Frequently asked questions
General
Pipe makes customer-friendly capital & smart financial tools accessible to growing businesses inside the software they use every day. Our embedded solutions are built to scale and give business builders across industries the power to grow on their own terms.
By embedding Pipe’s solutions, software providers can seamlessly offer financial services to their customers. Pipe makes it simple for your customers to get access to capital based entirely on the health of their businesses. Pipe’s underwriting uses a partner’s live revenue data to get growing businesses the financing they deserve. Once approved, customers can use as much of their offer as they need and pay it back as a percentage of their revenue.
Pipe serves platforms that help small businesses grow, including payfacs, vertical SaaS, marketplaces, and more. Reach out to see if Pipe can be a fit for your platform.
Pipe’s services cannot be used for any illegal activities or for the business or product types listed below. The types of businesses listed here are representative of prohibited categories, but this is not an exhaustive list. Pipe makes the determination if any business activities are ineligible.
Adult Entertainment-related businesses
Bail Bond Services
Collection Agencies
Cryptocurrency
Financier, Capital Provider or Money Transmitter
Firearms and Ammunition
Fireworks Sales
Government-Related
Gambling & Casinos
Insurance
Cannabis & Hemp-Related Businesses
Third Party Payment Processors
Nonprofits and Charities
Pawn Shops
Political Campaigns
Counterfeit Goods
Multi-Level Marketing Programs
Non-licensed Alternative Medicine-Related Businesses
Vehicle & Manufactured Housing Sales & Leasing
We take a holistic view of your customers, using their revenue and bank data. Our algorithm reviews the overall health of their business, considers their historical performance, and even factors in projections of their future revenue.
Offers are live for a limited time (typically 30 days) and customers are automatically assessed for new offers as long as they keep their operating account connected and remain eligible.
The cost of capital will be a single flat fee that your customers pay over time as a percentage of their future revenue. There are no compounding interest charges, requirements for personal collateral, or penalties for late payments when sales are slow. Unlike some other capital providers, there is no monthly minimum payment, so business owners aren’t stuck with unmanageable payments during a down period.
The fee is determined based on factors such as the health of the business, projected revenue, and sales volume, and is calculated as a percentage of the advance amount. For example, if the fee is 10% on a $50,000 advance amount, then the fee will be $5,000.
We strive for transparency and simplicity in our pricing structure, so businesses know exactly what to expect. No surprises.
Pipe’s capital solution provides businesses with a quick and convenient way to access working capital in just a few steps, and unlike traditional methods, there are no credit checks, personal guarantees, or extensive paperwork.
Here’s why businesses are choosing Pipe:
a. Streamlined process: Your customer’s offer is based on their live data, so once connected, all they need to do is submit their business and owner details, agree to the terms, and set up their payments. Customers can focus on running their business while we handle the funding process swiftly and smoothly.
b. Flexible payments: Payments are a percentage of revenue, so there are no fixed monthly costs and they’re never left in a tight spot when sales are slow. When they have a strong month they pay back more, and when they have a slower month their payments shrink.
c. No personal guarantees: Unlike many other financial options, there are no personal covenants or guarantees. This means your customers can access the capital they need without risking their personal assets or finances.
d. Fast access to capital: Once a customer’s payments are set up, we’ll send their capital the same business day, and depending on the bank’s deposit hold policies, it can arrive in just a couple of hours! This eliminates the delays associated with traditional financing, helping customers access capital when they need it most.
e. Dedicated support: Our team of experienced Revenue Managers can help with end-to-end support—from onboarding to issue resolutions.
Once customers are approved and payments are set up, we’ll send their capital the same business day, and depending on the method of sending capital and the deposit hold policies of the receiving bank, it can arrive in just a couple of hours!
Pipe Capital is structured as a Merchant Cash Advance (“MCA”). MCAs are not regulated as credit in the United Kingdom or United States, and Pipe is not required to obtain credit licenses to issue MCAs.
In the US, a number of states require sales-based financing registration for Pipe to conduct its business. Pipe has registered in all states which currently require it.
Pipe is SOC 2 compliant and we use state-of-the-art standards to secure and protect your information, including bank-level AES 128-bit encryption. We limit sharing of any personal information with third-parties unless it is required for us to provide our services. For more info, check out our Privacy Policy. In addition, Pipe has a fully operational security team responsible for:
a. Risk assessment and vulnerability management across all internal and 3rd party systems
b. Enforcing strong Access Control Limits (ACLs) as well as Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to sensitive systems.
c. Threat Detection & Incident Response, operating on-call 24/7/365
Capital
Pipe offers a Merchant Cash Advance, where a customer sells a portion of its future revenue for up-front capital. The MCA is paid as a percentage of revenue, allowing the customer to pay as they generate sales, without worrying about a fixed minimum payment when sales slow down.
Embedding a capital solution provides fast and easy capital access for customers on the same platform they use to run their business, improving retention and customer satisfaction, while also helping customers grow revenue and increase GPV.
