Business Loan Referral Program for Payment Processing and POS Reps

Why Payment Reps Are a Natural Fit

Revenue-based financing is underwritten mainly on a business’s deposits and card sales. Those are the numbers you work with every day. You can tell which merchants have steady volume, which are seasonal and which just had their best quarter and are running out of inventory.

The demand is real. In the Federal Reserve Banks’ latest Small Business Credit Survey, six in ten small employer firms said they had applied for financing in the prior 12 months. The most common reason was to meet operating expenses. The second was to pursue an expansion or a new opportunity.

The same survey shows why owners ask around. About four in ten applicants received the full amount they sought, and roughly one in five received none. Owners who fall short tend to ask the people they already trust, and their payments rep is one of them.

Capital also helps you keep the account. A merchant funded through your introduction has one more reason to stay with you.

When Merchants Ask About Capital

The question usually comes up inside a conversation about something else. Listen for these moments:

• Before a busy season. A restaurant or retailer needs inventory and staff weeks before the sales arrive.
• After an equipment failure. A walk-in cooler, an oven or a lift goes down and cannot wait for a bank.
• When they want a second location. Build-out and deposits come due before the doors open.
• When a POS upgrade is on the table. The merchant wants the new system but not the cost of buying it outright.
• When the processor’s own capital offer falls short. The amount is too small, or the merchant does not qualify for it.
• When they are carrying several advances. Stacked payments are squeezing the business and they ask you if there is a way out.

You need one sentence: “I work with a funding broker who can look at that. Can I have them call you?”

How the Referral Works, Step by Step

1. Sign up on the partner page. We call within one business day to walk through the partner agreement.
2. Get your materials. After the agreement you receive marketing materials and a co-branded landing page with your name on it.
3. Introduce the merchant. Send the owner’s name and number, or share your partner link. Tell the owner to expect our call.
4. We take it from there. One dedicated specialist calls the owner within one business day, collects a short application and the 3 most recent business bank statements (4 in NY, CA or VA), and takes the file through our lender network.
5. The owner reviews the options. The specialist walks the owner through every offer. The owner decides.
6. The deal funds and you are paid per the partner agreement.

RAN Funding is a broker, not a lender. It is one application for our lender network and one dedicated specialist, so the merchant sees the options their file fits rather than one company’s single product. There are no quotas, no minimums and no exclusivity.

What a Good Referral Looks Like

A good referral is an established business with steady deposits and a clear reason for the money. The program is business financing only. Best-fit merchants usually have:

• 1+ year in business. Startups are not a fit.
• $20,000+ in average monthly revenue.
• A business bank account with active revenue and deposits.
• The 3 most recent business bank statements (4 in NY, CA or VA) available to send.
• A need for $10,000 to $500,000+ in working capital. Some products go up to $2 million, and SBA loans up to $5 million.
• A specific use. Payroll, inventory, equipment, a tax payment, expansion, a seasonal slowdown or paying off higher-cost debt.

You already see most of this in your own portfolio.

Meeting the criteria does not mean an offer is certain. Not every application is approved. It means the file can be reviewed quickly.

Who the program does not fit. A rep whose processor agreement bars outside referrals, a rep who wants to quote terms personally, or a portfolio made up mostly of brand-new businesses.

What Can Be Placed for Your Merchants

Matching a merchant to a product is the specialist’s job. It still helps to know what is available.

On SBA loans, set expectations early. The U.S. Small Business Administration says the maximum 7(a) loan amount is $5 million, that the borrower applies directly through a lender, and that the SBA does not make these loans itself. It is the slowest path on the list.

For a merchant already carrying several advances, the specialist can look at business debt consolidation before adding anything new.

After the Introduction: Updates, Funding and Getting Paid

Once you send the name and number, the work moves to us. The specialist calls the owner within one business day. If the owner is hard to reach, we tell you.

You get updates as the file moves: application received, statements in, submitted, offers back, funded or declined. If you would rather be on the calls, say so and we schedule around you.

How you are paid. Payment follows funding. RAN Funding is paid a commission by the lender when a deal funds, and your referral commission is a share of that. The split is set in writing in the partner agreement before you send anyone.

