If your business takes most of its money on card and you need cash faster than a bank will move, a Capify merchant cash advance is one route — but you pay for the speed.
It hands you a lump sum against future card takings, then collects a slice of every day’s card settlement until the agreed total is repaid. There is no APR, only a factor rate.
Before you sign, you want the true cost, not the headline rate. We’ve checked every figure below against Capify’s own pages, because a factor rate hides what an advance does to your cash flow.
Capify Merchant Cash Advance at a Glance
Our Verdict
For a card-heavy business that needs money this week and keeps getting turned down, Capify does a real job: it funds fast and weighs your takings, not your credit score.
You’re paying for access here, not value: we rate it a last-resort speed play. The factor rate plus three fees push the effective cost near 68% APR on a one-year advance.
You buy access and speed, and you pay one of the highest prices on this page for it. That’s the trade-off in one line, and we’d only take it when the cheaper doors are shut.
Capify Business Loan
Best For
Retail and hospitality firms that turn over 20,000 pounds a month or more on card and need cash before the weekend will get the most from it.
It also suits you if a CCJ or thin credit file has shut the cheaper doors, and steady card revenue means the daily holdback won’t choke your cash flow.
Not Ideal For
If you qualify for an iwoca, Funding Circle or bank rate, walk away — the same money costs you far less, and the factor rate offers no early-repayment saving.
You should also skip it without steady card takings, or if you need a long term: three to twelve months suits working capital, not a capital project.
Key Facts
| Product | Merchant cash advance (purchase of future card receivables) |
|---|---|
| Advance amount | £5,000 to £1,000,000 |
| Pricing | Factor rate, typically 1.1 to 1.5 (no APR quoted) |
| Fees | Processing £249–£649, 4% origination, £24.90/month service |
| Term | 3 to 12 months |
| Repayment | Percentage of daily card takings (holdback) |
| Eligibility | 12+ months trading, £20,000/month card sales; adverse credit considered |
| Speed | 60-second conditional decision; funds within 24 hours |
| Regulation | Capify Ltd FCA-authorised (FRN 720390); the MCA itself is unregulated |
| Trustpilot | 4.6 out of 5 from 700+ UK reviews |
What Is the Capify Merchant Cash Advance?
How the Capify MCA Works
Capify advances you a lump sum — 5,000 to 1,000,000 pounds — against the card sales you expect to take. The size is usually one to one and a half times your average monthly card turnover.
You don’t repay a fixed instalment. At the end of each trading day Capify takes an agreed percentage of card settlements, so repayment moves with your cash flow until the total is cleared.
You get no interest rate, because it’s legally the purchase of future card receivables, not a loan. The cost is baked into a single factor rate you agree up front.
MCA vs Business Loan: Key Differences
A term loan takes a fixed sum from you each month and charges interest on a falling balance, so repaying early saves you interest. The MCA works the other way round.
With the MCA your repayment rises and falls with daily card takings, so a quiet week costs you less that week — useful if your trade is seasonal or lumpy.
You can’t shrink the cost by clearing the advance early, because the price is fixed in pounds from day one. That makes the MCA dearer than it first looks.
Capify MCA Factor Rates and Total Cost
Factor Rates and Repayment Multiples
You agree a factor rate up front — a fixed multiplier typically between 1.1 and 1.5 — then multiply the advance by it to get the total you owe. It never changes.
Take a £20,000 advance at a factor of 1.3: you repay £26,000 in total. The £6,000 cost is fixed whether you clear it in four months or twelve.
Your credit file and card turnover set the rate: clean and strong earns near 1.1, thinner trading or adverse credit pushes towards 1.5. Capify quotes your exact rate after underwriting.
Fees and Charges
You pay three fees on top of the factor rate. A processing fee scales with the advance, from £249 on small deals up to £649 on the largest.
On top of that sits a 4% origination fee on the amount advanced, plus a £24.90 service fee charged every month for the life of the advance.
You need to add the fees in before you compare anything, because none show up in the factor rate — a headline 1.2 multiple always understates the real bill.
Equivalent APR: What the MCA Really Costs
Capify doesn’t publish an APR, so here is the honest maths for you. Take £24,000 at a factor of 1.20: the base payback is £28,800 before a single fee.
Add the £349 processing fee, £960 of origination at 4%, and £298.80 of monthly service charges over a year. The total comes to £30,407.80.
You repay that steadily over the year rather than holding it in full, so the cost works out near a 68% effective APR — multiples of what a bank or iwoca would charge.
