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LoanBuilder

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7.4

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: August 27th, 2024

LoanBuilder, A PayPal Service, is a business loan company serviced by WebBank, which was established to provide small businesses quick access to funding. LoanBuilder's mission is to help businesses design loans that fit their unique needs and get approved based on how they manage their business.

Prospective borrowers with or without a PayPal Business Account can apply for a LoanBuilder loan. Upon application and eligibility approval, all that is required is a business checking account with which to receive the funds and deduct a weekly payment. PayPal offers small business loan options to customers in all 50 states and Washington D.C. 

Keep reading for our expert LoanBuilder review or jump straight to LoanBuilder reviews from customers

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The Good

  • Reasonable Fixed Fee
  • Simple Application Process
  • No Hit to Personal Credit
  • Wide Range of Loan Amounts
  • Repayment Term Options
  • Automatic Payments
  • LoanBuilder Reviews 

Reasonable Fixed Fee 

LoanBuilder, A PayPal Service has a one-time, fixed-fee cost that is designed to work with businesses. There is no origination fee, prepayment fee, stacking fee, or other hidden fees.

On the LoanBuilder website, borrowers can choose their amount on the company's Loan Configurator and view their repayment in total terms as well as weekly payments. This process will not affect the borrower's personal credit.

This is in line with the Working Capital PayPal business loan: it charges only a fixed percentage fee of PayPal sales and no other fees associated with the loan. 

Simple Application Process

In order to determine eligibility for LoanBuilder's small business loans, business owners simply need to fill out a 5- to 10-minute questionnaire online or contact one of LoanBuilder's Business Funding Experts by phone. Once the questionnaire is complete, estimated loan terms can be customized by adjusting the loan amount and duration to compare the costs of financing. After applicants have selected their desired terms and finished the loan application, they will be emailed and prompted to electronically sign the contract if approved.

If approved, the loan funds are transferred by the lender directly into the business's bank account. Funding can be as fast as the next business day if documents are in and the loan is approved by 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday (excluding bank holidays), making the process quick and convenient for borrowers.

This process is much faster than that of a traditional bank loan, saving prospective borrowers time. 

No Hit to Personal Credit

Completing the questionnaire will assess the applicant's eligibility, allow them to review estimated offers for business loans if eligible, and will not impact their credit score.

However, should a borrower decide to complete the loan application process, credit checks and other public records checks will be performed, which may impact their credit score.

Wide Range of Loan Amounts

With LoanBuilder, loan amounts range from $5,000 to $500,000, depending on your business's eligibility.

One of the lender's Business Funding Experts can assess your business's eligibility within minutes, and if eligible, review with you your estimated loan terms and work with you to help you build the right loan for your unique business and situation.

Repayment Term Options

Because LoanBuilder wants borrowers to build a loan that works for their business, the company offers short-term loans with repayment options ranging from 13 to 52 weeks.

Business owners who need lower payments are encouraged to select a longer loan term, while those who want a lower fixed fee are advised to select a shorter loan term.

Automatic Payments

To make things simple and hassle-free for business owners, weekly payments for LoanBuilder loans are withdrawn from the business's bank account automatically. Borrowers have the ability to provide account information and select their preferred payment day when they sign the contract.

LoanBuilder uses a weekly payment structure. Monthly payments do not appear to be an option.

LoanBuilder Reviews

The majority of LoanBuilder reviews are positive and highlight an exceptional lending experience, satisfactory rates, and professional and friendly customer service. Overall, the customer experience notes that LoanBuilder is a trustworthy company with competitive small business loans. You can search for certain themes within the LoanBuilder reviews repository below. 

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The Bad

  • Eligibility Requirements
  • Personal Guarantee Necessary
  • Prepayment Stipulations
  • Excluded Industries
  • No Online Chat

Eligibility Requirements

With LoanBuilder, a borrower's eligibility and loan offer are based on an overall assessment of their business's health including cash flow, time in business, and credit history. The requirements are stricter than those of some other lenders. 