Across the industry, referral pay is usually built one of three ways: a share of the funding company’s commission, a flat fee per funded deal, or a tiered arrangement that changes with volume. Our guide to business loan referral fees explains each structure.

When you are paid. When the lender funds the deal and RAN Funding receives its commission, your share is paid on the schedule in the partner agreement, typically by ACH. Nothing is paid on a file that does not fund. Renewals on your merchants pay you too. None of this is a promise of income. What you earn depends on which merchants apply, which are approved and what they accept.

Protecting Your Merchant Relationship

The usual worry is that a funding company will go around you or start pitching the merchant something else. In RAN Funding’s partner program the merchant stays your client. We contact them only about the funding they asked for. There is no cross-selling, and they are not added to a marketing list.

Your name is on the introduction, so look us up first. RAN Funding is BBB A+ rated and reviewed at 4.9 out of 5 by more than 200 clients on Trustpilot and Google.

One thing to check on your side: your agent or ISO agreement with your processor. Some agreements limit what else you can offer a merchant, or require you to route capital requests through the processor’s own program first. Read that clause before you refer.

Rules and Ethics for Payment Reps

No license is required for a basic referral introduction. You are still responsible for the laws and contracts that cover you, so check them before you start.

The Federal Trade Commission has said plainly that small businesses are protected under the FTC Act. It says its authority to stop deceptive and unfair practices reaches companies at every step of the financing process, and it names marketers, independent sales organizations, brokers and lead generators alongside lenders. It also warns finance providers that relying on intermediaries does not shield them from liability, and tells them to vet and monitor their agents. What you say to a merchant matters.

• Do not misstate who you are. You are not a lender and not a RAN Funding employee. Say you are making an introduction.
• Do not describe terms. The FTC says misleading claims about cost and payment amounts are off limits. Leave terms to the specialist and the written offer.
• Do not promise an outcome. No one can commit to funding before a file is reviewed.
• Tell the merchant you may be paid.
• Ask before you share anything. Get the owner’s permission before you pass along their contact details.

Refer, Broker It Yourself, or Stay Out of It

When a merchant asks about capital, a rep has three choices.

If you already broker funding and have files your lenders will not take, the referral path is the wrong one. Read the ISO program for deals you cannot place instead. If you only plan to share a link online and never speak to the merchant, compare an affiliate program with a referral program first.

Three Illustrative Scenarios

These are examples to show how a referral plays out, not descriptions of specific merchants or partners.

• The pizzeria. Picture a pizzeria in Columbus, Ohio, open six years, whose walk-in cooler fails on a Monday. You ask if a funding specialist can call and send the name and number that afternoon. The specialist calls the next morning, the owner sends the application and three bank statements, and funds arrive the business day after approval.
• The boutique. A clothing retailer in Charleston, South Carolina wants to buy holiday inventory in early October. You refer in September, while the recent statements still show healthy deposits. The specialist reviews a business line of credit and a working capital option with the owner.
• The auto repair shop. A shop in Tucson, Arizona already has two advances and asks you for a third. You refer and mention the existing balances. The specialist reviews whether consolidation fits better than more capital. In this example the lenders decline. You hear that the same week, with the reason.

A clear decline, explained, costs you less trust than a merchant left waiting.

Mistakes Reps Make with Referrals

• Not reading the processor agreement. It can cost you more than the referral is worth.
• Quoting numbers. Guessing at an amount or a cost sets an expectation the offer may not meet.
• Referring merchants who are too new. A business under one year old is not a fit, and the decline reflects on you.
• Hiding existing advances. They show on the statements. Say so first.
• Sending the same merchant to several funding companies. Duplicate submissions slow a file down.

How to Start

1. Read your processor agreement for any limits on outside referrals.
2. Sign up on the referral partner page and take the call to go through the agreement. Ask how the split works, when it is paid and how renewals are handled.
3. Pick three merchants who have raised a capital need and who meet the criteria above.
4. Ask each one if a specialist can call. Send the names only after they say yes.

If a merchant needs funding right now, say so on the form and we start on it the same day. Or call 1-877-522-6045, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm ET.

Common Questions