American Express Business Loans Review: Explore Borrower Qualifications, Application Process, Terms & Fees

Pros

• No origination fee
• Reasonable terms and fees
• Suited for small businesses

Cons

• Only available to American Express customers
• Some products are unsuited to large businesses

Amex Business Loans Overview

You’ve probably heard of American Express credit cards. What you may not know is that American Express provides a number of other financial services, including loans to businesses.

American Express offers three types of business financing: Merchant Financing, Working Capital Terms, and Business Loans. Although its rates are competitive and its products versatile, these loan products are only available to merchants who have an American Express business credit card or accept American Express card payments.

Not currently carrying or swiping Amex cards? Check out our favorite business credit cards to find out if you should be. Otherwise, read on for the details!

Amex Loan Services Offered

American Express offers the following business loan products:

• Short-term loans
• Medium-term loans

Do You Qualify For American Express Business Loans?

These are the preferred prerequisites to qualify for funding through Amex:

You’ll also need to be an American Express business credit card holder for Working Capital and Business Loans. For Merchant Financing, you’ll need to accept American Express cards. Depending on the product, you may also need to do at least $12,000 in card-based sales annually.

American Express Business Loan Terms & Fees

Merchant Financing from American Express

Here are the terms for Amex’s Merchant Financing loans:

Merchant Financing resembles a merchant cash advance in several ways, but Amex’s product is not a purchase of your future receivables. It’s a true short-term loan.

If you qualify for Merchant Financing, you’ll be quoted a fixed fee in the form of a percentage. This percentage is multiplied by the amount you’re borrowing. So if you accept a $10,000 loan with a 10% fee, you’ll owe $11,000. Amex also provides an early payoff incentive in the form of a rebate. Here’s how that works:

• Six-Month Term: 25% rebate if you pay in full within 90 days; 10% if you pay in full within 135 days
• 12-Month Term: 25% rebate if you pay in full within 180 days; 10% if you pay in full within 270 days
• 24-Month Term: 25% rebate if you pay in full within 360 days; 10% if you pay in full within 540 days

Amex Merchant Financing Repayment

You have four repayment options for Merchant Financing:

• Amex Receivables: You can have Amex hold back a percentage of your daily American Express receivables (similar to a merchant cash advance).
• Split-Funding: In this case, you’ll be sharing a percentage of your total daily receivables through a partnership with your payment processor.
• Transfer Account: Amex will open a temporary transfer account with Wells Fargo. Your total receivables will be sent to that account. Wells Fargo will then send a percentage of your receivables to Amex.
• Automated Clearing House: A fixed amount will automatically be deducted from your business bank account each day.

Late fees, when applicable, are $39 or 2.99% of the past due amount, whichever is greater.

Amex Working Capital Terms

Amex’s Working Capital Terms are essentially vendor payment solutions — the money you’re borrowing is paid directly to a third-party vendor, so it never passes through your hands.

Amex currently does not disclose the specific terms for its Working Capital Terms, other than to say that if you are a supplier or invoicing party, Amex will issue an invoice to your customer. Amex will pay you within five banking days, and your customer can pay Amex within 55 days. Similarly, you can use this solution as a buyer, and Amex will pay your supplier within five days (giving you 55 days to repay Amex).

To qualify for this service, the supplier in question will need to be set up to receive American Express as a payment method.

American Express Business Loans

Here are the terms for Business Loans:

Amex business credit card members looking for medium-term loans can tap the company’s aptly named Business Loan product. You can check your pre-approved rate online through your American Express account and then apply for the loan at the quoted terms at any time.

Unlike the other two products, Amex’s Business Loans use a traditional APR rather than a fixed fee to calculate your interest. The better your credit, the better your APR will be. And the shorter your term, the less interest your loan will accrue. Payments are monthly, and, as is the case with Amex’s other products, there are several payment methods to choose from.

Amex’s Application Process

Merchant Financing Application

To apply for Merchant Financing (if and when this product becomes available again), your business has to accept American Express cards. To begin the application process, you can visit American Express’s site.

Business Loan Application

To apply for a Business Loan (when available), you’ll have to have an American Express business credit card. In the case of the latter, you’ll also need to have an account on American Express’s website and be pre-approved for the loan. For Working Capital Terms, you can enroll in the program on Amex’s website. Once approved for an amount, you can tap that money to make a vendor payment at your discretion.

Amex Working Capital Application

To apply for Amex Working Capital Terms, you’ll need to call the number listed on the American Express website.

Amex Sales & Advertising Transparency

Just about all the information you need is available on Amex’s website so long as you’re willing to navigate through a page or two. There are even loan calculators available that you can use to estimate your payment. The one criticism I’d have is that the Working Capital Terms page doesn’t provide as much information as those for the other two (currently paused) loan types.

Customer Service & Technical Support

Customer support is available through the company’s website or by phone. If you prefer social media, American Express has a presence on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

American Express has a generally positive reputation where customer service is concerned.

User Reviews

Negative Reviews & Complaints

American Express has maintained an A+ rating with the BBB. As you might expect of a company of its size, however, there are plenty of criticisms to go around. Here are a few:

• Unclear Terms: Mostly related to Amex’s charge cards, these complaints cited credit limits and fees that went up without notice.
• Technical Difficulties: A few customers complained about funds being routed to the wrong account or vendor.
• Unresponsive: Some customers found Amex slow to respond to their issues.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

Here are some of the positive qualities reviewers have assigned to American Express’s loan services:

• Fast: Amex can typically get your funds to you or your vendor within a couple of days.
• Good Customer Service: Most customers found American Express’s customer service to be helpful and knowledgeable.
• Good Rates: As alternative loans go, American Express offers competitive rates to businesses that use its products.

Final Verdict: Is An American Express Loan Right For Your Small Business?

American Express offers a convenient and competitive service to business cardholders and merchants who accept Amex cards at their point of sale. If you don’t already fall into one of those categories, I wouldn’t suggest getting involved with American Express’s infrastructure just to access its loans. On the other hand, if you’re already a customer who qualifies for these loans, you should definitely give this lender a look.

Not ready to commit to an Amex loan? You can find other sources of funding through our comparison charts for merchant cash advances and small business loans.

Find Funding for Any Credit Level

BusinessLoans.com	Visit Site Read our Review

Explore a wide range of business loan options at BusinessLoans.com. With no minimum credit score requirement, find the perfect funding solution for your needs. Get Started.

Find Funding for Any Credit Level

BusinessLoans.com	Visit Site Read our Review

Explore a wide range of business loan options at BusinessLoans.com. With no minimum credit score requirement, find the perfect funding solution for your needs. Get Started.

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