Capify Business Loans at a Glance
Our Verdict
Capify gives you a fast route to working capital when your credit file has taken a knock, and the same-day decisions and next-day funding are genuine. Its willingness to lend against adverse credit, including CCJs and missed payments, is a real difference from Funding Circle, iwoca and most high-street lenders.
You pay for that accessibility, and the headline “from 24% APR” doesn’t tell you the whole story. On top of the interest there is a processing fee of £249 to £749, an origination fee of up to 6% of your advance, and a £24.90 monthly service fee that runs for the whole term. On a £50,000 advance over six months those three can reach close to £3,700 between them before a penny of interest, and none of it appears on an aggregator’s comparison table.
So the decision turns on whether a cheaper lender will have you. If you qualify for Funding Circle at 6.9% APR, or for iwoca, which charges neither a processing nor an origination fee, go there first; we compared the three and that gap is decisive. Capify earns serious consideration when those doors are shut, which for a business carrying a recent CCJ is often exactly where it stands.
Best For
Capify works best for UK limited companies, sole traders, and partnerships that need fast capital and have been declined elsewhere because of adverse credit.
If you have a CCJ on the file, a period of missed payments, or a thin credit history, Capify is one of the few lenders that’ll consider you without an automatic decline.
It also suits businesses that need a short-term working capital injection, a supplier invoice to bridge, a VAT bill to cover, where the 12-month maximum term is not a constraint.
Not Ideal For
If you qualify for a bank loan or Funding Circle at 6.9% APR, Capify’s total cost is hard to justify. The gap between Capify’s fee stack and Funding Circle’s rates is substantial on any advance above £20,000.
Go to Capify when cheaper options are closed to you, not as a first port of call.
You’ll also find Capify unsuitable if you need more than 12 months to repay. Fleximize extends to 60 months and iwoca to 5 years. Any project that needs a longer repayment runway should start there.
Key Facts
| Key point | Details |
|---|---|
| Loan range | £10,000 to £3,000,000 |
| Representative APR | From 24% |
| Loan term | 3 to 12 months (unsecured) |
| Processing fee | £249 to £749 (depends on advance size) |
| Origination fee | Up to 6% of advance amount |
| Monthly service fee | £24.90 per month throughout term |
| Early repayment charge | None |
| Decision speed | Same day for most applicants |
| Funding speed | Within 24 hours in most cases |
| Repayment schedule | Daily, weekly, or monthly |
| Personal guarantee | Required from majority owner |
| Eligible businesses | UK limited company, sole trader, partnership |
| Minimum trading | 12 months |
| Minimum monthly turnover | £10,000 |
| Adverse credit | Accepted (CCJs, missed payments considered) |
| Verified 1 June 2026. | |
What Are Capify Business Loans?
Capify is a UK alternative lender specialising in unsecured business loans for small and medium-sized businesses. It operates as a direct lender, not a broker: when you apply to Capify, you’re applying directly for their own loan product.
Capify holds FCA consumer credit authorisation. It is not a bank and not prudentially regulated by the PRA, which means it doesn’t hold deposits and your loan isn’t FSCS-protected. If you have an unresolved complaint, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
How Capify Business Loans Work
You apply online and submit basic business details: trading history, monthly turnover, and the amount you want to borrow. Capify uses an algorithm to assess your application and returns a decision the same day in most cases.
Once you accept an offer, Capify transfers the funds to your business account, typically within 24 hours. You then repay on the schedule you agreed, daily, weekly, or monthly, over the loan term.
The loan is unsecured, but a personal guarantee from the majority owner is required in all cases. That guarantee means your personal assets are at risk if the business cannot repay.
Main Loan Options
Capify offers a single core product: an unsecured business loan of £10,000 to £3,000,000 with a term of 3 to 12 months. There is no revolving credit facility, no invoice finance, and no longer-term secured option through Capify directly.
The flexibility sits in the repayment schedule rather than the product structure. You can choose daily, weekly, or monthly repayments to match your cash flow cycle.
That’s particularly useful if you run a business with weekly revenue, a cafe, a retail unit, or a seasonal trade, where monthly lump repayments would create cash flow pressure.
Capify Business Loan Rates and Fees
When we totalled Capify’s borrowing cost, it came out a good deal higher than the headline APR suggests. The “from 24%” figure is the part that lands on a comparison table; the three separate fees on top of interest are the part that lands on your bank statement.
