Stripe Capital: how it works and what it costs

Fixed-fee advance for Stripe users, funded by YouLend. Offer-based, so you cannot apply, only accept.

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How it works

Stripe Capital is finance for businesses that take payments through Stripe. Stripe does not put up the money itself. Its own pages say Stripe "has partnered with YouLend to evaluate UK financing applications", and the financing is provided by YouLend.

You cannot apply for it, which is the single biggest thing to understand. Stripe Capital is offer-based. Eligible UK businesses with at least 3 months of processing history receive an email and a Dashboard notification if an offer is available. To be in the frame at all, Stripe's UK criteria say you need to be located or incorporated in the UK, to have processed £5,000 or more in the last year, and to have averaged £1,000 or more a month over the last 3 months. If you are rejected, there is a 90-day wait before Stripe re-evaluates your business.

If an offer arrives and you take it up, YouLend conducts a soft credit check as part of your application, which does not mark your record. A director or beneficial owner must also give a personal guarantee. Approved funds typically arrive the next business day. One thing to be clear on before the money lands: Stripe's docs say that when you receive financing, a hard footprint is left on your credit record, and that this will impact your credit score.

The cost is the amount you receive plus one fixed fee. In Stripe's words, "You won't pay any interest, early payment fees or origination fees." The marketing example is £15,000 of financing with a £1,500 fee, so £16,500 to repay in total.

Repayment is automatic. Stripe deducts a fixed percentage of your sales until the total owed is collected, and the example rates shown are 9% to 15% of daily sales. A strong month clears the balance faster. A quiet month means smaller repayments. There is no fixed term and no set monthly amount.

Now the honest translation. That £1,500 fee is 10% of the £15,000, and it never changes however fast the money is collected. Repaid over a full year, it works out at roughly 10% a year. Repaid in six months, the same fee is closer to 20% a year in real terms. Percentage-of-sales deductions tend to clear the balance quickly when trade is good, so the yearly equivalent is often higher than the flat fee makes it look. And on paper this is not borrowing at all. Stripe frames the advance as "a purchase of your business's future receivables; it isn't a loan or a credit transaction".

What it really costs

There is one number that matters here: the fixed fee. Stripe's published line is "You won't pay any interest, early payment fees or origination fees." The example Stripe uses in its marketing is £15,000 of financing with a £1,500 fee. Accept that offer and you owe £16,500, collected as a slice of your sales. The example rates shown are 9% to 15% of daily sales.

Translate the fee before comparing it with anything quoted as an interest rate. £1,500 on £15,000 is 10% of the money, full stop. If your sales mean it takes a year to collect, the cost is roughly 10% a year. If it is collected in six months, the same £1,500 works out at roughly 20% a year. A fixed fee always looks cheapest when repayment is slow, and sales deductions are rarely slow when business is good. Our guide to the true cost of merchant cash advances walks through the maths.

Two quiet catches. The fee is fixed, so repaying early saves nothing, even though there are no early payment fees as such. And repaying early does not automatically qualify you for a new offer, so clearing the balance fast in the hope of a bigger one next time is not something Stripe promises will work.

Who can apply

• Located or incorporated in the UK
• At least 3 months of payment processing history on Stripe
• £5,000 or more processed through Stripe in the last year
• Average of £1,000 or more a month over the last 3 months
• An offer from Stripe. You cannot apply cold, and a rejection means a 90-day wait before re-evaluation

Good for

• Stripe businesses that already have an offer and want money fast, typically the next business day
• Trades with up-and-down sales, because repayments rise and fall with your takings
• Owners who prefer one fixed fee over a running interest rate
• Avoiding paperwork, since there is no cold application. The offer comes to you

Watch out for

• You cannot apply. No offer, no money, and a rejection means a 90-day wait before Stripe re-evaluates your business.
• A director or beneficial owner must give a personal guarantee, even though Stripe says this is not a loan.
• Taking the money leaves a hard footprint on your credit record. Stripe's own docs say it will impact your credit score.
• The fee is fixed, so repaying early saves you nothing, and it does not automatically qualify you for a new offer.
• This is unregulated business finance. Stripe publishes no FCA disclaimer for it.

How Stripe Capital compares

Stripe Capital works like other platform advances: one fixed fee, repayment taken as a slice of sales, and the money put up by a specialist funder rather than the platform itself. Here that funder is YouLend, which provides the financing behind Stripe Capital. What sets it apart is that you cannot ask for it, only accept it if an offer appears. If no offer has arrived and money is needed now, a lender that takes direct applications, such as iwoca, is the natural place to look instead.

Put Stripe Capital side by side with another lender →

Common questions

Regulation and status

Stripe publishes no FCA disclaimer for Stripe Capital. It is unregulated business finance, and Stripe frames the advance as "a purchase of your business's future receivables; it isn't a loan or a credit transaction".

We could find no partner or affiliate programme for Stripe Capital at the time of checking, so FundSpeed earns nothing from this page. Facts checked on 7 September 2026 against the sources below. Spotted a change? Tell us and we will fix it.

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