Yes. Intuit, the company behind QuickBooks, TurboTax and Credit Karma, already lends to small businesses at large scale, and it is building more of its business around money and lending. QuickBooks Capital loan volume rose 54% to $1.9 billion in the quarter that ended July 31, 2026, according to Intuit's earnings call. For eligible QuickBooks users, its loans are priced at 9.99% to 36% APR with no origination fees. That is a different product from a merchant cash advance. But the loans are only for QuickBooks customers who clear Intuit's revenue and credit requirements.
MCAFax reviewed Intuit's product pages, SEC filings, earnings-call remarks, investor-day materials, press releases and an FDIC comment letter. We wanted to know what Intuit can see about a small business, how it uses that data to lend, and what that means for owners who have been offered, or are paying back, a merchant cash advance (MCA).
Is Intuit getting into business lending?
It has been in business lending since November 2017, when it launched QuickBooks Capital with working-capital loans of up to $35,000 and terms of three to six months, shown with an APR. The program is much bigger now:
- Fiscal 2024: $2.4 billion in financing accessed through QuickBooks Capital, up 28%, according to Intuit's fiscal 2025 investor-day materials.
- Fiscal 2025: $4 billion accessed, up 73%, including partner-marketplace loans. QuickBooks Term Loans and Lines of Credit alone totaled $3.6 billion, up 79%, according to Intuit's fiscal 2026 investor-day materials.
- First half of fiscal 2026 (six months to Jan. 31, 2026): Intuit bought $2.6 billion of business loans from its originating bank partner, compared with $1.5 billion a year earlier, according to its quarterly SEC filing.
- Fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 (ended July 31, 2026): loan volume through QuickBooks Capital rose 54% to $1.9 billion, Intuit's CFO said on the earnings call. He also said Intuit is deliberately selling more of its loans to "forward-flow partners", meaning outside investors that buy the loans.
How does QuickBooks Capital work?
Intuit says WebBank issues QuickBooks Term Loans and QuickBooks Line of Credit loans. Intuit Financing Inc. acts as a licensed loan broker in states that require one, and Intuit's SEC filing says it then buys the loans from its originating bank partner.
| QuickBooks Term Loan | QuickBooks Line of Credit | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | $1,500 To $250,000 (a separate Intuit page for accountants says up to $200,000) | Credit limit of $1,000 to $100,000 |
| Term | 6 To 24 months | Each cash draw or invoice advance is its own closed-end loan with its own terms |
| APR | 9.99% To 36% | 13.49% To 35.99% |
| Fees | No origination, prepayment or late fees, so APR equals the interest rate | No origination fees for new customers, no prepayment or late fees; standard payment-processing fees apply |
| Speed | Decision in minutes; typically funded in 1 to 2 business days | Same |
| Credit check to apply | Soft pull on personal credit, which Intuit says does not affect the score; business credit may be affected | Same |
The Line of Credit can also advance money against unpaid QuickBooks invoices of $258 or more that are no more than 30 days past due. Intuit says interest may be waived on invoice advances when buyers pay on time through QuickBooks Payments.
Intuit also runs the QuickBooks Capital Marketplace, which shows offers from outside lenders to QuickBooks subscribers on Online and Desktop. Its listed partners are Fundbox, OnDeck, Bluevine, BHG Financial and iBusiness Funding. Intuit says SBA loans and business credit cards can also appear there. In July 2026 Intuit also launched the Intuit Business Credit Card, issued by WebBank.
What does Intuit know about a small business?
More than most lenders ever see. For QuickBooks Term Loans, Intuit says eligibility draws on "your business history within QuickBooks, transactions within your business bank accounts, credit history of the business and personal guarantor, business revenue, and current liabilities."
The wider Intuit platform touches several other data streams:
- Payments. Intuit reported $214 billion in total QuickBooks payment volume in fiscal 2025, up 25%.
- Banking. QuickBooks Checking, offered through partner Green Dot Bank, dates to QuickBooks Cash in 2020. That product came with machine-learning 90-day cash-flow projections that predict when invoices will be paid.
- Payroll, bill pay and card spend. These run inside QuickBooks, and the new business credit card syncs every transaction into the books.
- Consumers. Credit Karma had more than 110 million members when Intuit completed the acquisition in December 2020. TurboTax is the other consumer brand. When it announced its OpenAI partnership, Intuit described its advantage as "proprietary financial data, credit models, and AI platform capabilities."
MCAFax found no public statement that Credit Karma or TurboTax data is used to underwrite QuickBooks business loans. The personal credit check on the guarantor is disclosed. Anything beyond that is not public.