So before you line Capify up against an alternative, put all three fees in the same column as the rate. Leave them out and you are comparing the wrong numbers, and you will find that out in the first month, when the repayment and the service fee come off the same account in the same week.
Interest Rates and Representative APR
Capify advertises a representative APR from 24%. This is the rate quoted for comparison purposes, but your actual rate depends on your business profile, trading history, turnover, and credit score. Businesses with adverse credit will typically pay more than the headline rate.
For context: Funding Circle starts from 6.9% APR for well-established limited companies. iwoca’s representative APR is 49%. On rate alone we place Capify in the middle of the alternative lending range. The three fees below are what move it.
Fees and Charges
Three fees apply to every Capify loan on top of the interest. We read them off the schedule Capify publishes at capify.co.uk/fees, which the company still dates February 2023:
| Fee | Amount | When charged |
|---|---|---|
| Processing fee | £249 to £749 | At drawdown (varies by advance size) |
| Origination fee | Up to 6% of advance amount | At drawdown |
| Monthly service fee | £24.90 per month | Every month throughout the term |
| Early repayment charge | None | Not applicable |
| Fee figures from Capify’s published fee schedule at capify.co.uk/fees, read 2 September 2026. Capify dates that schedule February 2023. | ||
To make those fees concrete, here is what they look like on a £50,000 advance over 6 months:
| Cost component | Amount |
|---|---|
| Processing fee | £549 |
| Origination fee (up to 6% of £50,000) | Up to £3,000 |
| Monthly service fee (6 x £24.90) | £149.40 |
| Total fees before interest | Up to £3,698.40 |
| Illustrative example only. Your actual processing fee depends on advance size. Interest cost not included. | |
What Affects Your Rate
Capify assesses your rate based on a combination of factors: how long you have been trading, your monthly turnover, your credit history (both business and personal), and the amount you want to borrow relative to your revenue.
Businesses with a clean credit file and strong turnover will be offered rates closer to that 24%, which is the best Capify gives anybody. Those with adverse credit, whether CCJs, missed payments, or a thin file, will typically see higher rates, though Capify doesn’t publish a rate ceiling.
You only find out your actual rate when you apply. Capify states that its initial assessment doesn’t leave a hard footprint on your credit record, so it’s worth applying to see your offer before committing.
Capify Business Loan Eligibility
Who Can Apply for Capify Business Loans
Capify accepts applications from UK limited companies, sole traders, and partnerships. You don’t need to be incorporated, and Capify states that plainly, which is worth something: iwoca says outright that it doesn’t lend to sole traders or standard partnerships, and Funding Circle’s own pages disagree with each other, with its main loan page framed around limited companies and LLPs while its self-employed page says sole traders and partnerships can apply.
Four thresholds decide whether Capify will look at you at all, and we read the turnover minimum as the one that rules most applicants out:
| Requirement | Capify threshold |
|---|---|
| Trading history | 12 months minimum |
| Monthly turnover | £10,000 minimum (~£120,000 annual) |
| Business type | UK limited company, sole trader, or partnership |
| Personal guarantee | Required from majority owner |
| Location | UK-registered business |
| Eligibility criteria from capify.co.uk (June 2026). Capify may apply additional criteria at assessment. | |
Trading History, Turnover and Credit Checks
The 12-month minimum trading history is not negotiable. If your business has been operating for less than a year, Capify won’t accept your application, regardless of your revenue or credit profile.
The £10,000 monthly turnover minimum equates to around £120,000 a year. That rules out very early-stage businesses with modest initial revenue, but it’s lower than some alternatives: Fleximize requires £5,000 monthly turnover, and iwoca doesn’t publish a minimum figure.
On credit checks: Capify explicitly accepts adverse credit profiles, including CCJs and missed payments, and there’s no published minimum credit score.
That is a genuine differentiator. Funding Circle publishes no minimum credit score, and neither do the high-street banks, so treat any specific number you see quoted as somebody’s guess rather than a threshold you can plan around. What they do apply, and Capify does not, are automatic declines on certain adverse markers.
Security and Personal Guarantees
Capify loans are unsecured: you don’t need to put up business premises, equipment, or stock as collateral. However, a personal guarantee is required from the majority owner in all cases.