LoanBuilder evaluates the credit history of the business owner and the business to determine approvability, the loan amount, and pricing. Minimally, a company must have been in business for at least 9 months, generate at least $42,000 in total annual revenue, not have any active bankruptcies, and be located within the 50 United States or Washington D.C.

The business owner applying for the loan must have a FICO credit score of at least 550. The better the credit report, the more favorable the interest rate. 

Personal Guarantee Necessary

As is common with many lenders, LoanBuilder requires a personal guarantee, which is a signed promise to pay back the loan if the business defaults and puts all of the business owner's personal assets on the line that aren't protected by law from creditors, in order to provide a business loan. A personal guarantee is different from collateral in that collateral is a specific asset or assets that the business owner pledges as security for a loan if the business defaults.

Prepayment Stipulations

A business loan from LoanBuilder can be paid off at any time, but the full fee based on the original term of the loan is applied and is due at the time of the payoff. While this is preferable to also paying a prepayment fee, it functions similarly. There are other lenders out there that do not have such restrictions on prepayment. 

Excluded Industries 

LoanBuilder provides short-term financing to businesses in more than 500 different industries. However, business loans are not available through LoanBuilder to businesses in the following industries:

  • Agents and managers for artists, athletes, entertainers, and other public figures
  • Any businesses in public administration
  • Attorneys
  • Business and professional associations
  • Civic and social organizations
  • Collection agencies
  • Credit bureaus
  • Elementary and secondary schools and junior colleges
  • Environmental, conservation, and wildlife organizations
  • Financial services
  • Gambling and related businesses
  • Grant making foundations
  • Gun stores
  • Holding companies and management companies (without subsidiaries included)
  • Human rights organizationsIndependent artists, writers, and performers
  • Labor and political organizations
  • Manufactured (mobile) home dealers
  • New and used automobile, ATV, RV, personal watercraft, boat, and motorcycle dealers
  • Non-profit organizations
  • Religious organizations
  • Voluntary health organizations

No Online Chat

If potential, current, or past borrowers want to know more or have questions for LoanBuilder, they will need to contact the lender over the phone or through email, as there is no live chat feature on the company's website.

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The Bottom Line

If you're in the market for a small business loan and are considering an alternative to a bank loan, PayPal LoanBuilder is a solid option. The company offers single fixed fee pricing, a wide range of loan amounts, and a variety of short-term loan repayment terms to business owners nationwide. The lender does not charge an origination fee, prepayment fee, stacking fee, or any other hidden fees. Additionally, LoanBuilder's application process is simple and funding can be obtained as soon as the next business day.

The major drawback with a PayPal loan is the prepayment stipulation that the full interest fee based on the original term of the loan is applied and due at the time of payoff. 

If you think you may be able to pay off your loan early, a business lender that does not require the full amount of interest at payoff would be the better choice. Look for a loan that is amortized, meaning it has a set schedule and compounding interest which you pay off via installments. 

View Best Business Loan Lenders

*The lender transfers funds to your business's bank account as fast as the next business day if the lender has received the documents the lender asked for and approved the loan by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (excluding bank holidays).

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Star Rating

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4.2

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296 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

68%

4 grade

13%

3 grade

3%

2 grade

5%

1 grade

11%

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Quality

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Service

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Verified Customer

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Alexandra Bassett Los Angeles, CA

I used Loan Builder for working capital to pay for the production of education videos. Though I was approved and was able to borrow $5,000, I had to agree to pay back the loan plus interest ($779.40) on a payment term of 36 weeks at $160.54/week. The weekly payments are definitely a hardship and there is no early pay-off tradeoff that would make paying off the loan a reasonable option for me. I would not use this service again and will be looking at other lending options once I've finished paying this loan back.

6 years ago

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Farmer E Creswell, OR

On the good side, the application process was easy and the funding was fast. On the down side, there is ZERO flexibility on the repayment schedule, so if your circumstances change you are just pretty much out of luck and they don't care. They do not even allow you to choose which day of the week payments are deducted; I get my weekly income on Wednesdays and Thursdays but they force my payments on Tuesdays. I don't know why this is but it is very inconvenient. For these reasons, I would not do a Loanbuilder loan again, nor would I recommend it to family or friends.

