If SoFi or QuickBooks Capital cannot offer you a business loan, your search usually does not end there. Both companies point owners toward other providers, and in both cases the company says how that works: SoFi through Lantern, a comparison marketplace it runs and is paid by, and Intuit through the QuickBooks Capital Marketplace, which shares your information with outside lenders "with your consent." From there, an owner who keeps shopping can move into open marketplaces such as LendingTree's SnapCap, Lendio, Fundera, Nav and Biz2Credit, and from those into merchant cash advance (MCA) and revenue-based funders, some of whom say they may phone or email you.
MCAFax read the public disclosures, privacy policies, terms of use, help-center articles and SEC filings of the companies at each step. We wanted to answer three questions for owners: where can an application go after a prime fintech lender says no, who gets paid at each step, and what did you agree to share? This article describes paid referrals and consented sharing in the companies' own words. It does not describe any company's decline screen, which is not public.
The waterfall at a glance
| Tier | Examples | Who decides on your financing | How the company in the middle is paid (as disclosed) | What the owner typically experiences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Prime fintech lender | SoFi Small Business Loans; QuickBooks Capital | The lender itself (SoFi Bank; WebBank issues QuickBooks Capital loans) | Lender earns interest and fees on its own loans | One application, decided by the lender |
| 2. Captive marketplace | Lantern by SoFi; QuickBooks Capital Marketplace | The outside provider you pick | SoFi: paid by providers "in the event you obtain a loan." Intuit: fees not disclosed | A new questionnaire or a consent step, then a list of options |
| 3. Open marketplace | LendingTree/SnapCap, Lendio, Fundera, Nav, Biz2Credit | The lender or funder you are matched with | Match fees, closed-loan fees, or compensation for referrals, clicks, approvals or funded loans | One form, several offers, and follow-up from more than one company |
| 4. MCA and revenue-based funders and brokers | Funders on SnapCap's published partner list; revenue-based offers listed by Lendio, Fundera and Biz2Credit | The funder | Not covered by the disclosures reviewed | Offers priced with a factor rate or a share of sales, often fast |
| 5. Phone and email outreach | Partners and providers that received your request | You decide whether to respond | N/a | Calls, emails and texts, sometimes from companies you did not contact directly |
Not every owner passes through every tier. Many owners start at Tier 3 by searching the web, and some never reach Tier 4. The map shows the paths that public documents support.
Tier 1: SoFi and QuickBooks Capital keep the strongest applicants
SoFi. SoFi launched SoFi Small Business Loans, originated by SoFi Bank, on June 30, 2026, for $2,500 to $250,000. SoFi's help center says its personal loan "is for personal finance and household use only," so a personal loan is not a route to business funding. MCAFax covered SoFi's rules at https://mcafax.com/notebook/sofi-personal-loan-for-business-vs-merchant-cash-advance and does not repeat them here.
QuickBooks Capital. Intuit's QuickBooks Term Loans and Lines of Credit are issued by WebBank and offered to QuickBooks Online users who generally have at least $50,000 in revenue over the past 12 months and meet a personal-credit floor. Details and sources are at https://mcafax.com/notebook/intuit-quickbooks-capital-business-lending-mca if you want the full terms.
At this tier the lender makes the decision and keeps the loan economics. What happens next depends on which company you applied to.
Tier 2: the captive marketplaces
Lantern by SoFi
SoFi's annual report describes Lantern as "a financial services marketplace platform developed to help small businesses and individuals who do not qualify for SoFi products," connecting them "to alternative financial solutions from a curated network of other providers." SoFi's help center says: "In the event we are unable to offer a loan option at this time, you may be prompted to visit our comparison tool, Lantern!" SoFi's help center also points people who ask whether SoFi offers business loans to Lantern's small business financing section. SoFi announced its small business financing marketplace in January 2024.
- Who runs it. Lantern's disclosures say it "is a website operated by SoFi Lending Corp.," which lists a California Financing Law license (6054612) and NMLS number 1121636.
- Who decides. Lantern's help center says that after you select an option, "you will be directed to submit an application on the corresponding provider company's website. They will process your application and determine your approval."
- How SoFi is paid. "SoFi receives compensation from lenders and providers shown on the Lantern site in the event you obtain a loan, financial product, or service through the Lantern marketplace." SoFi's 10-K says its referral fees in general are calculated as "a fixed price per successful referral, a percentage of the funded loan, or a percentage of the transaction volume." SoFi reported $80.0 million of "Referrals, loan platform business" and $12.5 million of "Referrals, other" for 2025. Those lines cover all products, mostly personal loans, and SoFi does not break out Lantern's small-business revenue.