A personal guarantee means that if the business cannot repay the loan, Capify can pursue you personally for the outstanding balance. Your personal assets, including savings, property, and other holdings, can be at risk.
This isn’t unusual in UK alternative lending: iwoca, Fleximize, and Funding Circle all require personal guarantees. But it’s frequently omitted from comparison site eligibility summaries, and we rate it the single most important risk factor you need to understand before you sign.
If you’re uncomfortable with a personal guarantee, a secured loan against a business asset would remove that personal exposure, but Capify doesn’t offer a secured product.
Capify Business Loan Application Process
How to Apply for a Capify Business Loan
You apply online at capify.co.uk. The initial application asks for your business name, how long you have been trading, your monthly turnover, how much you want to borrow, and your contact details.
Capify says the initial assessment doesn’t leave a hard credit search. You receive a decision the same day in most cases. If approved, a Capify account manager contacts you to confirm the offer, walk through the terms, and collect any remaining documentation.
Documents and Checks Needed
Once you proceed to a full application, you will typically need to provide:
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 3 to 6 months of business bank statements | Verify monthly turnover and cash flow |
| Government-issued photo ID (director or owner) | Identity verification |
| Proof of business address | Confirm UK registration |
| Personal guarantee declaration | Legal commitment from majority owner |
| Document requirements may vary. Capify may request additional information depending on your profile and loan size. | |
Approval and Funding Times
Capify’s stated timeline is same-day decisions for most applicants and funds within 24 hours of accepting an offer.
In practice, funding speed depends on how quickly you return documents and sign the loan agreement. If you have everything ready when you apply, same-day funding is achievable in some cases.
For comparison: iwoca also commonly funds within 24 hours, and Fleximize typically funds within 24 to 48 hours of a complete application.
In our comparison the speed difference between the three is marginal. If you’re choosing on speed alone, all three beat a high-street bank, so cost and term decide it instead.
Capify Business Loan Repayments, Flexibility and Risk
Repayment Terms and Flexibility
Capify loans run for 3 to 12 months, and on our reading that ceiling is the single biggest constraint on who the product suits. If your project or your cash flow recovery needs longer than a year, Capify can’t accommodate it, and you will be refinancing or looking for another lender at exactly the point the first loan was supposed to have solved the problem.
Within that term, you choose your repayment frequency: daily, weekly, or monthly. That flexibility is genuinely useful for businesses with irregular revenue.
If you run a weekly trade, a market stall, a delivery operation, or a hospitality business, daily or weekly repayments align with your income cycle. They reduce the risk of a monthly lump sum arriving before you’ve collected enough revenue.
There are no early repayment charges. If your business has a strong month and you want to pay down the loan ahead of schedule, you can do so without penalty. That is a meaningful benefit: some fast lenders charge an ERC equivalent to several months of interest.
Missed Payments and Default Risk
If you miss a repayment, Capify will typically contact you to discuss the situation. Persistent missed payments will trigger the personal guarantee, giving Capify the right to pursue the majority owner personally for the outstanding balance.
Because Capify’s loans are short-term and repayments are frequent, the consequences of a payment failure can escalate quickly. A missed daily or weekly payment is visible to the lender immediately, unlike a monthly loan where a problem might not surface for 30 days.
Before you accept a Capify offer, model your repayments against your realistic revenue. A same-day loan that you can’t service is more damaging than waiting for a slower, cheaper option.
Capify Business Loan Customer Reviews
Capify’s public reviews split along a predictable line, and the split tells you more than any single star rating would. Borrowers who came to Capify after being declined elsewhere tend to rate it well; borrowers who judged it on the headline APR alone tend not to.
Weigh the themes below more heavily than the score. We rate them the more reliable signal, because a star average moves with whoever happened to leave feedback that month, and three angry reviews in a quiet quarter drag it further than anything Capify actually changed.
What Customers Like
Reviewers who rate Capify positively keep coming back to two things: the speed of funding and the willingness to lend when everyone else had already said no.
Consider a business turned down by its own bank and a peer-to-peer platform in the same week, with a supplier invoice due Friday. It doesn’t rate Capify on its APR; it rates it on the fact the money arrived.
The account manager model, where a named contact walks you through the offer and paperwork, is mentioned favourably by borrowers who found fully automated lenders impersonal or difficult to query. We see that as a real plus if you want to query terms before committing.