6 years ago

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Rick Castillo Springfield, MO

Not being able to pay off my loan earl without paying 100% of the interest and fees proves this to be nothing more than a ripoff payday style loan. I expect better from PayPal.

6 years ago

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Daniel Naseath Denton, TX

I don’t have time to write a book to go over all the details but long story short I got bounced around from rep to rep being told opposite things. The end result was that they kept charging me for a month for a loan that they received the funds for to pay it off. I refinanced my loan with them through another vender and I was stuck paying both venders while the two venders kept pointing fingers at the other one saying it was the other ones fault. It burnt a lot of my cash flow and cause some real strain on the company. It made it hard to make payroll and I had employees leave during it cause they were scared I wouldn’t be able to pay them.

4 years ago

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paul grauber Levittown, PA

The people are very nice, turn around time is awesome. We've had four loans with loan builder and were very happy. Why the two star. The negatives far outweigh the positives. The loans are very short time 12 months. I understand they offer an 18 month, but your credit score must be 750 or better. During our last loan we borrowed around 51,000, our payment was 980.00 a WEEK. It was doable and we managed fine. After paying two thirds of the loan off, our balance was around 16,000 we asked to refinance the remaining balance and were refused without reason. This left such a bad taste in our mouths, we won't ever use this company again.

5 years ago

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Reply from LoanBuilder

Paul,

I'm sorry for your experience. If you would like information regarding your application or future loan availability, please contact us at 1-800-347-5626.

Jamie

Dec. 18th, 2019

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Nick Buffalo, NY

When originally approached with the loan opportunity we were given a finance rate discount. We asked to revisit a few weeks later, when we did we followed through but were never told the discount was taken away. The money was deposited to the wrong account, and no one could move it where it needed to be for use, so we had to un-link our bank account, link it to the paypal account the money mistakenly was deposited to, transfer it to the bank, then un-link and re-link the bank account again. This took over a week to try and resolve. Then the first payment came out and it was much higher than our first conversation, which prompted us to call for explanation, at which time we were informed the rate discount was removed due to our wait period, and that there's nothing they could do now as we were locked in. They offered to discount the rate on our next round but after all the hassles and lack of help once the loan was awarded we won't be borrowing this way again. We were happier with an almost identical program from quickbooks that was a much more streamlined process and better experience.

7 years ago

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Peter Johnson Mountain, WI

Hard to work with if cash flow is low seems like weekly payments have to be made or actions are taken. Would be nice just to extend payments by a week or two.

6 years ago

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Debbie Esposito Stamford, CT

I was told when I got the loan that if paid early it reduces the interest on the loan since it would be paid off, which is what I wanted to do, but when I called whether it is paid or not I pay all of the interest, for that reason I will be paying if off and never using loanbuilder again, nor would I ever recommend it. The bank as well as American Express does just the opposite.

6 years ago

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Joe M Chicago, IL

Great service before the sale. Zero service after the sale. Cannot get a call back. Had no access to dashboard. Felt super shady. Very unhappy with post-sale service. Called and emailed my “sales rep” multiple times with zero response.

7 years ago

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MALCOLM STOGO West Orange, NJ

Too expensive interest rate, never told rate by associate. Not happy want new interest

6 years ago

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Casey Breen Elk River, MN

Very difficult to work with. Not as professional as one would expect.

6 years ago

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LITECOIN RUBEN Hermitage, TN

Alone officer kind of hurried us into this loan and not tell us about to start date coming so soon. Therefore I am not happy with this loan.

7 years ago

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Jennifer Wilson Dallas, TX

It is difficult to reach an Account Specialist to discuss details of account, obtain payment information or address any account concerns.

7 years ago

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Don Brown Dublin, OH

REps did not explain repayment time properly.

7 years ago