Credibly Business Loans Review

Updated on November 11, 2020
Advertiser Disclosure

Overview

Credibly is an online lender that provides short-term business loans and merchant cash advances to small businesses, with funding available as soon as the same day you apply. Although their rates approximate those of other online business lenders, Credibly does offer prepayment incentives. The lender has offices in Michigan, New York, and Arizona.

Pros and Cons

Green checkmarkPros:
  • No minimum credit score
  • Prepayment incentives
  • Will work with business owners who have declared personal bankruptcy, but two years must have passed since discharge
  • Reports to business credit bureaus
  • Need just six months in business
  • Will fund home-based businesses 
  • No use-case restrictions to working capital loans
Red X markCons:
  • High revenue requirement 
  • Can take up to five days to get funding
  • High factor rates
  • Daily repayments
  • Various fees like origination fee and non-sufficient funds fee
  • Requires a personal guarantee and will file a UCC blanket lien
  • Won’t take second position to other debts

Credibly Business Loans

Credibly offers a variety of business loans that fit a number of use cases. Business owners have the option to apply for working capital loans, business expansion loans, and merchant cash advances.

Credibly Working Capital Loan

  • Maximum loan amount

    $5,000 - $400,000

  • Loan terms

    6 to 18 months

  • Factor rates

    1.15 to 1.45

Qualifications for a Credibly Working Capital Loan

  • Annual revenue

    $15,000 per month

  • Personal credit score

    500

  • Time in business

    6 months

Credibly Business Expansion Loan

  • Maximum loan amount

    $5,000 to $250,000

  • Loan terms

    18-24 months

  • Interest rates

    Start at 9.99%

Qualifications for a Credibly Business Expansion Loan

  • Annual revenue

    $15,000 per month and $3,000 average daily bank balance

  • Personal credit score

    600

  • Time in business

    3 years

Credibly Merchant Cash Advance

  • Maximum loan amount

    $5,000 to $400,000

  • Loan terms

    Averages 3 to 18 months

  • Factor rates

    Starts at 1.15

Qualifications for a Credibly Merchant Cash Advance

  • Annual revenue

    $15,000 per month

  • Personal credit score

    500

  • Time in business

    6 months

Credibly does not work with small businesses that operate in the following industries:

  • Adult entertainment
  • Airlines
  • Annual memberships
  • Brokerage
  • Cannabis
  • Casinos/gambling
  • Class 3 weapons dealers
  • Consumer credit
  • Dating services
  • Escort services
  • Financial institutions 
  • Insurance 
  • Nonprofits 
  • Oil drilling
  • Payday loan companies
  • Used auto dealers
  • Warranty companies

How to Get a Loan With Credibly

Application and Underwriting Process

To start the funding process with Credibly, you’ll need to fill out an online application with self-reported information on your business credentials. 

You’ll need to following for your application:

  • Three months of business bank statements
  • Copy of your driver’s license or photo identification 
  • Voided business check
  • Business lease agreement or business mortgage statement
  • Most recent business tax return for loans over $100,000

Credibly reviews this information and will decide whether or not you prequalify. If you do, you will proceed into their underwriting process. 

Be sure to accurately self-report from the get-go so that you don’t move forward in the process only to be rejected for funding later—Credibly will use the rest of the process to verify the credentials that you applied with. Credibly will pull your personal credit and business credit scores to confirm your credit history. But don’t worry—they’ll perform a soft credit pull which won’t affect your credit score.

They’ll also require that you submit documentation to their credit team and speak on the phone with a member of their credit team before they provide an offer. Once they’ve completed all of their required underwriting steps, though, Credibly can extend you an offer in two to three hours. And should you accept the offer they extend, you’ll sign a business loan agreement. Before Credibly deposits your funds, they will do a hard credit pull, which can decrease your score by a few points. At that point, Credibly can deposit the funds into your account in another two to three hours. The entire process generally takes three to five business days, though same-day funding is sometimes possible.

Post-Funding and Repayment Process

Credibly’s working capital loan will come with daily or weekly payments, automatically debited from your business bank account. The business expansion loan has weekly payments. If you opt for the merchant cash advance, Credibly will deduct a small fixed portion from your business bank account or credit card processor. Credibly will report your repayment activity to the business credit bureaus, so if you repay your loan on time, you can improve your business credit score. If a scheduled payment bounces, you’ll be charged a $25 non-sufficient funds (NSF) fee. To check how your Credibly loan is progressing, you’ll be able to consult emailed monthly statements, an online portal, and Credibly’s customer service team. 

One defining feature that Credibly funding boasts is its prepayment incentive. You can avoid interest if you pay off your Credibly working capital loan or business expansion loan in the first half of the term. Once you’ve paid down 50% of your debt to Credibly, then you’ll be eligible to renew your funding with them.

Credibly Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages 
  • Can receive funding in three to five business days
  • Can qualify with a credit score as low as 500
  • Only need six months in business to qualify
  • Prepayment incentives, which is rare for short-term business lenders
  • Won’t impose use-case restrictions on working capital loans
  • Higher revenue requirement of $15,000 per month
  • Higher factor rates
  • Daily repayments
  • Origination fee of 2.5%
  • Non-sufficient funds fee of $25 each time a payment bounces
  • $50 monthly administrative fee for merchant cash advances

Credibly Customer Reviews

There’s plenty of Credibly customer reviews available online to read, but so that you don’t have to sift through all of them, we will summarize the positive and the negative here.

Many of the complaints are very situational and deal with the way Credibly has handled repayments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reviewers were displeased that they were still expected to make payments and that there was seemingly no wiggle room. Aside from that, other negative reviews don’t love the high interest rates and lack of customer service.

However, there are plenty of customers who had very positive experiences with Credibly. The application process seems to be simple and straight-forward with no hit to your credit score. While some reviewers noted that the rates are expensive, they enjoyed the longer payback terms as compared to other lenders.

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Credibly

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4
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Minimum credit score required

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Disclosure

Rates based on loans originated in the half-year ending March 31, 2022

Minimum credit score required

500

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640

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625

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Disclosure

Rates based on loans originated in the half-year ending March 31, 2022

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Credibly in Fundera’s Network?

Credibly is in Fundera’s Lender Network. The Fundera team has carefully vetted Credibly and determined that their offering is one of the best in their product category. When working with Credibly, you can be sure you’re getting transparent, fair pricing on a best-in-class product.

See if you qualify for similar products in Fundera’s Lender Network.

Jennifer Post
Contributing Writer at Fundera

Jennifer Post

Jennifer Post is a freelance writer who has covered business topics including marketing, franchising, cybersecurity, health insurance, and hiring and retaining employees. She has also written about various finance topics such as startup funding, business bank accounts, retirement plans, and health insurance. Jennifer has specialized experience in social media management and knows the ins and outs of marketing a business through most social media platforms.

After briefly studying law at Widener University’s Delaware Law School, she went on to continue her small business writing career using her new legal knowledge to create content helping small businesses understand legal matters such as taxes, hiring and firing practices, harassment, and other company culture matters. You can find her work on Business.com, Business News Daily, and How Stuff Works.

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