Access to funding is a crucial aspect of running a small business. Funding Circle is definitely a big player among various loan providers, but it isn’t the only one.
You may be looking for better terms, faster access to funds, or different lending models that may better suit your business needs.
That’s why we’ve come up with our list of 4 Funding Circle Alternatives so you can explore financing options that may align better with your business circumstances.
Let’s dive in!
4 Funding Circle Alternatives: Overview
Let’s see a brief overview of Funding Circle alternatives.
1. Puls Project
Puls Project is a cash flow management FinTech solution that offers robust tools to not only facilitate liquidity planning and cash flow, but also to access necessary funding quickly.
Its core solutions fall into 3 major categories:
- Financing options
- Multibanking possibilities, and
- Cash flow management and financial planning.
Key Highlights:
✨ Financing Options
According to our users, one of the most popular features of Puls is the hassle-free loaning option.
Due to our fund, Montold SME Lending Fund GmbH & Co. KG, registered with BaFin, we can issue loans without the usual lengthy and time-consuming policies and criteria.
💰 In order to apply for a loan, you only need to:
- Have a running business of at least 6 months.
- Provide the loan agreement and personal identification of beneficial owners and directors as per GwG.
💰 On top of that, we require no collateral, and no banks or other 3rd parties are involved.
💰 Another perk is that you can use credit limits without any costs and without them affecting your creditworthiness with banks.
We calculate credit limits based on the business's overall financial health, allowing for enhanced borrowing capacity.
💰 You can apply for €100,000 for 12 months and quickly access the funds within 48 hours of submitting your application.
Although a borrowing cap is lower than with similar solutions, you can top up and enhance your credit limit through:
- Proper cash flow management and
- Safely linking more than 1 bank account.
💰 Speaking of safety, Puls Project secures your data with Amazon Aurora encrypted DB clusters with AES-256 encryption.
In addition, we leverage the Transport Layer Security standard to ensure transit data and information security.
Besides that, our GDPR-compliant service provider, FinAPI, enables even more data protection.
2. Multibanking Capabilities
💰 Our multibanking solution enables you to increase your credit limit by connecting an account from over 4,000 banks.
💰 The centralized dashboard allows you to manage and track balances and spending across multiple bank accounts and companies in one place.
💰 Furthermore, the dashboard offers insights into profitability across various categories, helping you assess financial performance over different periods.
3. Cash Flow Planner
The tool provides a wide range of solutions to streamline and automate cash flow management.
💰 Provides a unified overview of balances and spending across different accounts and companies in a single place.
💰 Monitors cash flow actively and alerts you to potential gaps, enabling proactive management.
💰 Automates the tracking of expenses by pulling data directly from linked bank accounts, minimizing human errors.
💰 Syncs all transactions and info multiple times daily, providing real-time visibility into cash positions and helping you make informed decisions.
💰 Simulates multiple cash flow scenarios to understand potential future positions and make strategic decisions accordingly.
💰 Allows you to input regular monthly expenses automatically displayed in subsequent months for easy tracking.
Pros & Cons:
🟢 An overall financial management and loan solution.
🟢 Minimal loan requirements.
🟢 Quick access to funds within 48 hours.
🟢 No collateral.
🔴 A lower borrowing cap, but with the ability to top up and increase the loan by safely connecting another bank account.
2. LendingCrowd
LendingCrowd is a FinTech platform that offers flexible funding solutions to limited companies and limited liability partnerships.
It provides options to refinance existing debt, finance loans for stock, cash flow, new premises, a new contract, etc.
Key Highlights:
✨ Loan Amount
You can borrow between £75,000 and £500,000, with repayment periods ranging from 6 to 60 months.
✨ Application Process
Besides being a UK-based LLP or a limited company, to apply for LendingCrowd’s loan, you’ll need to provide:
- Information about your business, current loans or overdrafts, and financial needs.
- Details for each of the owners or directors of your business.
- 2 years’ filed accounts with the last not older than 15 months old.
- Latest 3 months’ bank statements
- Details of current borrowing, including any Bounce Back, CBILS, or RLS loan.
- Purpose of funds – A simple description of what you’ll use the loan for.
Furthermore, you must have a turnover of at least £100,000.
It is worth noting that you must provide a personal guarantee for business loans up to £350,000, subject to credit assessment.
Thus, you either need to be a homeowner or provide a guarantee from a third party.
✨ Fees
LendingCrowd doesn’t charge any early repayment fees — You can also make overpayments of at least £5,000.
Interest rates start from 6.90%, depending on your business case, amount, and repayment periods.
Pros & Cons
🟢 No early repayment fees.
🔴 Must be UK-based.
🔴 Must be in business for at least 2 years.
🔴 You must provide a personal guarantee for amounts up to £350,000.
