Funding Circle: how it works and what it costs

Term loans from £10,000 to £750,000, plus a credit line and cashback credit card, from a major online lender.

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How it works

Funding Circle is one of the UK's biggest online lenders to small and medium businesses. It offers a straightforward term loan: you borrow between £10,000 and £750,000 and pay it back in monthly instalments over anything up to 6 years. It also runs FlexiPay, a credit line, and a cashback business credit card. All three are covered below.

For a term loan, you apply online. Funding Circle says it can give a decision in as little as 1 hour, and funding typically arrives within 48 hours. You need at least 1 year of trading history to apply. As with any business loan, expect questions about turnover and be ready to show recent figures.

The cost has two parts: interest from 6.9% a year, plus a one-off completion fee when the loan is set up. Here is what that headline rate really means. At 6.9% a year, £10,000 borrowed for a full year costs about £690 in interest. On a repayment loan you pay a little less than that in practice, because the balance shrinks each month. But 6.9% is the lowest rate on offer, not a promise, and the completion fee sits on top. There are no early settlement fees, so if cash comes in you can clear the loan ahead of schedule and stop paying interest.

FlexiPay works differently. It is a credit line of up to £250,000, with each transaction repaid in instalments over 1, 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Instead of interest you pay a flat transaction fee from 1.5% (0% when you settle card balances in a single instalment, and from 1.99% for cash transfers). So a £10,000 transaction at 1.5% costs £150. You need at least 2 years of trading in the UK for FlexiPay.

The cashback business credit card pays 2% cashback for the first 6 months (capped at £2,000), then 1% with no cap. There is no monthly or annual fee, and limits go up to £250,000. Rates start at 14.9% a year, but the representative APR is 34.9% (variable), which is the more realistic figure to plan around. It is open to limited companies with at least 1 year of trading and £30,000 annual turnover.

Funding Circle also lends under the government's Growth Guarantee Scheme, from £25,001 to £250,000 at rates from 13.4% a year. Our Growth Guarantee Scheme guide explains how the scheme works and who it suits.

What it really costs

We did not find a single representative example for Funding Circle's term loans that we could quote at the time of checking. The published pricing is a rate from 6.9% a year plus a one-off completion fee. Before you sign, ask for three numbers in pounds: the completion fee, the monthly repayment, and the total amount repayable. Those three tell you the true cost, whatever the headline says.

Translate the headline like this: £10,000 at 6.9% for a full year is about £690 in interest, before the completion fee. If your offer comes back at a higher rate, redo that sum with your actual figure. Because there are no early settlement fees, repaying ahead of schedule cuts the interest you pay.

FlexiPay charges a flat fee per transaction rather than interest, from 1.5% (from 1.99% for cash transfers, and 0% when you settle card balances in one instalment). A flat fee is easy to check: a £10,000 payment at 1.5% costs £150. Ask what your exact fee is for each instalment length before you confirm a payment.

The credit card has no monthly or annual fee and rates from 14.9% a year, with a representative APR of 34.9% (variable). A representative APR is the rate at least half of accepted applicants actually get, so plan around 34.9%, not 14.9%. Growth Guarantee Scheme loans are priced from 13.4% a year.

Check the current figuresLenders change pricing without notice. The representative example on Funding Circle's own site is the number that counts.

Who can apply

• At least 1 year of trading for a term loan
• At least 2 years of trading in the UK for FlexiPay
• Cashback credit card: limited companies only, with 1 year of trading and £30,000 annual turnover

Good for

• Established businesses that want a lump sum over several years with a set monthly repayment
• Borrowers who may repay early, since term loans have no early settlement fees
• Spreading payments over up to 12 months with FlexiPay's flat fee
• Limited companies that want cashback on everyday card spend

Watch out for

• The 6.9% a year headline is a 'from' rate. Your actual offer depends on your business, and a one-off completion fee comes on top. Get both in pounds before you sign.
• The credit card's representative APR is 34.9% (variable), more than double the 14.9% headline rate. Plan around the bigger number.
• FlexiPay's flat fee starts at 1.5%, but cash transfers start higher, from 1.99%.
• Card cashback drops from 2% to 1% after 6 months, and the 2% period is capped at £2,000.
• Lending to limited companies is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

How Funding Circle compares

Funding Circle works if you want a lump sum with a set monthly repayment over several years. If dipping in and out of a credit line as cash flow demands suits you better, see iwoca, which is built around that way of borrowing. For another term-loan lender with flexible features, look at Fleximize. And if the cashback card is what draws you, weigh it against the Capital on Tap business credit card, the closest like-for-like on this site.

Put Funding Circle side by side with another lender →

Common questions

Regulation and status

Funding Circle Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm registration number 722513. Lending to limited companies is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Funding Circle runs an introducer programme, which FundSpeed may join. This never changes what we write. Facts checked on 7 September 2026 against the sources below. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will fix it.

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