How Intuit uses AI to put loans in front of owners
- Intuit Assist (introduced September 2023) is a generative AI assistant built on Intuit's GenOS platform. On a February 2025 earnings call, Intuit said it "spots potential cash flow shortages in real-time and suggests personalized solutions like applying for a line of credit through QuickBooks Capital."
- AI agents (July 2025) include a Payments Agent that Intuit says gets businesses paid five days faster on average, and a Finance Agent for forecasting and scenario planning.
- Intuit Intelligence and the Lending Overview page show funding options based on real-time financials and explain what affects approval odds for a QuickBooks loan.
- ChatGPT. On Nov. 18, 2025, Intuit announced a multi-year partnership with OpenAI and a contract worth more than $100 million. It said businesses using Intuit apps in ChatGPT will be able to "improve cashflow by accessing loan options tailored for their business." MCAFax could not confirm which loan features are live in ChatGPT as of October 2026.
Intuit's CFO described the intended experience on a February 2026 earnings call, as quoted by the trade outlet deBanked. A customer has payroll due tomorrow and an invoice that will not be paid until next week. "With a click of a button, they can access the Capital loans," and when the invoice is paid, "the agent automatically pays down the debt."
QuickBooks Capital vs. merchant cash advance
An MCA is not a loan. It is a purchase of a share of a business's future sales, usually repaid through daily or weekly debits, and it is priced with a factor rate instead of an interest rate. California's commercial financing disclosure rules require providers of this "sales-based financing" to show an estimated APR and to state that "APR is not an interest rate. The cost of this financing is based upon fees."
| QuickBooks Capital (Term Loan / Line of Credit) | Typical merchant cash advance | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Loan issued by WebBank | Purchase of future receivables |
| Price stated as | APR, 9.99% to 36% (Term) or 13.49% to 35.99% (Line) | Factor rate. California requires an estimated APR, which depends on how fast sales come in |
| Fees | None besides interest, per Intuit | Varies by contract |
| Repayment | Fixed payments over a set term | Daily or weekly debits or a split of sales |
| Who qualifies | QuickBooks Online users with $50,000+ annual revenue, a credit floor and no recent bankruptcy | Often available to newer or lower-credit businesses |
| Speed | Decision in minutes, funds in 1 to 2 business days | Often same-day or next-day |
A hypothetical example of the arithmetic: a $50,000 advance at a 1.3 factor rate means $65,000 is paid back. The APR of that cost depends on how many months the payback takes, so a faster payback means a higher APR. Ask any provider for the estimated APR in writing, and compare it with an APR loan offer on the same amount.
Who QuickBooks Capital will not fund
Intuit's own pages set these limits:
- You must use QuickBooks. Intuit says you need an active QuickBooks Online account in good standing to get a QuickBooks loan. The partner marketplace is only for QuickBooks subscribers.
- Revenue. Generally at least $50,000 over the past 12 months.
- Credit. One Intuit help page says the personal guarantor needs a FICO score of 620 or higher. An older help page says Intuit generally looks for 580 or higher. Intuit's public pages do not agree.
- Bankruptcy. No personal or business bankruptcy in the past two years.
- Industry. The business cannot be on Intuit's prohibited-industry list.
- Size. Term loans top out at $250,000 and credit lines at $100,000. Larger requests go to marketplace partners or SBA options.
- Personal guarantee. The applicant personally guarantees the loan.
These are the businesses most often pitched MCAs: newer companies, owners with credit below the 580 to 620 range, businesses that do not keep their books in QuickBooks, and owners already paying an advance.
Is Intuit becoming a bank?
Not yet. In a Sept. 19, 2025 comment letter to the FDIC, Intuit wrote that it "has not applied to charter an industrial bank," but that it "is continuously evaluating strategic options... Including the possibility of establishing an industrial bank." Today its loans, checking accounts and card come through partner banks: WebBank for lending and the card, and Green Dot Bank for checking. In 2026 the FDIC conditionally approved several industrial-bank charters for other companies, according to law firm Goodwin. MCAFax found no Intuit charter application as of Oct. 8, 2026.
Timeline: Intuit's move into money
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Nov 2017 | QuickBooks Capital launches |
| July 2020 | QuickBooks Cash business bank account (Green Dot Bank) |
| Dec 2020 | Completes Credit Karma acquisition (announced at about $7.1 billion) |
| Nov 2021 | Completes Mailchimp acquisition (announced at about $12 billion) |
| Sept 2023 | Intuit Assist and GenOS; QuickBooks Money launched, with lending listed as a planned addition |
| Feb 2025 | Says Intuit Assist suggests a QuickBooks Capital line of credit when it spots a cash shortfall |
| July 2025 | AI agents launch; SBA loan options added to the Capital marketplace through iBusiness Funding |
| Sept 2025 | Tells FDIC it is evaluating, but has not applied for, an industrial bank |
| Nov 2025 | OpenAI partnership, including loan options inside ChatGPT |
| July 2026 | Intuit Business Credit Card launches |
| Aug 2026 | Reports $1.9 billion quarterly QuickBooks Capital loan volume, up 54% |
Could Intuit squeeze the MCA industry?
