The best revenue-based financing for Latino-owned businesses

The best revenue-based financing for a Latino-owned business is the one that evaluates your real sales and deposits, explains the contract in your language, and gives you a payment your business can carry in its slow weeks. For fast capital, Merchant Fund Express is our recommended funder: it reviews sales and deposits, not just credit, offers Spanish-speaking support and accepts applicants with an ITIN. If you want lower cost and can wait, a CDFI focused on Latino communities or an SBA microloan usually costs less.

Revenue-based financing fits many Latino-owned businesses because it looks at what the business sells, not just a credit history that may be short or tied to an ITIN. Below we compare six options on clear criteria and give you a plan to prepare.

The 6 best revenue-based financing options

1. Merchant Fund Express (recommended funder). Best for businesses with steady sales that need capital soon, whether for inventory, a remodel, hiring or opening another location. It reviews your sales and deposits in addition to credit, accepts scores from FICO 500, handles $5,000 to $5,000,000, often decides in 2 to 4 hours, and in most cases doesn't require collateral. Applying is free and doesn't affect your credit, it offers Spanish-speaking support, and it accepts applicants with an ITIN (no SSN needed).
2. Percentage-of-sales financing. Best if your sales swing a lot from month to month, like a seasonal restaurant or a shop that sells big in December. You pay a percentage of what you sell, so you pay less in slow months. Ask whether there's a minimum payment.
3. Card-sales advance from your payment processor. Best if you sell almost everything by card. Some payment systems offer advances to their own merchants and collect automatically from your card sales. It's convenient, but compare the cost with other options before you accept.
4. CDFI focused on Latino communities. Best if you want moderate cost and coaching. CDFIs are institutions certified by the Treasury Department's CDFI Fund to serve communities with limited access to credit. Some have bilingual staff and programs for Latino owners. The CDFI Fund publishes the list of certified institutions on its website.
5. SBA microloan. Best for small amounts. According to the SBA, it goes up to $50,000 (the average is about $13,000), with a maximum term of seven years and rates that usually run from 8% to 13%. Community nonprofits make these loans, set their own requirements and often provide coaching.
6. Deposit-based line of credit. Best for stable businesses with recurring expenses. Some funders set the limit based on your deposits; you draw what you need and replenish it with your sales.

How we chose. We don't use ratings, scores or invented statistics. We compare each option only on criteria you can verify: speed, minimum time in business, minimum credit, whether it accepts an ITIN or owners without an SSN, documents, amounts and collateral. On this page we give extra weight to Spanish-language support and to how each option treats cash sales. The full method is in how we rank business funding options.

Comparison table: revenue-based financing

“Ask” means we don't assume it: check each funder's official website or ask before you apply.

Why this model fits many Latino-owned businesses

Plenty of Latino owners run profitable businesses but hit a “no” at the bank for reasons that have nothing to do with how the business performs:

• A short credit history, because they've been in the country only a few years or rarely use credit.
• An ITIN instead of an SSN, which many large banks don't accept.
• Cash sales that don't always make it to the bank in full.
• SBA rules: since March 1, 2026, 7(a) and 504 require 100% of owners to be U.S. citizens or nationals, which shuts out permanent residents and ITIN holders.

Revenue-based financing focuses on something else: whether your business sells consistently. That doesn't make it cheap, but it does make it accessible. To understand the product in depth, read revenue-based financing for Latino-owned businesses.

Percentage payment or fixed payment: how to decide

• Percentage payment if your sales swing a lot: a taqueria that sells double in summer, a quinceañera boutique that lives on its season, a contractor paid in chunks. You pay less in slow months, though repayment can stretch longer.
• Fixed payment if your sales are steady, like a laundromat, a neighborhood bakery or a clinic. You know exactly what goes out each day or week and can plan around it.
• Be careful with a fixed daily payment if you have very slow days. Ask whether it can be weekly.

We explain how a merchant cash advance differs from other revenue-based models in merchant cash advance vs. revenue-based financing.

Which one fits your business

• Restaurant, taqueria or bakery with daily sales: revenue-based capital for small equipment, inventory or a remodel. If nearly everything is by card, also compare your processor's advance.
• Contractor, landscaper or cleaning company: your payments arrive in chunks. A percentage payment or a deposit-based line adapts better than a fixed daily payment.
• Store, market or bodega with lots of cash: first get your deposits in order for a few months, then apply. Your offer will depend on what shows up at the bank.
• A business just starting out: a microloan or a CDFI, which can also coach you as you build your history.
• A stable business that wants the lowest cost: a CDFI or credit union; save the fast option for opportunities or emergencies.

In every case, the core question is the same: how fast does the money you're using come back? If it comes back in weeks, fast sales-based financing can make sense. If it takes years, look for a longer term and a lower cost.

How to prepare for the best offer

1. Deposit everything. Cash sales you hand straight to a supplier don't exist to a funder. Take them to the bank regularly.
2. Separate your accounts. An account used only for the business, with no personal spending, gets reviewed faster and better.
3. Register your business. An LLC or DBA and an EIN inspire more confidence than operating unregistered under your own name.
4. Avoid negative days. Frequent overdrafts are one of the signals that worry funders most.
5. Gather your documents. ID, your SSN or ITIN depending on what each funder accepts, three to six months of bank statements, and your licenses.
6. Define the use and the amount. Ask for what your project needs, not the most you're offered.

This isn't immigration advice. If you have questions about your personal situation, talk to an immigration attorney.

Mistakes that cost you

• Signing without understanding. If the contract is in English and you'd prefer Spanish, ask for it to be explained in Spanish. Ask about personal guarantees, payment frequency and what happens if your sales drop.
• Stacking financing. Taking a new advance to cover another piles up holdbacks and chokes your cash flow. If a payment is squeezing you, work with your current funder to lower the payment.
• Trusting promises of sure approval. No serious funder can promise approval without reviewing your business.
• Paying to apply. Applying with a legitimate funder shouldn't cost you anything.
• Ignoring the cheaper options. If you can wait, also ask a CDFI or about a microloan.

For more options for Latino owners, see the best business lines of credit for Latino-owned businesses. Once your statements are ready, you can apply with Merchant Fund Express; it's free and doesn't affect your credit. Leer en español.