Pipe has three integration options: Pipe-hosted, Embedded UI, and Capital API, ranging from a fast, no-code solution to a deep API integration for a fully customized customer journey.
Pipe will request a data sharing process to underwrite your customers, including details such as historical transaction data, payment amounts, and other custom fields to help us create the best offers for your customers.
Pipe gives you the option to fully white-label the capital offering so you can maintain your brand throughout the capital offering process.
Pipe has a full marketing, sales, and customer success team that can help you tailor your marketing strategies and service your customers end-to-end.
Revenue models vary but often involve a percentage of the funded amount or collected fees.
Pipe can help partners launch a capital offering in 2-4 weeks, depending on the integration option that is chosen.
Pipe Capital is currently available in the US, UK, and Canada, and will be arriving soon in Australia and the Netherlands.
Cards
Embedding a card solution allows you to launch a custom card program quickly and helps streamline risk, compliance, fraud, and underwriting. It also provides a more flexible spending solution while helping you unlock a 360 view of your customers’ business.
Pipe Business Card is a business card for partners to embed within their platform. Unlike traditional card issuers, Pipe uses a revenue-based underwriting model to determine credit limits. The Pipe Business Card is a pay-in-full charge card with 15 days to pay after the end of the billing cycle. Pipe Business Card is currently only available in the US.
Pipe Business Card is a business card for partners to embed within their platform. Unlike traditional card issuers, Pipe uses a revenue-based underwriting model to determine credit limits. The Pipe Business Card is a pay-in-full charge card with 16 days to pay after the end of the billing cycle, so customers can have up to 46 days of flexibility on their day-to-day purchases.
Pipe Technologies provides the capital and takes on the underwriting risk. Your platform is not financially responsible for your business’s transactions.
Pipe will request a data sharing process to underwrite your customers, including details such as historical transaction data, payment amounts, and other custom fields to help us create the best offers for your customers.
Pipe Business Cards are issued by First Internet Bank of Indiana, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa® Inc.
Pipe Business Card credit limits can vary between 15-30% of your customer’s monthly revenue.
Pipe Business Card is free to use for partners and their merchants. Additionally, Pipe offers a share of the commercial credit interchange with our partners that they can choose to share back with their merchants as cash back.
Pipe gives you the option to fully white-label the card offering so you can maintain your brand throughout the card offering process. We will be happy to support you in the design process.
Pipe has a full marketing, sales, and customer success team that can help you tailor your marketing strategies and service your customers end-to-end.
Yes, Pipe Business Cards are accepted wherever Visa® cards are accepted.
Yes, mobile wallets are fully supported through Pipe Business Card.
The following types of transactions are prohibited and may not be made using Pipe Business Cards:
MRB/Cannabis Related Business
Legal Hemp Products; Services for CBD/MJ Industries
Adult Entertainment; Pornography, Sexually Explicit Images, Online Sex Work; Escort Services, Encounter Groups/Clubs
Bail Bond Services
Charities/Charitable Organizations
Cigars and Tobacco (including cigarettes and e-cigarettes)
Collection Agencies
Controlled Substances
Credit Restoration/Debt Relief Services
Crypto/Web3 (Operating Relationship Only)
Cryptocurrency Mining
Cryptocurrency FBO/MTL Activity
Cryptocurrency Transfers and Exchanges
Fantasy Sports
Financial Services Related
Firearms and Ammunition
Fireworks Sales
Gambling Establishments/Applications
Illegal/Unregulated Gambling
Massage Parlors (not associated with chiropractic or salons)
Political Campaign/Political Action Committees
Telemarketing
Integration
Pipe has three integration options: Pipe-hosted, Embedded UI, and APIs, ranging from a fast, no-code solution to a deep API integration for a fully customized customer journey.
This depends on the integration. We’ve seen partners complete our embedded UI integration in as little as one month.
Yes Pipe allows you to fully customize our products to match your platform’s brand, design systems, and UI elements.
Pipe will request a data sharing process to underwrite your customers, including details such as historical transaction data, payment amounts, and other custom fields to help us create the best offers for your customers.
This depends on the integration. We’ve seen an integration completed in as little as two engineering weeks. Pipe’s teams are also at your disposal to streamline the integration process.
Merchant
There are no credit checks, lengthy paperwork, or personal guarantees.
Connect: Connect your revenue and bank information through our secure integrations. You will be able to quickly find out how much capital you may be eligible for.
Verify details: Provide business details, a chosen business representative, and information on the business owners to verify your account.
For certain situations, an FBO only account is needed. Set up your Advance Payments Account (US Only)*: Your ticket to effortless payments.
That’s it– your capital will be on the way!
*Pipe Technologies Inc. is a financial technology company and is not a bank. Banking services provided by First Internet Bank of Indiana, Member FDIC.
Pipe receives your revenue data from your platform. We also ask that you connect your business bank account so that you can receive your funds.
You can choose to advance as much or as little of your offer as you want until the offer expires. This makes it easy to just use what you need, when you need it, and only pay for the amount that you advance.