company’s website states your financing amount is usually 70%-120% of the previous three months of credit and debit card sales. You can select fixed or flexible payment schedules.
Invoice factoring, or “accounts receivable factoring,” is a financing process where the lender purchases your outstanding invoices. Greenbox issues a lump sum for 70%-90% of the invoice value. Once your customers pay their invoices, the lender sends the remaining amount minus its fees.
A line of credit operates like a credit card. The lender issues an available credit limit, and you can draw funds from it as needed. You only repay what you borrow, plus interest. The lender states you can draw as much as you need as many times as you need if you don’t exceed the limit and your business remains in good standing.
With a short-term loan, you receive a large sum upfront that you repay plus interest in fixed payments. Term loans are what most people are familiar with when they think of business loans. Traditional term loans carry terms of several years, but a short-term loan is repaid within 12 months. The lender states that most of its short-term loans are between $20k-$60k.
The lender offers collateral loans that are secured with commercial real estate. It will accept most real estate assets except for the business or property owner’s primary residence. Collateralized loans are called secured because the collateral provides security to the lender. If the borrower defaults, the lender can claim the asset to recoup its losses.
The online lender does not list all of its qualifications but states that business owners with bad credit can apply. It does not provide any personal credit score cutoff.
It does not offer business financing to startups. Applicants for any of its business loans need at least six months in operation.
Small businesses need an average of $7,500 in monthly revenue for merchant cash advances. The website states that accounts receivable factoring is best for invoices of at least $15,000 that are no more than 90 days past due.
The rates can tend to run high. It states that its factor rates run anywhere from 1.1 to 1.5. That means you could pay anywhere from 10% to 50% of the loan amount in interest.
The lender’s website does not mention fees or the fee structure. Some user reviews state the fees are high, while others said the fees are reasonable and competitive.
When you apply, Greenbox Capital bases credit decisions on your business’s financial performance rather than your credit history. It will look at your bank account statements to assess your cash flow. You can get faster approval by connecting your account to the platform.
There are few restrictions on how you can use the funds for any of its products. The lender services most industries, but it does not fund businesses in the following sectors:
The lender provides a quick and easy application process. Follow these steps to apply.
You can complete the application on the lender’s website quickly. Provide information about your business, yourself, and business bank statements for the previous three months. You can provide secure access to your bank account’s transactional data for faster approval.
One of the lender’s funding advisors will respond and call you within one hour of applying. The advisor will review your funding options and help you finalize your application after deciding on a product.
Once you finalize the application and provide any necessary information, the lender completes the underwriting process. For most loan products, you could receive the funds within 24 hours. Collateral loans take 5-10 business days to fund and may require additional documentation.
You will set your repayment structure during the application process. Payments are based on your sales. You’ll make daily or weekly payments from your credit card and debit card sales.
The repayment structure can be difficult to manage, especially with daily payments. We suggest setting up automatic payments to avoid any missed or late payments.
MCA customers could become eligible to renew at a larger borrowing amount once they’ve repaid 50% of their first advance. The lender’s website does not mention early repayment penalties or discounts.
The lender offers businesses the benefit of a quick application with a fast turnaround on approval and funding. You also get a dedicated funding agent to help guide you through the process.
There are several loan options to choose from, each designed to meet a particular business need. Collateral loans give the opportunity to secure longer-term financing at lower rates since it provides more security for the lender.
One of the most significant benefits of the lender is the lower borrowing qualifications. Many traditional lenders like banks and credit unions require at least two years in business, an excellent credit score, and high annual revenue. Greenbox Capital does not set a minimum credit score and only requires six months in business.
One of the primary drawbacks of working with this lender is that its rates can be high. It also requires frequent repayments.
All business loan options are short-term financing, meaning you must pay it off within one year. The combination of high rates, short terms, and frequent repayment can strain your cash flow.
The website does not provide specifics on rates, terms, and fees, making it difficult to determine costs. You would need to apply and receive a funding offer to compare to other lenders.
You will set your repayment structure during the application process. Payments are based on your sales. You’ll make daily or weekly payments from your credit card and debit card sales.
The repayment structure can be difficult to manage, especially with daily payments. We suggest setting up automatic payments to avoid any missed or late payments.