You should carry that effective APR into any comparison, not the factor rate. It’s the figure we trust over a small-looking multiple, and where your real cost shows.
Capify MCA Eligibility
Who Can Apply
You apply as the business owner or director, and Capify will want a personal guarantee from the majority owner. That makes you personally liable for your wages and supplier bills if the business can’t pay.
You get a human read here: Capify underwrites by hand, not on an automated score, so a borderline file still has a chance. If your card revenue is strong, that works in your favour.
Card Turnover and Trading History
The MCA has a hard card-sales floor: you need at least £20,000 a month in debit and credit card takings. That is higher than the £10,000 turnover bar on Capify’s loan.
You also need 12 months of trading behind you, which rules out a pre-revenue start-up. The card-sales rule is what makes this a tool for retail, hospitality and e-commerce.
If most of your money arrives by bank transfer or invoice, the MCA won’t fit — Capify’s standard business loan reads total turnover instead.
Business Types Accepted
Capify takes limited companies, LLPs, ordinary partnerships and sole traders for the MCA, so your legal structure rarely blocks you on its own.
You’re also judged on your cash flow, not on a clean file alone: Capify weighs adverse credit and historic CCJs against current takings rather than declining on sight. That openness is what you pay the higher price for.
Capify MCA Application Process
How to Apply for a Capify MCA
You start with a 60-second online eligibility check that runs a soft, no-credit-check pre-approval. It tells you quickly whether it’s worth going further.
If you pass, an account manager picks it up, confirms your card turnover and walks you through the offer. Capify markets a same-day decision on most files.
Documents and Checks Required
The core evidence is your card-processing statements, because that revenue is what Capify lends against. Have a few months of merchant settlement data ready before you apply.
You’ll also supply recent business bank statements and director ID. Capify reads the cash flow in those statements as closely as it reads any credit search.
Decision and Funding Timeline
Pre-approval is near-instant; a formal decision usually lands the same day once your statements are in. From signed agreement, funds can reach your account within 24 hours.
When a supplier wants paying on Friday and a bank quotes you three weeks, that 24-hour turnaround is what you’re really buying. Speed is the whole point of the product.
Capify MCA Repayment and Cash Flow
How the Percentage-of-Sales Repayment Works
Capify agrees a holdback — a fixed percentage of your daily card settlement, typically 10% to 20% — before you sign. Every day your card processor pays out, that slice goes to Capify.
On a 15% holdback, £150 of a £1,000 card day goes to Capify and £850 lands with you. You never write a cheque, so repayment moves with your cash flow rather than against a calendar.
Your term runs three to twelve months in practice: a busy stretch clears the advance sooner, a slow one stretches it out, but the total owed stays the same.
Cash Flow Impact in Slow and Busy Periods
In a quiet month you pay less, because the holdback is a percentage of a smaller number. That self-regulating feature is the genuine upside if your trade is seasonal.
In a busy month it takes more, so you repay faster — but remember the fixed cost. Clearing early never refunds a penny of the factor-rate premium.
Avoid the compounding trap: topping up an advance to cover a slow patch stacks one fixed cost on another, and that’s how you slide into a debt cycle.
Capify MCA Customer Reviews
What Customers Like
You’re looking at 4.6 out of 5 from more than 700 UK reviews, strong for a lender that deals largely with businesses the banks have already turned away.
When your cash flow is tight, the praise is consistent: a named account manager, fast funding, and a yes. We read the same theme repeatedly — responsiveness under pressure earns the stars.
Common Complaints
You’ll see the same complaint repeated: cost. Some reviewers say the factor rate didn’t land as expensive as it proved once the fees and short term were added in.
Others flag the holdback biting your cash flow during a slow spell. Neither is hidden if you read the agreement, but both are why we’d price the effective APR before you sign.
Capify MCA Support and Regulation
Customer Support
You get a named account manager rather than a call-centre queue, and the reviews rate that highly. It means one contact who already knows your file.
That hands-on model is part of what you pay for, and we think it earns its keep. If you value one person to call when a repayment question hits your cash flow, Capify delivers it.
Regulatory Status and Complaints
At the company level you’re covered: Capify Ltd is FCA-authorised (reference 720390) and also acts as a credit broker. The firm itself is regulated, which is reassuring.
Your advance is not regulated, though. An MCA is legally the purchase of future receivables, so it falls outside the FCA consumer-credit perimeter — no Section 75, no statutory affordability check.
