# Capital marketing guidelines for merchant cash advances

Learn the compliance requirements for marketing Stripe Capital financing, and appropriate language for merchant cash advances (MCAs) and loans.

> Capital for platforms is available in [public preview](https://docs.stripe.com/release-phases.md).

A merchant cash advance (MCA) is a purchase of a merchant’s future receivables, not a loan. Unlike loans, MCAs don’t include features such as an absolute right to repayment, minimum payments, or a fixed term. If your program offers both loans and MCAs, use financing language that’s accurate and compliant for both products, and reserve loan-specific or MCA-specific terminology for describing features that are unique to that product.

This guide explains how to accurately and compliantly market Stripe Capital MCAs in marketing materials and other content that connected accounts see. It also covers what changes when your program offers loans. Where possible, use language that applies to both financing types so your copy stays accurate regardless of which one a connected account is offered.

**Stripe must approve all marketing content before you go live with it.** You can submit proposed marketing material to Stripe’s compliance team for review using the [Compliance Intake Form](https://form.asana.com/?k=8K51UWmWhttehNFD5qBLdg&d=974470123217835).

## Marketing materials to review and update

- [Website landing pages](https://docs.stripe.com/capital/marketing.md#landing-pages)
- Program FAQ
- Financing [offer emails](https://docs.stripe.com/capital/api-integration.md#send-offer-email) sent by API (if applicable)
- [Other marketing emails that include MCAs](https://docs.stripe.com/capital/marketing.md#announcement-email)
- In-product notifications (banners, pop ups, and so on)

## Terminology guidelines

The following lists show acceptable and unacceptable terms for an MCA program. They aren’t exhaustive. Where a term works for both loans and MCAs, such as “financing,” prefer it. This keeps your copy accurate if your program offers both products. Use MCA-specific or loan-specific terms only when you need to describe a feature unique to that product. This guidance helps you market transparently and reduces revision requests during Stripe’s copy review for content that connected accounts see.

|  | Acceptable | Unacceptable |
| --- | --- | --- |
| *How to describe an MCA product* | MCAs aren’t loans. Refer to MCAs as “[merchant] cash advances”, “MCAs”, or “financing”. | Don’t state or suggest that the MCA is a loan or credit product. |
| *How to describe the MCA transaction* | MCAs are a sale of a merchant’s future receivables. Refer to such as “receivables purchased by Stripe”, “receivables sold to Stripe”, “unpaid receivables”, or “unpaid / unused advance amount”. | Don’t refer to receivables purchased as an “obligation”, “debt”, “amount owed”, or similar terms. |
| *How to describe payment terms* | Payment is made through withholding on transactions. Refer to this as the merchant “transferring receivables through withholding”, “transferring purchased receivables”,  or “making payment toward the financing.” There should be no bank debits in an MCA program. | Don’t use terms like “repayment” or “repay”, which can imply a debt that is being repaid. Don’t use or refer to bank debits. |
| *How to describe the duration of an MCA* | MCAs don’t have a finite term (for example, there’s not a “maturity date” or “final payment” date), and there can be no enforced payment schedule for MCAs, including minimum payments. | Don’t use terms like “due”,  “past due”, “minimum payment”, “late payment”, “default”, “payment window”, or any terms that suggest there’s a payment schedule. |
| *How to describe servicing of MCAs* | MCAs aren’t subject to “collections.”  Except in limited scenarios, slow downs of payments (including stopping payment of the MCA altogether) aren’t events of default. | Don’t use terms like “collections.” |
| *How to handle non-payment* | MCAs involve assuming the risk that if a merchant’s business slows down, the MCA provider doesn’t get paid. | Don’t suggest that Stripe can set off unpaid advance amounts from the Stripe balance, linked bank account, or otherwise pursue such amounts absent a breach of the connected account’s financing agreement. |

Besides the change of financing type, keep the following differences in mind if your program offers both MCAs and loans, so copy that covers both products stays accurate for each:

- Though personal credit checks still aren’t required for Stripe Capital loans, the MCA program involves a soft pull on consumer credit of the business representative. So even though personal credit still isn’t impacted if a connected account takes financing, claims that the Capital program doesn’t involve a personal credit check are no longer valid and should be removed.
- Though personal guarantees still aren’t required for Stripe Capital loans, personal guarantees are established with beneficial owners of connected accounts as part of accepting MCA financing. Any representations that the Capital program doesn’t require a personal guarantee should be removed.

