A Merchant Cash Advance Company Says ‘Done Deal’
August 23, 2011
New York based Merchant Cash Advance(MCA) provider Merchant Cash and Capital(MCC) is putting their money where their mouth is and getting creative in the underwriting process. A far cry from black and white bank methodology, MCC has approved merchants whose businesses have been to hell and back. While financially sustainable in the long run, these merchants faced short term obstacles that required someone to dig deeper, try harder, and ultimately believe in them.
Coincidentally, we got ahold of this right after publishing an article that criticized ‘credit score only’ underwriting models (When Average Credit is Better Than Excellent Credit – Data Points). MCC offers proof of advanced analysis in a promotional flyer, titled “Done Deal.” The challenges include a restaurant that was temporarily closed, a movie theatre facing frivolous lawsuits, and a tough industry with declining sales. While we can’t comment on their success, it’s the kind of work that requires a big thumbs up from the small business community. Countless merchants have surely found themselves uttering these words at some point or another: “If I can just get the capital to get over this one small obstacle, I know I’ll make it. Who will listen to my story and help?” We urge these merchants to keep the faith and find a MCA provider that suits your needs.
It’s also worth mentioning that 2 of the 3 case studies offered by MCC were six figure deals. We recently singled them out as one of three industry giants (Who is Really Getting a $250,000 Merchant Cash Advance?) that were most capable of funding up to $1,000,000. Right on the mark and right on schedule, Strategic Funding Source, another New York based provider, announced the closing of a $4 Million deal just last week.
Remember where you heard it! The Merchant Cash Advance Resource is providing a play by play of an industry that is quickly gaining ground on their distant, overhyped challenger, SBA Loans. The gap is narrowing and businesses are benefitting. “Done Deal!”
-The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
Merchant Cash Advance in California
August 23, 2011
For no reason in particular, we advise you tread carefully in California.
-The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
Get 25% Off Your Next Merchant Cash Advance – Funding Coupons?
August 23, 2011
Still get excited about the coupons tucked neatly into the Sunday newspaper? Savvy shoppers can still spot the special deals. 40% off Post Cereal Products, Buy One Pint of Breyers Ice Cream and Get One Free, and $25 off your next Merchant Cash Advance. Wait….what?
By sheer coincidence, we randomly stumbled across this on the internet:
Get $25 Cash Back Discount on Merchant Cash Group
Merchant Cash Group COUPON
This is as seen on iCouponBlog.com. We have witnessed special promotion offers in the industry before, but never in the form of an actual coupon.
Considering a Merchant Cash Advance is actually a sale of the merchant’s future receivables to the funding provider, one must wonder if Merchant Cash Group would be the one redeeming their own coupon to get an even steeper discount. They are in actuality the buyer in the transaction after all. Food for thought!
Some of you may know Merchant Cash Group as the Direct Funder in Gainesville, FL. Word has it that they are pretty good people. They have not contributed to this article, nor have we informed them of it. We will gladly share any comment they have on this. The same goes for all our readers.
As a special treat, we’re offering this, “Get 50% OFF on Your Next Article Comment!” Limited time offer. Special Restrictions May Apply.
– The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
What’s Going on in California?
August 23, 2011
The people have spoken! Many of our readers have sent e-mails wondering why we don’t have any coverage on the recent events in California. So here goes:
If you’re out of the loop, a nearly 3 year old lawsuit against one of the major Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) providers is coming to a close. Their name is not important, but it is a firm we revere still to this day. The story takes place in California, where a group of merchants in 2008 contested their Merchant Cash Advance was actually a loan, not a sale. In the other 49 states, MCA has been virtually undisputed for years but California law has shades of Gray.
There is one cardinal rule for making a loan in California and that’s to be licensed to do so. The case struck at the heart of what MCA is all about, a sale of future card payment receivables for a discounted price today. So why would a buyer of future cash flows need a lending license? The answer is not a short one and it was a heated debate that spanned 3 years.
It comes as no surprise that the end result was a stalemate. Both sides exhausted their time and energy until they called it quits with a settlement. Over $4 Million dollars will be paid to the legal team representing the plaintiffs. That’s big bucks for a group that was unable to prove over the course of 3 years the need for a lending license to conduct a sale.