Common Complaints
Negative reviews cluster on total cost. Borrowers who focused on the “from 24% APR” headline and did not account for the processing fee, origination fee, and monthly service fee report that repayments were higher than they expected.
A secondary complaint is the short term: borrowers who took a 12-month loan to solve what turned out to be a longer-term cash flow problem found themselves needing to refinance at the end of the term, incurring the fee stack a second time.
These aren’t product failures; they’re consequences of mismatched expectations. When we read through the negative reviews, almost all of them trace back to the headline APR rather than the full fee stack.
If you model your own repayments honestly against the full fee table before applying, we think there are few genuine surprises in the Capify product itself.
Capify Business Loan Support and Regulation
Customer Support
Capify assigns an account manager to every application. That account manager is your primary contact through the application, offer, and drawdown stages. Once the loan is live, you can reach support by phone and email during UK business hours.
There’s no in-app chat and no 24-hour support. If a payment problem surfaces at 9pm on a Friday, you’re waiting until Monday morning to speak to anyone, and for a short-term loan with frequent repayments that gap can matter more than it would on a five-year facility.
Regulatory Status and Complaints
Capify holds FCA consumer credit authorisation, which means it is required to follow FCA lending standards and treat customers fairly. It is not a bank and not prudentially regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Your loan is not FSCS-protected. FSCS covers eligible deposits at authorised banks and building societies; loan products are outside the scope of FSCS protection regardless of which lender provides them.
If you have a complaint that Capify doesn’t resolve to your satisfaction, you can escalate to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The FOS is free to use and can require Capify to pay redress if it finds in your favour.
Capify Business Loans vs Alternatives
Capify vs iwoca Business Loans
iwoca and Capify are the two fastest routes to funding for businesses with imperfect credit, and of the two we rate iwoca the better first call for anyone who can clear its checks. Both can fund within 24 hours. The key difference is product structure.
iwoca’s Flexi-Loan lets you draw down, repay, and redraw without reapplying: a revolving credit facility rather than a fixed advance. If your cash flow is variable and you need ongoing access to credit rather than a one-time injection, iwoca is better suited to that need.
On cost: iwoca’s representative APR is 49%, higher than Capify’s 24%, which is the lowest Capify advertises. But iwoca doesn’t charge a processing fee or origination fee, which changes the total cost equation depending on how much you borrow and for how long. Model both offers with your own numbers before you choose. The ranking depends on how long you need the money, not on the headline rate.
| Feature | Capify | iwoca |
|---|---|---|
| Loan range | £10,000 to £3,000,000 | £1,000 to £1,000,000 |
| Representative APR | From 24% | 49% (representative) |
| Term | 3 to 12 months | 1 day to 5 years |
| Product type | Fixed advance | Revolving Flexi-Loan or fixed term |
| Processing/origination fees | Yes (£249–£749 + up to 6%) | No arrangement fee |
| Early repayment charge | None | None |
| Adverse credit | Accepted | Accepted |
| Minimum trading | 12 months | 6 months |
| Data from provider JSON files (June 2026). | ||
Capify vs Fleximize Business Loans
We rate Fleximize the better option if you need a longer repayment runway or a lower monthly cost. Terms run to 60 months versus Capify’s 12-month ceiling. Rates start from 0.9% per month, and Fleximize is FCA-regulated as a credit lender, giving you additional regulatory protections.
Fleximize also charges no early repayment penalty, matching Capify on that point.
The trade-off: Fleximize requires 6 months of trading (12 months for the standard product) and a minimum monthly turnover of £5,000. Its credit assessment is also stricter than Capify’s. If you have significant adverse credit markers and Fleximize declines you, Capify is the next option to try.
| Feature | Capify | Fleximize |
|---|---|---|
| Loan range | £10,000 to £3,000,000 | £5,000 to £500,000 |
| Rates | From 24% APR | From 0.9% per month |
| Maximum term | 12 months | 60 months |
| Early repayment charge | None | None |
| FCA regulated | Yes (consumer credit) | Yes (consumer credit) |
| Adverse credit | Accepted | Assessed case by case |
| Minimum monthly turnover | £10,000 | £5,000 |
| Funding speed | Within 24 hours | 24 to 48 hours |
| Data from provider JSON files (June 2026). | ||
Capify vs Alternative Business Loan Lenders
Beyond iwoca and Fleximize, the alternative lending market includes Funding Circle (from 6.9% APR, terms to 5 years, limited companies and LLPs only, 2+ years trading required) and high-street banks (typically lower rates but slower decisions and stricter credit criteria).
