Merchant Funding Trends for 2009 and Beyond

What once was the best-kept secret in alternative funding is no longer so. Merchant funding has been revealed as the go-to source of venture capital funding for those small to medium-sized businesses looking to escape the traditional lending loop. In fact, it isn’t a loan at all. And that means you’ll be a lot freer to make the moves to grow your business in 2009. Here are a few of the trends that will influence the merchant funding industry.

Operating Capital Yes, Collateral No
Vendorseek offers a quick rundown of the merchant funding process. Savvy business owners are no longer putting up their homes or other personal finances in order to fund their business growth. Instead, they’re selling a portion of their future sales for cash right now. That means no minimum monthly payments, no APRs and no stress.

• Worthy Businesses. Merchant funding sources gauge a business’ eligibility by volume credit card sales (sometimes referred to as invoices)
• Instant Repayment. Your debt is settled through the credit card process, so you never actually have to make a payment

Merchant Funding Sources Consolidate
The Rapid Merchant Funding Blog states that leading companies in the Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) industry have come together to form an industry trade association called The North American Merchant Advance Association. This coming together of industry leaders should result in a host of positives for businesses looking to take advantage of the MCA, such as education, parity and best practices.

And as an aside, Rapid Advance reveals that merchant cash advance operators prefer VISA and MasterCard over Discover and American Express.