If a dispute arises, you complain to Capify first. A commercial MCA generally can’t go to the Financial Ombudsman, so keep written records and read the agreement before you sign.
Capify MCA vs Alternatives
Capify MCA vs Liberis Merchant Cash Advance
You should compare the quoted factor rate and the fee stack, because Liberis runs the same card-sales model. Get both in writing and compare the total repaid, not the headline rate.
If your file is cleaner, get a Liberis quote too — a lower factor on the same advance saves you real money, and we’d always price both. Capify’s edge is its openness to adverse credit and its speed.
Capify MCA vs Capify Unsecured Business Loan
Pick Capify’s own term loan if you turn over £10,000 a month in total revenue, not £20,000 in card sales; it repays through fixed daily or weekly debits, not a card holdback.
Pick the loan if your revenue isn’t card-led or you want predictable instalments. Pick the MCA if your takings swing week to week and you want repayments that flex with them.
Capify MCA vs Alternative Business Finance
iwoca’s Flexi-Loan (49% representative APR) and Funding Circle (from 6.9% APR) both cost far less than a Capify MCA, but they want a reasonable credit file and steady trading.
You’ll find a high-street bank cheaper still, lending more on a longer term. The MCA only wins when those doors are shut or you need the cash faster than any of them will move.
iwoca Business Loan
Funding Circle Business Loan
365 Finance Merchant Cash Advance
Final Verdict: Is the Capify Merchant Cash Advance Worth It?
You fit this only on a narrow profile: you take most of your money on card, you need cash this week, and the cheaper lenders have already said no.
On that profile the MCA does what nothing else will: it funds in a day and flexes its repayments with your sales. The 4.6 Trustpilot score reflects owners who needed exactly that.
For everyone else you’re buying an expensive habit. An effective APR near 68%, three stacked fees and no saving for early repayment make it the costliest route on this page.
So treat it as a tool, not a default: you should price the effective APR, get a Liberis quote to test the factor rate, and check no cheaper door is open before you sign.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Capify merchant cash advance a loan?
No. Legally it’s the purchase of your future card receivables, not a loan, which is why Capify quotes a factor rate rather than an APR. The practical effect is similar – you get a lump sum and repay more – but it sits outside the FCA consumer-credit rules. Verified June 2026.
How much does a Capify MCA cost?
It’s priced on a factor rate, typically 1.1 to 1.5, so a 20,000 pound advance at 1.3 repays 26,000 pounds. A processing fee (£249 to £649), a 4% origination fee and a £24.90 monthly service fee stack on top. A 24,000 pound advance over a year works out near a 68% effective APR.
How quickly can I get funded by Capify?
A conditional decision takes 60 seconds online, a formal decision usually lands the same day once your card-processing and bank statements are in, and funds can reach your account within 24 hours of signing.
What happens if my card sales drop?
Repayment is a fixed percentage of your daily card takings, so a slow week automatically takes less from your cash flow and a busy one takes more. The advance just runs longer in a downturn – but the total you owe never changes, because the factor rate is fixed at the start.
Can I repay a Capify MCA early?
You can, and there’s no explicit early-repayment penalty, but it saves you nothing. The cost is set by the factor rate at the outset, so clearing the advance early still leaves you paying the full fixed amount.
Is Capify regulated by the FCA?
Capify Ltd is FCA-authorised (firm reference 720390) and is also a registered credit broker. The merchant cash advance itself, though, is a commercial purchase of receivables and sits outside the FCA consumer-credit perimeter, so it carries no Section 75 protection or statutory affordability check.
Methodology and Disclosure
How We Reviewed the Capify Merchant Cash Advance
What we assessed. We reviewed the Capify MCA on pricing, fees, eligibility, the application process, repayment mechanics, customer sentiment and regulation.
We paid particular attention to total cost, converting the factor rate and fees into an effective APR, because a factor rate alone hides how expensive the advance really is.
Data sources. We verified every load-bearing figure against capify.co.uk and the FCA register in June 2026, and firmed the Trustpilot score to 4.6 out of 5 from more than 700 UK reviews rather than repeat an older 4.4 to 4.7 range.
We weighed Capify’s strong review profile against the recurring complaint about cost, and against the cheaper alternatives a qualifying business should check first.
Update cadence. We re-verify the factor rate, fees and eligibility on this page at least quarterly. We’ve no affiliate relationship that affects this assessment. See our editorial policy.