- Personal loans. Lantern's personal-loan pages say the site "is operated by SoFi Lending Corp. in cooperation with Engine by MoneyLion," and that the options "are from providers that pay SoFi and Engine by MoneyLion compensation for marketing their products and services on this site. This affects whether a provider is featured on this site."
- Who can be on the other end. Lantern's small-business disclosure says it "connects you with financial service providers, including lenders, banks, and other marketplaces that can connect you to lenders or banks." Its site footer lists "Merchant Cash Advance" among small-business products. Lantern does not publish a current list of business partners. A third-party report by Fioney (undated, secondary) named Funding Circle, OnDeck, Lendio, Seek Business Capital, Biz2Credit and Fundera as participating providers; MCAFax did not verify the current list.
- Credit checks. "Lantern and/or its network lenders conducts a soft credit pull that will not affect your credit score. However, if you choose a product and continue your application, the lender(s) you choose will request your full credit report," which "may affect your credit."
- What owners experience. Lantern's help center says its "providers do not currently have a minimum credit score requirement," that options expire if you do not select one within 30 days of the questionnaire, and that you may get marketing emails from SoFi and Lantern and from individual providers, each with its own unsubscribe link.
QuickBooks Capital Marketplace
Intuit's marketplace page, as shown in a search-index snippet (MCAFax's direct requests to the page returned a server error in October 2026), says: "With your consent, we share some of the info you provide with our financing partners." QuickBooks help pages list five partners: Fundbox, OnDeck, Bluevine, BHG Financial and iBusiness Funding, which offers SBA loans through a lender network. The page also says that if Intuit is unable to match you, "you can still work with these and other lenders directly."
- Who decides. The partner lender.
- How Intuit is paid. Intuit does not disclose partner fees. Its fiscal 2026 investor-day materials put fiscal 2025 financing accessed through QuickBooks Capital at $4 billion including marketplace loans, compared with $3.6 billion for QuickBooks Term Loans and Lines of Credit alone. By MCAFax's subtraction, that implies roughly $0.4 billion through partners; Intuit did not state that figure.
- Consent language. Intuit's privacy statement says that if you "apply for their services or offerings, or otherwise link or sync your account to a platform partner's product or service, you consent and direct us to share your personal information to the platform partner." It also says Intuit, Mailchimp and Credit Karma "do not otherwise 'sell' your Personal Information to third parties for monetary consideration."
- What is not public. Whether an owner declined for a QuickBooks Capital loan is shown the marketplace, and what that screen says. Intuit's list is short and made up of lenders; MCAFax found no Intuit disclosure that marketplace partners pass files to other marketplaces.
One more connection runs the other way: Lendio's site lists QuickBooks Capital among lenders on its marketplace, according to search-index captures MCAFax reviewed (secondary; not opened directly).
Tier 3: the open marketplaces
These companies are not lenders. They collect one application and match it with several providers. Their own disclosures describe how they are paid.
| Marketplace | How it says it is paid | What it says about lenders and products | Data and contact language |
|---|---|---|---|
| LendingTree / SnapCap | 10-K: revenue from "upfront match fees paid on delivery of a consumer request, click or call and closed loan fees" for consumer products, which include small business loans. Terms: "LendingTree is paid a marketing lead generation fee by Providers" | SnapCap's partner page lists 34 companies (see Tier 4) | Terms: "we may share your information with Providers of such similar or alternative products or services," and Providers "may retain information you provided ... Whether or not you are qualified for or close a loan" |
| Lendio | "Compensation may be received from lenders for referrals or funded loans, which may impact the placement of financing offers" | "100+ Lenders for business loans, business lines of credit, revenue-based financing, SBA loans, and more"; says it has facilitated "more than 520,000 small business loans and other financing options totaling over $17 billion" since 2011 | Lendio says it "is not a lender and does not make credit decisions" |
| Fundera by NerdWallet | Says "It's free" for owners; MCAFax did not find a fee schedule on its business-loan page | "Not a direct lender ... We connect you with a network of vetted business lenders"; lists merchant cash advances among loan types | Uses "a soft credit inquiry" to show options |
| Nav | Advertising disclosure: compensation "when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened. This may influence how and where products appear" | Credit and funding marketplace | Footer offers "Do Not Share My Information" |
| Biz2Credit | Not stated on the pages reviewed | Says it has helped businesses get "more than $12 billion"; lists its own revenue-based financing, "paid back from business receipts" | Privacy policy: "We may share your information with third-party business partners for the purpose of providing the Service to you"; giving a phone number is consent to calls and texts, including "telemarketing messages," which "may be revoked by your providing written notice" |
LendingTree's filing adds detail on business loans specifically. Its small business revenue rose $33.7 million, or 60%, in 2025, which it attributed to more request forms, more revenue per consumer and "deliberate investment in our concierge sales team." The product has a "renewal stream": LendingTree books expected renewal commissions up front ($28.0 million contract asset at Dec. 31, 2025), and the time until payment becomes unconditional "for small business loans is approximately 5 years." It also says "a significant portion of the business loans revenue is derived from one Network Partner," which it does not name.
