Small businesses face unexpected challenges and opportunities that require immediate financial support.

Whether it’s seizing a new contract, managing cash flow during lean periods, or investing in essential equipment, having quick access to funds can make all the difference. 

This is where fast loans for small businesses come into play. 

With various lenders offering streamlined application processes and rapid funding options, you can secure the funds without the lengthy wait times at banks.

Read on to check the fastest small business loans to find the most optimal one for your business.

Let’s dive in!

What Should You Consider When Choosing a Small Business Loan?

When choosing a small business loan, you must factor in aspects to ensure the financing aligns with your business needs and financial situation.

1. Understand Your Financing Needs

Calculate how much funding you need and for what specific purposes, such as equipment purchases, working capital, or expansion.

Furthermore, identify loan type — different types of loans serve different purposes. 

For example, a term loan suits large, one-time expenses, while a line of credit is better for ongoing operational costs.

2. Assess Your Financial Position

Evaluate your current cash flow to ensure you can manage repayments alongside your operational expenses. 

Lenders will thoroughly check your cash flow to assess your repayment ability. 

Also, check your personal and business credit scores, as they significantly influence your eligibility and interest rates.

3. Prepare a Solid Business Plan

A well-prepared business plan detailing your business model, market analysis, and financial projections can enhance your chances of approval. 

It should clearly outline how you’ll use the loan and how you plan to repay it.

4. Research Lenders Thoroughly

Investigate various lenders to find favorable terms for your specific situation. 

Consider factors such as interest rates, repayment terms, and the lender's reputation in the market.

Moreover, evaluate customer reviews and support services to ensure you receive adequate assistance throughout the application process.

5. Be Prepared to Provide Collateral

Many lenders require collateral to secure loans. 

Be ready to provide assets such as property or equipment, which can help improve your chances of approval and potentially lower interest rates.

6. Review Loan Terms Carefully

Understand the total cost of the loan by reviewing interest rates, APR, origination fees, and any prepayment penalties that may apply.

In addition, look for flexible repayment options that fit your cash flow constraints. Shorter terms may have higher monthly payments but could save on interest costs overall.

7. Consider the Speed of Funding

If you need funds quickly, prioritize lenders known for fast processing times. Some lenders can provide funding within 24 to 48 hours after approval.

5 Fastest Small Business Loans to Explore

Here comes a quick overview of our top picks.

1. Puls Project

Puls Project is an all-in-one cash flow and liquidity management tool with 3 key categories:

• Loaning Capabilities
• Multibanking, and
• Cash Flow Planning and Forecasting.

Thus, Puls Project offers a comprehensive financial solution to streamline financial management while providing the necessary funds for your business needs.

Key Highlights:

1. Loaning Capabilities

💰 Our fund, Montold SME Lending Fund GmbH & Co. KG, registered with BaFin, issues loans with minimal requirements from your side.

💰 We also require no collateral, and there are no banks or third parties involved.

💰 We only require the loan agreement and personal identification of beneficial owners and directors as per GwG.

💰 Moreover, our Loan Calculator enables you to tailor the loan and set the amount and the repayment period.

Thus, you can see the total cost and interest rate, including monthly interest.

💰 The maximal loan amount is €100,000 for 12 months, and you can quickly access the funds within 48 hours of submitting your application.

💰 You can use credit limits without any costs and without them affecting your creditworthiness with banks.

💰 We safeguard your data with Amazon Aurora encrypted DB clusters with AES-256 encryption to secure data on servers hosting the DB clusters.

Furthermore, we leverage the Transport Layer Security standard to ensure data and information security in transit.

In addition, we’ve partnered with FinAPI, a GDPR-compliant service provider for even more data protection.

2. Multibanking

Our multibanking tools provide a unified oversight of your financial activities. Therefore, you can:

• Link any bank account from over 4,000 banks and view and manage all companies and accounts from a centralized dashboard.

• Increase your credit limit when connecting more than one bank account.
• Label and categorize your transactions and financial activities based on desired criteria to facilitate cash flow management.

3. Cash Flow Planner

Our Planner tool provides solutions to streamline your operational efficiency and easily manage your cash flow.

In addition, our Planner:

💰 Simplifies financial management and allows you to view all the transactions, balances, and spending across different accounts and companies in a centralized place.

💰 Improves credit limits through regular financial planning, and 

💰 Ensures the accuracy of business decisions by using reliable data.

 Furthermore, it equips you with the necessary tools to:

• Recalculate your credit availability each time based on accurate, real-time data that we sync multiple times daily.
• Improve your credit limit by helping us understand your business better. 

The more you use our Planner to manage your cash flow, the more we can increase your credit limit.

• Automate your expense tracking by inputting your monthly expenses and seeing them displayed the following month.
• Create future-dated draft payments to immediately see how they affect your cash flow.
• Get notified when we spot a cash gap so you can take necessary actions.

Pros & Cons

🟢 An overall financial management and loan solution.

🟢 Minimal loan requirements.

🟢 Quick access to funds within 48 hours.

🟢 No collateral.

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🔴 A lower borrow cap, but with the ability to increase the loan by safely connecting another bank account.

