Glossary

What is a merchant cash advance (MCA)?

A merchant cash advance (MCA) is a financing product in which a funder provides upfront capital in exchange for a portion of a business's future sales or receivables, repaid via fixed daily or weekly remittances. It is structured as a purchase of future receivables rather than a loan, and is common among non-bank SMB funders.

How MCA underwriting works

MCA underwriting leans heavily on bank statement analysis — deposit consistency, average daily balances, NSF activity, and existing advance 'stacking' — rather than traditional credit scoring alone. Speed matters; many funders decide in minutes.

Compliance and disclosure trends

Several states (e.g., New York, California) now require commercial financing disclosures that reach MCA products. Funders increasingly need consistent, auditable records of how each deal was decided and disclosed.

How Hadrian fits MCA funders

Hadrian gives small MCA and equipment-finance teams a governance-native case operating system: intake, verification, decisioning, and an audit trail in one place — built for 2–15 person funders rather than enterprise banks.

FAQ

Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) — common questions

Is a merchant cash advance a loan?

Legally an MCA is generally structured as a purchase of future receivables, not a loan — though disclosure laws and regulators increasingly scrutinize the distinction.

What is MCA stacking?

Stacking is when a business takes multiple overlapping advances. Funders screen for it because it raises default risk.

UDAAP Tamper-evident audit log

The institution around the intelligence

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