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Backd Small Business Loans: 2023 Review

Updated Sep 13, 2023

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At a glance

4.6
Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down
Accessibility
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Affordability
Rating: 3.3 stars out of 5
Customer experience
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Transparency
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Flexibility
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
How Bankrate Scores work Arrow Down

Overview

Backd is an online lender that offers fast, short-term loans to business owners with a credit score of 600 and above. Its options include a working capital loan, business line of credit and buy now, pay later option to help businesses spread out the cost of purchases.

Lender Details

  • Moneybag

    Loan amount

    $10,000-$2 million

  • Rates

    Interest rate

    1.10 Factor rates | 18.00% Simple interest

  • Clock Wait

    Term lengths

    3-16 months

  • Dollar

    Min. annual revenue

    $100,000

  • Business

    Min. time in business

    1 year

Who Backd is best for

Backd works well for businesses looking for a business line of credit or working capital loan with high loan amounts. It specializes in fast funding, approving loans instantly and providing funding within 24 hours. 

Backd is also a good option for businesses with fair credit — one year in business and a credit score of 600 for applicants are the minimum requirements.  

Who Backd may not be best for

Businesses looking for a long-term loan won’t find what they’re looking for with Backd, as it only offers terms up to 16 months. It also doesn’t offer secured loans that might qualify you for better rates.

In addition, businesses with low revenue might not qualify for its business line of credit, which requires $300,000 minimum in annual revenue. Its other loans require just $100,000 in annual revenue.

Backd: in the details

Backd pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark

    High maximum loan amounts

  • Checkmark

    Funding within 24 hours

  • Checkmark

    Flexible repayment features

Cons

  • Short-term loans only

  • Few types of loans

  • Potentially high costs with factor rates

Business loan types offered

Backd specializes in short-term loan options that offer competitively high maximum loan amounts for qualifying businesses. It also offers an alternative type of business loan to fund smaller business purchases. 

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $10,000 to $750,000
  • Terms: Repay in 6 or 12 months
  • Simple interest: 18.00% to 24.00%

Backd business line of credit overview

Backd’s business line of credit offers a higher possible credit limit than other lenders. Many lenders set their maximum limit at $250,000 or $300,000. Once businesses draw funds, they make weekly repayments for six or 12 months. This is a common repayment schedule, though some of the best business lines of credit offer more flexibility with monthly repayments. Businesses will need at least $300,000 in annual revenue to qualify for this loan, which could leave startups ineligible. 

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: $10,000 to $2 million
  • Terms: Up to 16 months
  • Factor rate: 1.10 to 1.24

Backd working capital overview

Many businesses can qualify for high-value funding for everyday expenses. Backd only requires $100,000 minimum in annual revenue and one year in business, a low revenue requirement.

Businesses can get up to $2 million in funding without putting up collateral, which is hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than most banks. To get a higher working capital loan, a business would need to apply for an SBA loan, which goes up to $5 million.

Not every bank offers loans specifically for working capital. But this loan charges a factor rate instead of an interest rate, which doesn’t account for additional loan fees like an APR does. This makes it difficult to compare borrowing costs with other loans.

Loan quick facts

  • Amounts: Up to $1.5 million
  • Terms: 12 to 36 weeks
  • APR: 0.00% to 12.00%

Backd Buy Now, Pay Later overview

BackdPay helps businesses make purchases that will grow their business without having all of the capital on hand. Repayment comes in terms of 12, 24 or 36 weeks, paid with automatic weekly payments. 

Businesses can avoid paying interest if repaying within 12 weeks, a feature that’s typically only found with introductory business credit card offers. The main difference is that a zero-percent APR business credit card comes with a longer interest-free period, such as 12 months.

Do you qualify? 

Backd keeps relaxed requirements to qualify for its loans. The minimum criteria businesses need to apply:

  • 1 year of time in business
  • 600 minimum credit score 
  • $100,000 to $300,000 in annual revenue, based on loan
  • Based in the U.S. 
  • Business bank account
  • Cannot be in these industries: Adult entertainment, cannabis, consulting, flea markets / conventions, financial services, government entities, legal services, non-profit organizations or real estate.

What we like and what we don’t like

Backd works well for fast, short-term funding, and many businesses can qualify especially for its working capital loan. But businesses with strong credit should compare other lenders to make sure they’re getting the best deal. 

What we like

  • High maximum loan amounts. Maximum loan amounts vary by lender, but most don’t reach $750,000 for business lines of credit or $2 million for working capital loans like Backd does.
  • Funding within 24 hours. With immediate approvals and next-day funding, businesses won’t be left wondering how and when to fund their next purchase. Traditional lenders take anywhere from one to seven business days to approve a loan.
  • Flexible repayment features. If you choose a working capital loan, you can make daily, weekly or bi-weekly repayments. Most short-term loans stick to a daily or weekly schedule. And Backd’s buy now, pay later loan gives you the ability to repay in 12 weeks with 0.00% interest. 