MCA customers could become eligible to renew at a larger borrowing amount once they’ve repaid 50% of their first advance. The lender’s website does not mention early repayment penalties or discounts.
The lender offers businesses the benefit of a quick application with a fast turnaround on approval and funding. You also get a dedicated funding agent to help guide you through the process.
There are several loan options to choose from, each designed to meet a particular business need. Collateral loans give the opportunity to secure longer-term financing at lower rates since it provides more security for the lender.
One of the most significant benefits of the lender is the lower borrowing qualifications. Many traditional lenders like banks and credit unions require at least two years in business, an excellent credit score, and high annual revenue. Greenbox Capital does not set a minimum credit score and only requires six months in business.
One of the primary drawbacks of working with this lender is that its rates can be high. It also requires frequent repayments.
All business loan options are short-term financing, meaning you must pay it off within one year. The combination of high rates, short terms, and frequent repayment can strain your cash flow.
The website does not provide specifics on rates, terms, and fees, making it difficult to determine costs. You would need to apply and receive a funding offer to compare to other lenders.
Here’s a quick summary of the benefits and drawbacks of the lender.
Pros:
Cons:
Yes, Greenbox Capital is a legitimate online lender. The Better Business Bureau has accredited the lender since 2014, where it has an A+ rating.
Yes, the lender has an ISO partner program. Brokers can partner with the lender to offer their clients business loans through the lender’s options. Brokers act as intermediaries between business owners and lenders. Some companies prefer working with brokers because they can help find the best deals available.
The lender has mostly good reviews, but there are also some negative ones. It has a 4.4 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot, which is considered “excellent.”
Positive reviews largely discuss the lender’s excellent and professional customer service team. Customers can contact support by phone or email at their Miami Gardens, FL, location during regular business hours of 9 am – 6 pm ET Mon-Fri. Several users mentioned their representative by name when praising the service.
Other positive reviews talk about how quick and easy the process was. Some stated that costs were reasonable and mentioned renewing with the lender. Multiple users recommend Greenbox Capital.
The negative reviews discuss the costs, with several users commenting they were hit with a surprise origination fee when the loan was finalized. Several business owners mentioned being debited after the payoff. Another common complaint was too many phone calls.
One of the most significant advantages of working with this lender is the lower qualifications. It specifically markets that business owners with low credit can apply. In addition, you only need six months in business and $7,500 in monthly revenue to qualify.
However, there are still some reasons your loan request might be denied. While it doesn’t have a credit score cutoff, any negative issues in your credit history can still prevent approval. Other issues could be inconsistent revenue or being in a restricted or high-risk industry.
If you applied and were declined, the denial letter should explain the reason why. You can contact the lender if you need more information. It does not publish information on how long you must wait before reapplying.
However, there are many online lenders to consider if Greenbox does not work out for your business. You should have no trouble finding other lenders that provide merchant cash advances, invoice factoring, business lines of credit, or short-term loans. The lender’s collateral loan product is less common in the space, but there are still many options for asset-based loans.
Small and medium-sized business owners looking for bad credit business loans also have several options to consider. You should know that these loans carry higher interest rates.
One way of thinking about business loans for lower credit borrowers is as a form of bridge financing. You can use the high-cost financing as a stop-gap measure while repairing your credit until you qualify for more advantageous loans, such as an SBA loan.
Greenbox Capital is best suited for small businesses that need looser approval requirements with fast funding and are willing to pay more to get it. The rates do run high, and you’ll only have a short time to pay off what you borrow. In addition, the lack of transparency on fees makes it difficult to assess the total cost of borrowing and compare it to other lenders.
Established businesses with good to excellent credit and high revenue can likely find lower-cost financing options. The quick funding time might be attractive, depending on your needs, but there are also lower-cost fast funding lenders if your credentials are strong.
Based on user reviews, products, and funding times, we rate Greenbox Capital at 4.2 out of 5. There’s a lot to like about this lender, but its rates and lack of transparency on fees hold it back.
Disclaimer: The Greenbox Capital trademark is owned by Greenbox Capital and its use herein is for reference purposes only and it does not indicate sponsorship or endorsement from Greenbox Capital.