This part is MCAFax analysis, not an Intuit statement. Intuit has not publicly said it is targeting merchant cash advance customers. But its pitch overlaps heavily with the MCA pitch: fast money for a short-term cash gap, with no long application. The difference is that Intuit already holds the borrower's books, can show a pre-qualified offer inside the software ("If you find a marketing offer in QuickBooks, it means your business is eligible to apply," its FAQ says), and prices in APR terms capped at 36%.
For a QuickBooks user who meets Intuit's requirements, that undercuts much of the reason to take a first-position MCA. For everyone else, including non-QuickBooks businesses, owners with lower credit, very young companies and businesses already carrying advances, Intuit's public eligibility rules leave them out. Rising charge-offs, if they continue, could also lead Intuit to tighten its approval criteria. That is a possibility, not something Intuit has announced.
What owners should know
- If you use QuickBooks Online, check the Lending section before taking any other offer. Intuit says checking eligibility uses a soft pull on personal credit.
- Read the terms on each Line of Credit draw. Intuit says each draw or invoice advance is its own loan with its own rate and payment terms.
- QuickBooks loans carry a personal guarantee, the same as most MCAs and many online loans.
- An in-app offer is not a guarantee. Intuit says offers "can change, disappear, or appear" as your data updates.
- Compare on APR and total payback, not on the factor rate or the payment amount.
- If you do not use QuickBooks, or Intuit declines you, you can use https://mcafax.com/apply to compare loans, lines of credit, SBA and other options at no cost.
Related
- QuickBooks Capital alternatives if you're declined
- QuickBooks Capital vs merchant cash advance: the real cost
Sources
- Intuit, Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 conference call remarks (Aug. 25, 2026) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings release, SEC (Aug. 25, 2026): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/896878/000089687826000029/fy26q4earningspressrelease.htm
- Intuit, Form 10-Q (Feb. 26, 2026) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Form 10-K for fiscal 2025: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/896878/000089687825000035/intu-20250731.htm
- Intuit, Investor Day fiscal 2026 presentation (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Investor Day fiscal 2025 presentation (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, Second-quarter fiscal 2025 conference call remarks (Feb. 25, 2025) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- DeBanked, "Quickbooks Capital: Another $1.3B Funded to Merchants" (March 2, 2026): https://debanked.com/2026/03/quickbooks-capital-another-1-3b-funded-to-merchants-has-protective-moat-from-ai/
- DeBanked, "QuickBooks Capital: ~$1.7B Funded Last Quarter" (May 21, 2026): https://debanked.com/2026/05/quickbooks-capital-1-7b-funded-last-quarter-repeats-that-ai-is-not-a-threat-but-rather-an-advantage/
- QuickBooks, Term Loans page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks, Line of Credit page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
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- QuickBooks, Capital for accountants page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks, Capital Marketplace page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks Help, "Learn about QuickBooks Capital Loans" (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks Help, "What is QuickBooks Capital" (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks, lending eligibility and Lending Overview update (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
- QuickBooks, Intuit Intelligence page (QuickBooks.intuit.com, accessed Oct. 2026)
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- Intuit press release, Credit Karma acquisition announced (Feb. 24, 2020) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, Credit Karma acquisition completed (Dec. 3, 2020) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, Mailchimp acquisition announced (Sept. 13, 2021) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, Mailchimp acquisition completed (Nov. 1, 2021) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, QuickBooks Money (Sept. 2023) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, Intuit Assist (Sept. 6, 2023) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, AI agents (July 1, 2025) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, OpenAI partnership (Nov. 18, 2025) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit press release, Intuit Business Credit Card (July 22, 2026) (Intuit investor relations, accessed Oct. 2026)
- Intuit, comment letter to the FDIC on industrial banks, RIN 3064-ZA48 (Sept. 19, 2025): https://www.fdic.gov/federal-register-publications/intuit-inc-michael-kennedy-rin-3064-za48.pdf
- Goodwin, "FDIC Approves Deposit Insurance Applications for ILCs" (June 2026): https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en/insights/publications/2026/06/insights-technology-fs-fdic-approves-deposit-insurance-applications-ilcs-specialty-business-models
- California Code of Regulations, Title 10, Section 914, sales-based financing disclosures: https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/california/10-CCR-914
- California Financial Code, Division 9.5, Commercial Financing Disclosures: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?article=&chapter=&division=9.5.&lawCode=FIN&part=&title=
MCAFax is not affiliated with Intuit or QuickBooks.
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