Merchant cash advance · California
Merchant cash advance in California
California has the biggest small-business base in the country, spanning restaurants and retail in the metros, agriculture-adjacent trucking in the Central Valley, and a deep bench of e-commerce and service businesses. High rents, labor costs, and long receivable cycles keep working capital demand strong even for healthy operators. It is also the most regulated state for commercial financing, which works in the merchant's favor at the offer stage.
Clearwater places California files every week: $10K to $2M, sized off your real bank deposits, no hard credit pull to apply, offers typically inside a business day.
California's commercial financing disclosure law
California SB 1235 (Commercial Financing Disclosures, 2018). California was the first state to require consumer-style disclosures on commercial financing, and its DFPI regulations have been in force since December 9, 2022. On offers of $500,000 or less, providers must disclose the amount funded, the total dollar cost, the term, the payment amount and frequency, prepayment policies, and the total cost expressed as an annualized rate. Merchant cash advances and other sales-based products are covered.
California merchants get the strongest disclosure in the country, an APR-style annualized rate printed on any offer of $500,000 or less. Use that number to compare an advance against every other option on the table before you commit.
Either way, run any offer through our free repayment calculator before signing - total payback, daily payment, and an APR equivalent you can compare against loans.
Industries we fund across California
RestaurantsE-commerce & Online SellersConstruction & ContractorsMedical & Dental PracticesRetail StoresTrucking & TransportationAll industries
What it takes to qualify
| Advance range | $10,000 - $2,000,000 |
| Typical sizing | 0.5x to 1.4x monthly bank deposits |
| Time in business | 6+ months |
| Credit | Cash flow weighs more - scores from 450 workable |
| To apply | No hard credit pull. 4 months of statements + month to date |
California funding questions
Does California require APR disclosure on merchant cash advances?
Yes. Under SB 1235 and the DFPI regulations in effect since December 2022, any commercial financing offer of $500,000 or less must show the total cost of the financing as an annualized rate, along with the amount funded, total dollar cost, term, and payment schedule. That includes MCAs.
What should I check on a California financing disclosure?
Start with the annualized rate and the total dollar cost, then look at the payment amount and frequency against your actual weekly deposits. If the payment would eat more of your revenue than you can spare in a slow month, say so before signing, the structure can often be adjusted.
Are merchant cash advances legal in California?
Yes. An MCA is a purchase of future receivables rather than a loan, and it is legal in California. The difference now is that funders must show you standardized cost disclosures on offers of $500,000 or less, so you can see what the money actually costs before you take it.
Funding by city in California
Los AngelesSan DiegoSan JoseSan FranciscoFresnoSacramentoLong BeachOaklandBakersfieldAnaheim
See your number, not a sales pitch
Two minutes, no hard credit pull, sized off your real deposits.
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