2. Funding Circle

Funding Circle is one of the largest providers of government-backed loans and in addition to this, it offers various finance products:

• Business Loans
• Business Credit Cards
• Flexi Pay
• Asset Finance.

Key Highlights:

✨ Loans can go between £10,000 to £500,000.

✨ You can check eligibility really quickly with an online form without affecting your credit score.

✨ The approval can take as little as 1 hour, and the access to funds 48 hours.

✨ The minimum amount in business should be at least 1 year, and the minimum annual turnover should be £40,000.

✨ The annual interest rates are fixed and start as low as 6.9%.

Pros & Cons

🟢 Has no prepayment penalties.

🟢 Provides high maximum loan amounts.

🟢 Fixed rates starting from 6.9%.

‍

🔴 Requires a personal guarantee.

🔴 Charges a loan completion fee.

3. SME Finance

SME Finance is an AI-driven platform for quick loan approvals and offers a range of financing solutions tailored to SMEs in the Baltic region plus the Netherlands.

It provides finance products belonging to 3 main categories: 

1. Alternative Financing

• Invoice Finance
• Flexi Finance
• Revenue Based FinanceNew

2. Business Loans

• Business Loan
• Loan for farmers
• Green Loans

3. Leasing

• Commercial transport leasing
• Car Leasing
• Equipment Leasing
• Leasing of agricultural, forestry, and construction machinery.

SME Finance services will soon be available in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Poland, Italy, and Austria.

Key Highlights:

✨ Maximum loan amount of €1 500 000 with EIF guarantees.

✨ The minimum repayment term is 3 months, and the maximum is up to 36 months.

✨ Microfinancing possibilities of up to €50,000 for small businesses without collateral requirements.

✨ Access to funds can happen in one working day.

✨ In order to qualify for microfinancing, you must have up to 10 employees and annual revenues under €2 million.

✨ The interest rates vary from the loan type, product, and loan amount and can start at 0,9% monthly.

Pros & Cons

🟢 Quick loan decisions

🟢 Provides high maximum loan amounts.

🟢 Long repayment periods.

‍

🔴 Certain loan types require a guarantee or collateral.

🔴 Interest rates can get high.

4. Silvr

Silvr provides short-term loans ranging from € 5,000 to € 1,000,000 for SMEs in France and Germany.

Thus, it offers solutions for Inventory Fiancing, Growth Financing and Cash Reserves.

Key Highlights:

✨ In order to apply, you need a monthly turnover of € 7,000 minimum for France-based companies and € 10,000 for Germany-based companies.

✨ The repayment period is up to 6 months.

✨ You need to provide the last 6 months of your bank statements and financial statements.

✨ The installments are collected weekly.

✨ Regarding interest rates, if you have RBF, future deductions correspond to the sales achieved X weeks previously. 

On the other hand, if you have a fixed payment plan, you will be debited at the same rates weekly.

✨ The loan amount ranges between €5,000 and €1 million.

Pros & Cons

‍

🟢 Quick loan decisions

🟢 Provides high maximum loan amounts.

🟢 No personal guarantee.

‍

🔴 Short repayment periods.

5. Iwoca

Iwoca is an online lender focusing on small business loans, such as unsecured, short-term, and flexi loans.

It usually offers repayment terms of 12 months with no fees or extra charges.

However, you’ll have to pay an upfront fee for longer loans. 

Key Highlights:

✨ To meet eligibility criteria, you must be in business for at least 1 year.

✨ You’ll need to include statements and VAT returns.

✨ You can access funds within 24 hours.

✨ The business's minimum turnover should be £10,000.

✨ Loans range from  £1,000 - £1,000,000.

✨ The interest is charged for the days you have the money.

✨ The rates can start at 2% monthly, depending on the loan type.

Pros & Cons

‍

🟢 Enables high maximum credit.

🟢 Same-day funding possible.

🟢 Has no early repayment fees.

‍

🔴 Charges the interest for the days you have the money.

🔴 Must have an operating business for a year.

🔴 Has a variable interest rate.

5 Fastest Small Business Loans — Which is The Best?

All the above lenders offer quick access to the necessary funds for additional investments or growth opportunities.

From lenders offering high loan amounts, such as Iwoca, to solutions that require no collateral, such as Silvr, each solution can help you during your lean periods.

Nonetheless, only one solution offers more than just loaning capabilities —  It provides tools to improve and control your cash flow management. 

And at the same time, to increase your creditworthiness.

That solution is Puls Project.

Why Go for Puls Project?

Puls Project is an all-encompassing cash flow management tool with a centralized platform to:

💰 Unify all your financial transactions, balances, accounts and companies.

💰 Quickly access necessary funding to boost your growth or close liquidity gaps.

💰 Plan your cash flow accurately with real-time data syncing.

💰 Enhance your creditworthiness through consistent financial planning and automating cash flow management operations.

Ready to try Puls Project?

Sign up for Puls Project today and get a quick loan with minimal requirements.

Keep Learning:

How to Get a Line of Credit for Business?

Exploring alternative financing options for startups: Diversifying your funding strategy

FinTech vs. Banks – competition or collaboration? And which is best for my business?