## Required disclaimers 

All marketing collateral must mention our banking partners Celtic Bank, Lead Bank, and YouLend. You must add the following disclaimer on any connected account-facing materials wherever you reference Stripe Capital, such as promotional offer emails and marketing pages. The disclaimer doesn’t need to be the same font size as the marketing message, but it must be clear, conspicuous, and in a font color or drop shadow that’s in contrast to its background.

The table below lists the required disclaimer based on the location of your connected account’s business. For financing offer emails sent by your platform via the Capital API, the API field [disclaimer_variant](https://docs.stripe.com/api/capital/connect_financing_object.md#financing_offer_object-disclaimer_variant) identifies the required disclaimer.

| Country | Required disclaimer | Capital API [disclaimer_variant](https://docs.stripe.com/api/capital/connect_financing_object.md#financing_offer_object-disclaimer_variant) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| US | Stripe Capital offers financing types that include loans and merchant cash advances. All financing applications are subject to review prior to approval. In the US, Stripe Capital loans are issued by Celtic Bank or Lead Bank, and YouLend provides Stripe Capital merchant cash advances. See your Dashboard for the terms of your offer. | `celtic_us_loan` or `youlend_us_mca` |
| UK | All financing applications are subject to review prior to approval. In the UK, Stripe Capital loans and merchant cash advances are provided by YouLend. | `youlend_uk_mca` |

### Additional marketing materials

To inform connected accounts about the difference between MCA and loan products, you must show the following information on any program-related details pages (for example, FAQs and help center articles) or marketing emails related to your program (excluding offer emails, if applicable). You can either include the copy sections directly, link to [How Stripe Capital works](https://docs.stripe.com/capital/how-stripe-capital-works.md), or link to a similar page hosted by your platform.

#### Financing types

Each offer specifies the type of financing being offered, which might be a loan or merchant cash advance. You can’t request a particular financing type under the Stripe Capital program.

- **Merchant cash advance**: A merchant cash advance is a purchase of a merchant’s future receivables by YouLend. It’s not a loan or credit transaction. Purchased receivables are withheld from the merchant’s payment processing volume in a percentage specified in the YouLend Advance Agreement. Unlike a loan, there’s no fixed payment schedule or periodic debits. Instead, a merchant’s payments vary based on payment processing volumes.
- **Loans**: Business-purpose term loans are made by Celtic Bank or Lead Bank to eligible businesses. These loans have a maximum term, and periodic payments. If withholdings from payment processing receivables don’t meet a minimum amount (typically on a 30 or 60-day basis), shortfalls are debited from a linked bank account.

#### Financing payments

Stripe Capital financing is generally paid through withholding from payment processing receivables at a rate specified in your financing agreement. Depending on your financing type, there might be periodic minimum payment requirements and a finite term.

Specifically, if you took out a loan, you must pay a minimum amount toward your loan every payment period.

#### No impact to your personal credit

Applying for financing through Stripe Capital might require a personal credit check under some circumstances, but this credit check doesn’t impact your personal credit score. If a personal credit check is required you’ll be notified during the application process. All offers are determined based on a number of factors, including order volume and your history of orders through [Platform Name].

##### Wording guidelines 

- Financing types (loan and MCA) are defined
- Loan features (for example, minimum payments) are still included, but associated with statements that describe the features that are specific to loan financing
- Acknowledges that a personal credit check might be applicable