3. Iwoca
Iwoca is a UK FinTech company that provides flexible business loans to small and medium enterprises.
It offers:
- Small business loans
- Short-term business loans
- Unsecured business loans, and
- Revenue-based loans.
Besides loaning possibilities, Iwoca offers tools to facilitate making and taking payments.
Thus, it integrates with multiple eCommerce and accounting software platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Xero, QuickBooks, etc.
Key Highlights:
✨ Loan Amount
Iwoca offers a high borrowing cap, ranging from £1,000 to £1,000,000.
✨ Application Process
In order to apply for an Iwoca loan, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be based in the UK and be a limited company or a partnership
- Provide basic details about the business
- Include bank statements from the last year.
In addition, Iwoca reviews your financial statements, business debt, and cash flow to determine whether you can effectively manage the debt.
The application process is online and takes around 5 minutes. Depending on the case, your loan may be approved within 24 hours.
Iwoca runs soft credit checks, so applying for one won’t affect your credit score.
However, the business loan will appear on your credit report if you decide to draw down funds.
✨ Fees
There aren’t early repayment fees, but you pay interest for the days you have the money.
Business loan rates start at 2% a month for a Flexi-Loan.
In addition, with a Flexi-Loan, once you've paid back a third of your original credit limit, you can apply for a top-up by providing updated information about your business.
Pros & Cons
🟢 High credit maximum
🟢 Same-day funding possible.
🟢 No early repayment fees.
🔴 Charges the interest for the days you have the money.
🔴 Must be in business for a year.
🔴 Has a variable interest rate.
4. Silvr
Silvr offers flexible financing solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises in France and Germany.
Its core solutions revolve around:
- Invoice Financing — Allows you to convert outstanding invoices into immediate liquidity.
- Inventory Financing — Enables you to purchase stock upfront while maintaining cash flow.
- Growth Financing — Supports marketing campaigns or recruitment efforts for business expansion.
- Working Capital Loans — Provide a financial buffer for unexpected expenses or opportunities.
Key Highlights:
✨ Loan Amount
You can borrow between € 5,000 and € 1,000,000, with the repayment period from 1 to 6 months.
✨ Application Process
Naturally, there are certain conditions you must meet to be eligible for a loan:
- You must be an SME based in Germany or France. You should also bear in mind that you can’t apply for a loan if you are self-employed.
- Depending on the country, your monthly turnover should be:
💰 For France-based companies, from €7,000 per month, and
💰 For Germany-based companies, from €10,000 per month.
- You can’t have any past legal proceedings for any of the shareholders
- In addition, you can’t have any past payment incidents.
- You must provide a minimum of 6 months of financial records, financial statements, and KYB/KYC documents.
The decision-making can take up to 3 business days, and you can get financing within 2 business days if your application is approved. Furthermore, you’ll receive your funding in Euros at the daily rate, regardless of the currency or bank you use.
✨ Fees
Silvr offers fixed interest rates that may start at 1% per month, depending on your loan type and conditions.
You pay your installments weekly every Monday. Moreover, you’ll receive a reminder email 4-5 business days before your targeted repayment date.
If you’ve opted for revenue-based financing, your future payments correspond to the “sales achieved x weeks previously.”
On the other hand, you'll pay the same rates weekly if you have a fixed payment plan.
Pros & Cons:
🟢 Provides high maximum loan amounts.
🟢 No personal guarantee.
🟢 Quick loan decisions.
🔴 Short repayment periods that may lead to higher interest rates.
Funding Circle Alternatives — Which is The Best?
Regardless of how good a financial solution may be, it is always good to keep an open tab on new players in the market and explore the options.
Our list of Funding Circle alternatives should nudge you in the right direction and help you find the most optimal solution for you.
If you need a higher borrow cap, Iwoca may be the one. On the other hand, if you want a solution without providing a personal guarantee, Silvr seems like a logical choice.
However, each alternative requires an essential requirement — proof of how well you manage and plan your cash flow.
Imagine you can find a solution that helps you optimize your cash flow management while providing financial support, all under one roof.
Enter, Puls Project!
Why Opt for Puls Project?
Puls Project is an all-in-one financial solution that provides tools to improve liquidity or streamline your financial planning processes.
Thus, it allows you to:
🔥 Centralize financial management and maintain better control over cash flow to meet operational needs and invest in growth opportunities.
🔥 Access loans quickly to bridge cash gaps during low revenue periods or unexpected expenses.
🔥 Tailor the loan to your needs, and set the amount and the repayment period to see the total cost, monthly, and total interest rate.
🔥 Facilitate better budgeting and forecasting through accurate data.
Ready to see Puls Project in action?
Sign up for Puls Project today and optimize your overall financial health.
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