The decision tree for most borrowers is straightforward:
If you qualify for Funding Circle or a bank loan, start there. The rates are substantially lower than Capify’s full fee stack.
Qualify for Fleximize and that’s preferable for anything over 12 months or where you want a lower monthly cost with regulatory protections built in.
If you need a revolving facility, iwoca is the better fit than Capify.
Capify is the right tool when the above options are closed to you, particularly when adverse credit is the barrier. That is the one scenario where we point you to Capify ahead of the cheaper names.
Final Verdict: Are Capify Business Loans Worth It?
Capify does what it claims, and that is the first thing we will say for it. You get a same-day decision, next-day funding, and a willingness to look past a credit file that most competitors can’t match, which for a business that has already been turned down twice is not a small thing.
The cost is real, and you need to go in with your eyes open. That 24% APR is the best rate Capify gives anybody, not the rate you will get, and the processing fee, origination fee and monthly service charge sit on top of it. On a £50,000 advance over six months you are paying close to £3,700 in fees before a single penny of interest. We ran the same borrowing against a Funding Circle loan at 6.9% APR, and the gap is wide enough to change the decision on its own.
So use Capify if cheaper options aren’t open to you, you need the capital inside 24 hours, and you can service the repayments on your realistic revenue rather than your optimistic projection. That last test is the one borrowers skip, and it is where most repayment failures start: the money arrives on Thursday morning, the first repayment leaves the following week, and the invoice that was going to cover it is still unpaid.
Don’t use Capify if you qualify for Funding Circle, Fleximize or iwoca at lower cost, and don’t use it for a project that needs more than 12 months to repay. And don’t sign a personal guarantee without understanding that your home and savings are on the line if the business can’t repay.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Capify a legitimate lender?
Yes. Capify holds FCA consumer credit authorisation and is a legitimate direct lender. It is not a bank and not FSCS-protected, but you can escalate unresolved complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Verify Capify’s current FCA registration at register.fca.org.uk before applying.
How much can you borrow from Capify?
Capify offers unsecured business loans of £10,000 to £3,000,000 over terms of 3 to 12 months. The amount you can borrow depends on your monthly turnover, trading history, and credit profile.
Does Capify accept bad credit?
Yes. Capify explicitly considers adverse credit profiles, including CCJs and missed payments. There is no published minimum credit score. This is one of Capify’s main differentiators from Funding Circle and many high-street lenders.
What is the true cost of a Capify loan?
Beyond the headline APR (from 24%), you pay a processing fee of £249 to £749, an origination fee of up to 6% of the advance amount, and a monthly service fee of £24.90 throughout the loan term. On a £50,000 six-month advance, those fees total close to £3,700 before interest. Always calculate total repayment cost, not just APR, before accepting an offer.
Does Capify charge early repayment fees?
No. Capify doesn’t charge an early repayment fee. If your business generates a surplus and you want to clear the loan ahead of schedule, you can do so without paying a penalty.
How quickly does Capify transfer funds?
Capify states that most applicants receive a same-day decision and funds within 24 hours of accepting an offer. Actual timing depends on how quickly you return documentation and sign the loan agreement.
Do you need a personal guarantee for a Capify loan?
Yes. A personal guarantee from the majority owner is required on all Capify loans. This means your personal assets can be at risk if the business cannot repay. Read the guarantee terms carefully before signing.
How we reviewed Capify
We drew this review from Capify’s published product information at capify.co.uk, provider data verified in June 2026, and primary source regulatory data from the FCA Financial Services Register.
Fee figures (processing fee, origination fee, monthly service fee) are from the Capify provider JSON we use across BusinessExpert’s loans comparison pages.
Competitor comparisons use published data from iwoca, Fleximize, and Funding Circle as of June 2026. All rate and eligibility figures should be verified directly with each lender before you apply, as terms change. FCA registration status should be confirmed at register.fca.org.uk.
BusinessExpert doesn’t accept payment for editorial rankings. We earn a referral fee when readers click through and apply to a lender, but this doesn’t affect our editorial assessment or the order in which providers appear.