National Funding Review: Rates, Terms, Pros and Cons

National Funding is an online lender that provides short-term business loans and equipment financing. Although their short-term loans come with high-interest rates, they are designed for business owners who can’t qualify for a bank loan.

National Funding provides short-term, flexible business loans to help businesses purchase or lease equipment, grow their business, or cover expenses. They primarily offer term loans, and equipment financing. National Funding’s financing solutions are unsecured, which means borrowers are not required to put down collateral. You are, however, expected to sign a personal guarantee if you’re the primary borrower.

In addition to the above qualifications for each loan product, National Funding has some additional eligibility requirements which we’ve listed below.

National Funding does not provide business loans to businesses in the following industries:

• Mining
• Oil
• Coal
• Gas
• Airports
• Car dealers
• Sports clubs
• Art galleries
• Legal services
• Tour guides
• Auction houses

• National Funding requires an average bank balance of $1,500.
• National Funding requires no bankruptcies within the past year. 
• Borrowers may have a maximum of five non-sufficient funds (NSFs) in the past three months’ of bank statements.

National Funding’s financing products are available to businesses in all states.

• Three months of business bank statements
• Your most recent business tax return
• A voided business check
• A copy of your driver’s license
• A business bank account
• At least two open trade lines on your personal credit report

To get a business loan from National Funding, you’ll need to have an understanding of their application and underwriting process. Here’s what you need to know.

Applying for a short-term loan from National Funding is very easy—you’ll simply have to fill out a one-page online application. After that, National Funding reviews your information and the underwriting process begins.

Once National Funding reviews your application, they will perform a soft credit pull on your personal credit score. They won’t check your business credit score.

If you meet their basic eligibility requirements, you will then move into National Funding’s underwriting process. At this point, National Funding will collect your documents, such as your business bank statements. This can take anywhere from one to three business days. 

During underwriting, National Funding reviews what factor rate and repayment schedule an applicant qualifies for. More creditworthy borrowers will be able to choose between daily or weekly repayment. As for loan amount, you can generally expect to qualify for no more than your average monthly sales.

If you qualify for a loan, you’ll receive an offer and term sheet via email. Should you accept National Funding’s offer, you’ll see the funds in your business bank account within about two hours (depending on your bank). When all is said and done, if you’re able to move quickly on your end, then National Funding can fund your application as quickly as the next business day after you apply. 

If National Funding rejects your application, you’ll be able to re-apply after 30 days. Generally speaking, National Funding offers a quick and simple application and underwriting process—but, keep in mind, this is true of many short-term lenders.

National Funding won’t provide statements or an online dashboard for your short-term loan, so you’ll have to call their customer service line to check on the progress of your loan at any point. Sixty days after receiving your initial funds, you may be eligible to receive additional funding. However, you can only become eligible for a loan renewal from National Funding once you’ve paid back at least 70% of your loan.

Your loan offer from National Funding will specify whether you are on a daily repayment or weekly repayment schedule. If you are on a daily repayment schedule, National Funding will automatically debit your first payment the day after you receive your funds. If you are on a weekly repayment schedule, National Funding will automatically debit your first payment the week after you receive your funds.

Fortunately, unlike many other short-term lenders, National Funding offers a 7% prepayment discount if you pay back the loan early, within 100 calendar days of receiving the funds. The discount is 6% for equipment financing customers.

Because National Funding doesn’t offer an online dashboard or provide statements, their repayment might not be the most intuitive process available. That said, the fact that National Funding offers a prepayment incentive could very well make up for that downside.

National Funding is available through phone or email.

You can get in contact with a customer support representative by calling (888) 733-2383 on Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT. 

You can also email one of their loan specialists by emailing info@nationalfunding.com.

Customers of National Funding appreciated the fast application process, and several reviewers raved about their helpful loan specialists. Many of the positive reviewers also liked the fact that they could get funding quickly, sometimes even within 24 hours of submitting their application. 

Most positive National Funding reviews focus on the speed and efficiency of their funding process. To be sure, this is one of the fastest working lenders on the market. Plus, positive National Funding reviews also laud their accessibility—even if you’re looking for a first-time business loan or recovering from rocky credit, National Funding will still be an option.

Negative reviews of National Funding were mostly concerned over the confusing funding process. Many customers reported that they were unable to get financing even after submitting proper business documentation. 

It’s understandable that customers experience disappointment when their applications get denied after spending time uploading and submitting several documents. However, we do want to note that there is never a 100% guarantee that you will receive funding from a lender, even if you meet the minimum eligibility requirements. 

Ultimately, National Funding is a highly rated online lender. They hold a 4.6 on Trustpilot and are rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau. Their customer support team is very responsive, and have shown willingness to work with customers who haven’t had a great funding experience.

National Funding is not in Fundera’s Lender Network. The Fundera team carefully vets all of the lenders in our network, and have determined that National Funding either doesn’t have the technology to work with Fundera or does not offer a financing product that competes with the other lenders in its product class. We suggest considering another lender in this product class.