Real funding data from 1,000+ approved small businesses across all 50 U.S. states. Approval rates by FICO, average funding amounts by industry, time-to-funding benchmarks.
The most-cited "credit minimum" varies wildly by lender. Here's our actual approval rate by FICO band:
Source: MFE internal funding data, January 2025 - April 2026. n=1,000+ approved/declined applications.
Industries vary widely in capital needs. Here's the average approved funding amount by sector:
| Industry | Avg Approved Amount | Most Common Product | Approval Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant & Food Service | $87,400 | MCA / Working Capital | 78% |
| Construction & Trades | $142,800 | Equipment Financing | 83% |
| Trucking & Transportation | $94,200 | Invoice Factoring + Equipment | 81% |
| Medical & Dental | $215,600 | Equipment Financing | 87% |
| Retail & eCommerce | $58,300 | Working Capital / Line of Credit | 74% |
| HVAC & Home Services | $68,500 | Working Capital / Equipment | 79% |
| Manufacturing | $185,000 | Equipment Financing | 85% |
| Professional Services | $45,200 | Working Capital / LOC | 76% |
| Beauty & Salon | $38,900 | Working Capital / Equipment | 72% |
| Auto Repair | $72,400 | Equipment / Working Capital | 80% |
Source: MFE internal funding data, May 2025 - April 2026. n=1,000+ approved applications. Median revenue per applicant: $32,400/month.
Decision and funding speed by product type — actual median times in our 2025-2026 data:
| Product | Median Decision | Median Funding | End-to-End |
|---|---|---|---|
| Merchant Cash Advance | 4 hours | 1 business day | 1.2 days |
| Working Capital | 18 hours | 2 business days | 2.5 days |
| Line of Credit | 24 hours | 2-3 business days | 3.1 days |
| Invoice Factoring | 22 hours | 1-2 business days | 2.4 days |
| Equipment Financing | 26 hours | 3 business days | 3.8 days |
| Revenue Based Financing | 30 hours | 3 business days | 4.1 days |
| All products combined | 22 hours | 2 business days | 2.4 days |
Comparison: Traditional bank business loans averaged 47 days end-to-end in 2025 (per Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey 2025).
Top 10 states by funding volume in our 2025-2026 dataset:
FL + TX + CA represent 43% of all funded businesses, reflecting Hispanic-owned business density and small business growth in Sun Belt states.
| Demographic | % of Approved Applicants | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| Hispanic-owned | 34% | +8% |
| Black-owned | 16% | +3% |
| Women-owned | 28% | +5% |
| Veteran-owned | 9% | +1% |
| ITIN-only owner | 23% | +12% |
| Spanish-language application | 19% | +41% |
| First-generation business owner | 62% | +4% |
Per the Federal Reserve's 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, only 36% of small businesses that applied for financing at a large bank were fully approved. For Black-owned businesses, that number drops to 16%. For Hispanic-owned businesses, it's 24%.
Our data reinforces this gap. 52% of our approved applicants had been declined by at least 2 prior lenders before applying with us. Most cited reasons:
Alternative lenders fill this gap by weighting cash flow over credit score, accepting collateral substitutes (equipment as collateral, accounts receivable as collateral), and underwriting based on bank statement data rather than tax returns.
This report aggregates funding data from 1,000+ approved business funding applications processed by Merchant Fund Express between May 2025 and April 2026. Data points include applicant FICO score, time in business, monthly revenue, requested vs approved amount, product type, and demographic information (where voluntarily disclosed).
Geographic distribution reflects MFE's serving footprint across all 50 U.S. states. Industry classifications follow NAICS codes. Demographic data is self-reported and voluntary; not all applicants provide demographic information. Federal Reserve comparisons cite the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey published by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks.
This report is published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0). You may quote, embed, and reuse — please cite:
Chen, D. (2026). The 2026 Small Business Funding Report. Merchant Fund Express. Retrieved from https://merchantfundexpress.com/research/
For media inquiries, custom data pulls, or interview requests: /press/ or info@merchantfundexpress.com.
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