In plain terms: at this tier, the marketplace is usually paid by the provider when your request is delivered, when you click or call, when you are approved, or when a loan closes, depending on the company. The owner pays the marketplace nothing directly, according to each company's own description.
Tier 4: MCA and revenue-based funders and brokers
SnapCap by LendingTree publishes its network. Its partner page says the network "includes the following partners ... Who may contact you via telephone or email," and adds: "In certain states business loans are not available, but Merchant Cash Advance may be available."
The list includes Bitty Advance, Brite Capital, ByzFunder, CAN Capital, Credibly, Expansion Capital Group, Fora Financial, Forward Financing, Headway Capital, Idea Financial, Kapitus, Libertas, Mulligan Funding, National Funding, Rapid Advance, Revenued, Samson, Spartan Capital and Vox Funding, alongside lenders such as BHG Financial, Bluevine, Fundbox, Funding Circle and OnDeck. MCAFax's description of the first group as MCA or revenue-based funders is based on their public product lines, not on SnapCap's labels; individual products vary.
Lendio, Fundera and Biz2Credit also list revenue-based financing or merchant cash advances among their products, and Lantern's footer lists "Merchant Cash Advance." Which specific funder sees a given owner's file is not public at any tier.
An MCA is not a loan. It is a purchase of a share of future sales, usually repaid through daily or weekly debits and priced with a factor rate. California's commercial financing disclosure rules require providers of this "sales-based financing" to show an estimated APR. A hypothetical example: a $50,000 advance at a 1.3 factor rate means $65,000 is repaid, and the faster it is repaid, the higher the APR.
Tier 5: the calls and emails
This is the part most owners notice. The disclosures above explain where it comes from:
- SnapCap says its partners "may contact you via telephone or email."
- Lantern's help center says you may receive marketing emails from SoFi and Lantern and from providers, and that each provider's email has its own unsubscribe link.
- LendingTree's terms say providers may keep what you submitted "whether or not you are qualified for or close a loan," and that if you want a matched provider to stop contacting you, you should "contact the Provider directly." LendingTree says it "is not responsible for a Provider's failure to follow your or our instructions to cease communications."
- Biz2Credit's privacy policy treats a phone number you provide as consent to calls and texts, including telemarketing, until you revoke it in writing.
MCAFax inference, not a company statement: because one form can reach several providers, and providers may keep what you sent, an owner who fills out several marketplace forms after a decline can hear from many companies. MCAFax found no public evidence that SoFi's or Intuit's own partners resell files.
How to tell which tier you are in
- You are at Tier 1 if the company that will make the loan is the one asking for your application (SoFi Bank, or WebBank through QuickBooks Capital).
- You are at Tier 2 if SoFi sends you to Lantern or QuickBooks asks for your consent to share information with a partner. Look for "SoFi Lending Corp." or a named partner list.
- You are at Tier 3 if the site says it is "not a lender," shows offers from several companies, or has an advertising or compensation disclosure.
- You are at Tier 4 if the offer is priced with a factor rate, a "holdback" or a percentage of daily sales instead of an APR, or if the caller is a funder or broker you never contacted directly.
Questions to ask at each step
- Are you the lender, a marketplace or a broker? Who makes the credit decision?
- Who pays you, and when: per application, per click, on approval or on a funded deal?
- Which companies will receive my information, and will they keep it if I do not take a loan?
- Is this a soft or hard credit check?
- What is the APR (or estimated APR) and total payback? Is this a loan or a sale of future receivables?
- Is there a broker fee, and is it paid by me or by the funder?
How to limit sharing
These are the choices each company describes in its own privacy policy or terms. They are not legal advice.
