Funding timeline
Fast funding is a chain of steps, and each one has its own clock. Here is what happens in what order, which parts depend on you, and how bank cutoffs and weekends change the date money is usable.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Updated October 13, 2026 · Merchant Fund Express
With a complete file, we give a same-day decision, and funding can arrive in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses. The time in between is spent on steps that do not move faster just because everyone wants them to: reviewing statements, preparing an offer, your signature, verification and the bank transfer itself. Most delays happen at the steps that wait on missing documents or a signature.
| Stage | Typical time | Waiting on | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Application | About 5 minutes | You | Business and owner details, amount and use; soft credit pull to start |
| 2. Review and decision | Same day on a complete file | Funder | Statements, balances, negative days, existing positions |
| 3. Offer and signature | As fast as you read and sign | You | Amount, total repayment, payment schedule, terms |
| 4. Verification | Hours, sometimes into the next business day | Both | Identity, bank account, sometimes a call or month-to-date statement |
| 5. Funding | ACH on a business day | Banks | Sent by the funder, posted by your bank |
Money moves by ACH or wire, and both run on business days. A file signed and verified late on a Friday will usually fund the next business day, which is Monday. Bank holidays work the same way. Each funder also has a daily cutoff time for sending the transfer, and each bank has its own posting schedule, so "funded" and "available in your account" can be a few hours apart.
We only describe timing we can keep. That is why the promise is a same-day decision on a complete file and funding in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses, not a guaranteed hour.
A landscaping company applies on a Monday morning with three months of statements ready.
| Date and time | Step |
|---|---|
| Monday, October 5, 2026, 9:40 am | Application submitted with statements |
| Monday, October 5, 2:15 pm | Decision and offer sent |
| Monday, October 5, 6:30 pm | Owner reads the offer and signs |
| Tuesday, October 6, 10:00 am | Verification call and bank confirmation done |
| Tuesday, October 6, afternoon | Funds sent by ACH and posted |
Now the same file, but the owner sends two statements at first and the third the next day, then signs Thursday evening. The decision moves to Tuesday, verification to Friday, and money arrives the following Monday. Same business, same offer, a week apart.
All figures in worked examples are illustrations of the arithmetic, not offers or quotes. Real terms depend on your file and the funder.
Our page on how long an MCA takes to fund covers the advance-specific steps, and why screenshots do not work explains the most common hold-up.
If the need is two weeks away, use the time to compare offers rather than signing the first one. A same-day decision is useful when the cost of waiting is real: a payroll date, a broken piece of equipment, a supplier deposit. When it is not, read how to read the cost first.
Have your statements as PDFs, list any open positions, and make sure every owner can sign the same day. Then apply.
Decisions are same day on complete files. Funding arrives in as little as 24 hours for qualified businesses, depending on signature, verification and bank timing.
ACH transfers run on business days and each funder has a daily cutoff. A file finished late, on a Friday or before a holiday, posts on the next business day.
A complete file: three months of PDF statements, every open position listed, and every owner ready to sign.
You can apply any day, but review, verification and transfers happen on business days.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