What we don’t like

  • Short-term loans only. Businesses can’t extend repayments beyond short terms up to 16 months. Longer terms would lower each repayment amount, making the loan more manageable for low-revenue businesses. 
  • Few types of loans. Businesses will need to compare other lenders if they’re looking for multiple loan options in one place. For example, businesses may need a term loan, equipment financing and business line of credit to fulfill their needs. 
  • Potentially high costs with factor rates. Traditional loans with an APR accurately represent the annual cost with additional loan fees, while a factor rate does not. Businesses should convert factor rates to interest rates and take other loan fees into account when comparing to other loans.

How Backd compares to other lenders

Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
4.6

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    $10,000-$2 million

  • Interest rate

    1.10 Factor rates | 18.00% Simple interest

  • Term lengths

    3-16 months

  • Min. time in business

    1 year

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $100,000

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
4.4

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    Up to $250,000

  • Interest rate

    6.20% Simple interest

  • Term lengths

    6 or 12 months

  • Min. time in business

    2 years

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $480,000

Rating: 4.6 stars out of 5
4.6

Bankrate Score

  • Loan amount

    $5,000-$400,000

  • Interest rate

    1.09 Factor rate

  • Term lengths

    3-24 months

  • Min. time in business

    6 months

  • Min. business annual revenue

    $300,000

Backd may not offer the lowest rates, but it keeps its loans accessible to businesses with fair credit and relatively low revenue compared to other lenders. Here’s how Backd’s features compare to similar online lenders.

Backd vs. Bluevine

Bluevine specializes in business lines of credit, offering up to $250,000 with simple interest rates starting at 6.20 percent. Business owners can qualify with a 625 minimum credit score and $40,000 in monthly revenue, but only if they choose weekly repayments for 26 weeks. The criteria goes up significantly for the 12-month repayment term, such as requiring $960,000 in annual revenue. 

Bluevine’s starting rates are superior to Backd’s business line of credit rates, which starts at an 18.00% APR. Yet Backd offers higher credit limits up to $750,000. It also keeps less stringent lending criteria, requiring only one year in business and $300,000 in annual revenue. 

In short, Bluevine works best for established businesses with strong revenue. Backd works well for businesses needing a higher credit limit and relaxed eligibility requirements.

Backd vs. Credibly

Credibly works well for bad credit borrowers, approving those with credit scores as low as 500. It offers both conventional business loans like a business line of credit and working capital loan. But it also provides alternative financing through merchant cash advances and invoice factoring.

On the other hand, Backd is a solid option for those with fair credit with its minimum credit score set at 600. It offers significantly higher loan amounts than Credibly. Credibly stops at $400,000, while Backd’s loans go up to $2 million. Its alternative financing is a buy now, pay later option that offers the chance to repay without interest within 12 weeks.

How to apply for a loan with Backd 

According to its website, businesses can apply within three minutes online and receive an immediate response for whether the loan is approved. Backd conducts a soft credit check to review your credit for preapproval.

To apply, simply answer questions about your funding needs and provide basic personal information, such as your name, address and social security number.

Backd frequently asked questions

How Bankrate rates Backd

Overall Score 4.6
Accessibility 4.9 Backd offers high loan amounts to businesses with relatively low revenue.
Affordability 3.3 Backd has high starting rates for its business line of credit. It also uses factor rates for working capital loans, which often come with high fees.
Transparency 4.5 The website goes into detail about the features of each loan it offers.
Customer experience 5.0 Borrowers get pre-approved for loans in minutes and typically get funding within 24 hours.
Flexibility 5.0 Backd offers flexible repayment features and unique options like a buy now, pay later loan.

Methodology

Clock Wait
47
years in business
Credit Card Search
30+
lenders reviewed
Loan
22
loan features weighed
Rates
770+
data points collected

To select the top small business lenders, Bankrate considers more than 20 factors. These factors include loan amounts, approval and funding times, credit requirements, APR or factor rate ranges, fees, and easy-to-find rate and fee disclosures. Bankrate reviewed more than 30 lenders and gave each a rating, which consists of five categories:

  • Accessibility: Factors considered in this category include minimum loan amounts, approval and funding speed, minimum annual revenue and minimum credit score.
  • Affordability: This section measures interest or factor rates and fees.
  • Transparency: How easy it is to find important rates, fees and eligibility requirements are considered in this category.
  • Customer experience: Customer service hours, online applications and app availability are considered in this category.
  • Flexibility: This category considers factors like the number of loan products and ability to change payment due date.

Editorial disclosure: All reviews are prepared by Bankrate.com staff. Opinions expressed therein are solely those of the reviewer and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including rates and fees, presented in the review is accurate as of the date of the review. Check the data at the top of this page and the lender’s website for the most current information.