- SoFi and Lantern. SoFi's online privacy policy says SoFi may share with third parties "whose products or services may be of interest to you" and "where you have instructed us or provided your consent." It offers a "Privacy Choices" link at the bottom of its pages; registered users can toggle "No, Don't Allow Sharing" for cross-context advertising; there is a direct-mail opt-out; and email preferences are managed through "Unsubscribe." SoFi notes that, for California residents, information about individuals tied to a commercial customer, "such as for SMB lending services," is generally subject to CCPA rights, including the right to opt out of sale or sharing. For Lantern provider emails, use each provider's own unsubscribe link.
- Intuit / QuickBooks. Intuit's privacy statement offers a "Your California Privacy Rights" link and the Preferences section of your Intuit Account to opt out of sharing, honors the Global Privacy Control browser signal, lets you change marketing preferences in account settings or unsubscribe from emails, and says you can reply STOP to marketing texts. Sharing with a marketplace partner happens when you consent or apply.
- LendingTree / SnapCap. LendingTree's terms let you opt out of its calls, texts and emails by email, its Contact Us page, phone or by replying to a text, and say you must contact each matched provider directly to stop that provider. Its privacy policy offers a "Your Privacy Choices" link for tracking and targeted advertising.
- Biz2Credit. Consent to telemarketing calls and texts "may be revoked by your providing written notice."
- Nav and Fundera. Both show a "Do not share" or "Do not sell" link in their site footers.
- Everywhere. Before you submit a marketplace form, read the consent box under the submit button. That box, not the headline, says who can contact you.
Where MCAFax fits
MCAFax is also a referral service, so the same questions apply to us. https://mcafax.com/apply is free to owners: you pay MCAFax nothing. MCAFax may earn a referral fee from a lender or funder when funding closes through /apply. Ask us the six questions above, and compare any offer on APR and total payback.
Sources
- SoFi Technologies, Form 10-K for 2025 (Lantern description; referral fee methods; "Referrals" revenue lines): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1818874/000181887426000013/sofi-20251231.htm
- SoFi Technologies, Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 (Lantern description): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1818874/000181887426000054/sofi-20260630.htm
- SoFi press release, "SoFi Launches Small Business Financing Marketplace" (Jan. 17, 2024) (sofi.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- SoFi press release, "SoFi Introduces Small Business Loans to Help Members Pursue Their Business Ambitions" (June 30, 2026) (SoFi investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- SoFi Help Center, Lantern articles: "What is Lantern and how does it work?", "How does applying through Lantern work?", "Why wasn't I approved or why are my Lantern terms different than expected?", "Trouble accessing Lantern or viewing options", "How can I unsubscribe from Lantern marketing emails?", "Does SoFi offer business loans?" (support.sofi.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- SoFi, Online Privacy Policy (sofi.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Lantern by SoFi, Small Business page and disclosures (lanterncredit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Lantern by SoFi, Personal Loans page and disclosures (lanterncredit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Fioney, report on SoFi's small business marketplace partners (fioney.com, undated, accessed Oct. 2026) (secondary)
- QuickBooks, Capital Marketplace page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, search-index snippet, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks Help, QuickBooks Capital partner list (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Global Privacy Statement (intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Investor Day fiscal 2026 presentation (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- LendingTree, Inc., Form 10-K for 2025 (Mar. 9, 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1434621/000162828026016084/tree-20251231.htm
- LendingTree, Terms of Use (updated Aug. 18, 2026) (lendingtree.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- LendingTree, Privacy Policy (lendingtree.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- SnapCap by LendingTree, Partner Listing and home page (snapcap.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Lendio, home page and disclosures (lendio.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Lendio, small business loans pages listing QuickBooks Capital (lendio.com, search-index capture, accessed Oct. 2026) (secondary)
- Fundera by NerdWallet, Business Loans page (fundera.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Nav, Business Loans page advertising disclosure (nav.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Biz2Credit, home page and Privacy Policy (biz2credit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- California Code of Regulations, Title 10, Section 914, sales-based financing disclosures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/10-CCR-914
- MCAFax, "Is Intuit getting into business lending?": https://mcafax.com/notebook/intuit-quickbooks-capital-business-lending-mca
- MCAFax, "Can I use a SoFi personal loan for my business?": https://mcafax.com/notebook/sofi-personal-loan-for-business-vs-merchant-cash-advance
MCAFax is not affiliated with SoFi, Intuit, LendingTree, Lendio, Fundera, Nav, Biz2Credit or any company named in this article. Descriptions of how companies are paid and share data are taken from their own public disclosures as of October 2026 and may change.
Not financial advice. MCAFax may earn referral fees when funding closes through /apply.