While the affected merchants, attorneys, and the MCA provider are eager to move on, a particular California law firm seems to have grabbed the baton. As of early March 2011, at least 3 other MCA providers are now facing the same situation. We’ve seen the court filings and it’s essentially the same challenge and question of licensed lending.
However, when considering the absolute unlikelihood that these independent lawsuits would have come together at the same time without extreme goading by their class representation attorneys, we are highly suspicious of the motives behind them. The timing implies that merchants funded by MCA provider A, MCA provider B, and MCA provider C all approached the same law firm at the same time with the same problem. This may have been possible if each provider structured a deal in the exact same manner. Rather, each provider used different contract language and there is no commonality between them outside of the tendency to all describe their product as a “Merchant Cash Advance”.
We are therefore inclined to believe this law firm is taking the “throw shit at the wall and hope something sticks” approach. Keen to the $4 Million windfall to be reaped in the case described above, it is reasonable to believe these attorneys went searching for customers of all MCA providers and invited them to be plaintiffs in their frivolous suits. There’s no precedence that they’ll win, but there is for a settlement, and a settlement could mean millions of dollars in representation fees.
Some of The Merchant Cash Advance Resource’s top connections can attest that this particular law firm spent a substantial amount of time surfing the net for all MCA providers in California. Using their web traffic analytics and tracing the activity to their domain name, it certainly appears they’re going shopping for “victims.” If we are right, expect more lawsuits from them in the next few months.
To add insult to injury, these events coincide with tough economic times. MCAs are widely celebrated as the easiest, most flexible financial option available to small businesses today. Over half a billion dollars was funded in 2010 alone. With the Federal Government struggling to do the same, it is troubling that a few slick lawyers are seeking to take the lifeline away.
Treasury offers funds to spur business lending
The SBA is in shambles, the unemployment rate is extraordinary, and banks are unwilling to lend. That’s not a great combination for America’s small business owner. Fortunately MCA providers have filled the gap. If steps are taken to discourage them from operating in California, millions of dollars will disappear from the state’s economy. That means less jobs, less sales, and less growth. And if that day should come, don’t point the finger at the Governor, The Federal Reserve, Obama, or the banks. You’ll be able to thank a few lawyers that robbed Californians for their own personal gain. The truth hurts.
– The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
1st Quarter 2011 Merchant Cash Advance Industry Preview
August 23, 2011Posted on April 3, 2011 at 7:52 PM
As a continuation of the massive popularity of our 2010 full year Merchant Cash Advance funding statistics, we are putting together data for the 1st quarter of 2011. It has not yet been finished but we figured we’d share some of our
early findings.
Funding appears to be on the rise in almost every state
This is mainly due to increased output by AdvanceMe. They are literally pushing the industry’s figures forward and making up for some firms that have cooled off. First Funds’ (Principis Capital) figures have declined by a large degree and is not operating close to 2010 levels.
Surge in “Starter Advances”
1st Merchant Funding, the most well known provider of starter advances is making significant gains. This may be an indication of tighter underwriting for normal size advances, there being more applicants with terrible credit, or the result of business owners embracing the opportunity to start off small.
California
Funding volume in this state has fallen off a cliff. Our initial estimates show declines of somewhere between 20-50%. This most likely has to do with What’s Going on in California. Normally the most active State for Merchant Cash Advance (was 13% of the entire nation in 2010), a continuation or worsening of this trend will actually shrink the industry as a whole in 2011. Of course the evidence of growth in the remaining 49 states tells the real story of the financial product’s success.
Stay tuned for the statistics…
– The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
Merchant Cash Advance Statistics for First Quarter of 2011
August 23, 2011
The results are in! The Merchant Cash Advance Resource has researched and released funding statistics for the 1st quarter of 2011. Here’s what we found:
- Funding in California is on pace to drop by a whopping 45% in 2011.
- Funding is on pace to increase in the remaining states by about 2.5%.
- The quantity of transactions is on pace to match 2010’s levels.
- There are more small independent funding providers but the bulk of transactions are done by a few major veteran firms
- An average deal funding size of $25,000 may not be appropriate. Most of the largest providers have ramped up “starter advance” operations, which normally involve transactions that range from $1,000 to $10,000. Therefore the average deal size is being averaged down and this will probably cause overal funding output in 2011 to be lower than 2010.
Take a look:
Merchant Cash Advance Statistics for First Quarter of 2011
– The Merchant Cash Advance Resource
