I Need Cash Urgently for My Business
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Direct Answer
The fastest business cash options in the UK are: merchant cash advance (1-3 days, card payment businesses only), short-term business loan (1-7 days via iwoca, Funding Circle), or invoice finance (3-10 day setup, then 24-hour per invoice ongoing). Bank overdrafts take weeks and are increasingly unavailable.
Summary
Speed depends on your business type. Card payment businesses: merchant cash advance in 1-3 days. B2B businesses with invoices: invoice finance in 3-10 days setup, then same-day per invoice. Any business: short-term loan in 1-7 days but more expensive. Overdrafts take weeks and banks are cutting availability.
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All urgent business funding options ranked by speed, cost, and suitability
Not Covered Here
Individual provider reviews, long-term funding strategy
Right. You need money now, not a lecture about financial planning. Here are your real options, ranked by how quickly you can actually get cash in the bank. No waffle, just what works.
Ranked by Speed
Merchant cash advance
If you take card payments (shop, restaurant, salon, e-commerce). A provider advances cash and takes a percentage of each day's card takings until repaid.
Cost: expensive (factor rate 1.1-1.5x). Best for: retail, hospitality, e-commerce.
Short-term business loan
Online lenders like iwoca and Funding Circle can approve in hours and fund in days. Fixed repayments over 3-12 months. Need decent credit.
Cost: 8-20% APR. Best for: one-off cash injection, any business type.
Invoice finance
If you invoice other businesses on credit. Setup takes 3-10 days, but then every invoice is funded within 24 hours ongoing. Scales with your turnover. No property security.
Cost: 0.5-3% per invoice. Best for: B2B businesses with outstanding invoices. Get quotes →
Bank overdraft
Cheapest option (3-8% EAR) but increasingly hard to get. Banks have cut SME overdraft availability by 40% since 2020. Not fast enough if you need cash this week.
Best for: businesses with existing banking relationships and time to wait.
If You Invoice Other Businesses
Invoice finance is your best medium-term answer. Yes, the initial setup takes a few days. But once it's running, you never have a cash crisis again — every invoice gets funded within 24 hours, permanently. It's not a one-off fix like a loan; it's a structural solution.
Ultimate Finance offers the fastest setup at 3 working days, sometimes 48 hours.
Oliver Mackman
Director, Market Invoice
Oliver leads Market Invoice's editorial and comparison research. With a background in UK commercial finance, he oversees provider analysis, rate verification, and industry reporting across all verticals.
Last reviewed: 7 April 2026