Credit
Merchant Fund Express accepts applications from a 500 FICO. Here is what each published score band opens, what real credit repair can and cannot do, and why paid inquiry-removal offers deserve caution.
✓ Checking what you qualify for does not affect your credit score.
Short answer: you do not need perfect credit to apply. The published floor is a 500 FICO, and the score decides which product your file is read against. Fixing real errors on your report is free and worth doing. Paying someone to remove accurate items, including inquiries you authorized, is not something the law allows them to deliver.
Published . Score bands from credit score requirements; consumer rules from the FTC.
These bands are published on the Merchant Fund Express credit score page. The score is a gate, not the decision: bank statements decide the rest.
| Personal FICO | What it opens |
|---|---|
| 650 and above | The full menu: line of credit $10K–$350K from 1% per month, or a term loan $10K–$250K at 0% origination, capped at 15% of annual revenue. |
| 600 to 649 | Revenue-based funding: more forgiving on time in business and existing positions, at a higher cost of capital. |
| 550 to 599 | A renewal on an existing facility, once 50% of the original balance has been repaid. |
| 500 to 549 | Below the published tier sheets but not a decline. Files are read on revenue, deposit consistency and time in business. |
Other published rules apply at every band: at least 50% ownership, and bankruptcies and foreclosures 3+ years past for Tier 1. See funding requirements for the full sheet.
Because the bands are cutoffs, the value of repair depends on where you sit. Moving from 590 to 610 crosses into revenue-based funding. Moving from 640 to 655 crosses into the line and term loan. Moving from 700 to 720 changes nothing on this sheet. If you are already above a cutoff, the faster improvement is usually in the bank account: fewer negative days, fewer NSFs and steadier deposits, which the score page describes as weighing more heavily than people expect.
The FTC is direct about this. Its Fixing Your Credit FAQs say: "No one promising to repair your credit can legally remove information if it’s both accurate and current." It also notes that "Disputing mistakes or outdated things on your credit report is free," that most negative information stays on a report for seven years and bankruptcy information for 10 years, and that it is illegal for credit repair companies to lie about what they can do or to charge you before they help you.
| Item | Can it come off? | Cost to you |
|---|---|---|
| A genuine error (wrong account, wrong balance, not yours) | Yes, through a dispute with the bureau and the business that reported it | Free |
| Outdated negative information past its reporting period | Yes, it should age off | Free to dispute |
| Accurate, current late payments or collections | Not legally, per the FTC | Paying for removal buys nothing lawful |
| Hard inquiries you authorized | They are accurate records of applications you made | Treat paid removal offers with caution |
Inquiry removal is sold as an add-on in parts of the business-credit market. Liberty Funding, for example, lists "Inquiry removal assistance" for a $400 fee on libertyfunding.us (facts verified October 15, 2026). An inquiry that came from an application you actually made is accurate information. Under the FTC guidance quoted above, no one can legally remove accurate, current information, and you can dispute an inquiry you did not authorize yourself, for free.
Before paying any credit repair company, check the FTC’s warning signs: a demand for payment before any work is done, advice not to contact the credit bureaus directly, or advice to dispute information you know is accurate. The FTC also says credit repair companies must give you a written contract that explains your rights, including a three-day right to cancel.
The published floor is a 500 FICO. Better credit opens better offers.
650 and above opens the line of credit from $10K to $350K and the term loan from $10K to $250K, per the published bands.
According to the FTC, no one can legally remove information that is both accurate and current.
Be cautious. An inquiry from an application you made is accurate information, and you can dispute an unauthorized inquiry yourself for free.
Yes. The FTC says disputing mistakes or outdated items on your credit report is free.
Same-day decision. Applying takes a few minutes and will not affect your credit score.
