YouLend loans: how they work, what they cost, and how they compare

YouLend is an embedded finance provider that funds small businesses, often through platforms they already use. Instead of interest, you pay a fixed fee agreed upfront, and YouLend takes a share of every sale until it's repaid. If your limited company has an offer, the next questions are what it costs and what else could work.

The key difference: a fixed fee costs the same whether your sales clear the advance in three months or in a year, while a business loan's interest falls when you repay early. So compare your offer's fee with what a loan would cost over the time you expect to take.

‍

How a YouLend loan works

YouLend uses Open Banking and your payment data to make a funding offer, which many businesses first see inside a platform they already use, such as Amazon, eBay, Epos Now, or Tide. You can also apply on YouLend's own site.

Its main product is a merchant cash advance, a type of revenue-based finance, so repayments speed up in busy weeks and slow down in quiet ones.

Every row below comes from YouLend's own pages, which we checked on 12 October 2026. Check them against your offer, because terms can change:

Because YouLend works through partners, the amounts, fees, and products you're offered can depend on the platform you apply through.

‍

Is YouLend legitimate?

YouLend Limited is an active UK company, registered at Companies House under number 12576377 since 28 April 2020. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorises it as a payment institution, with firm reference number 947287.

That authorisation covers YouLend's payment services, such as the accounts your card payments flow into to repay the funding. The funding itself is different: YouLend's regulatory information says its merchant financing isn't regulated by the FCA. So the written agreement is where your terms are set, and it's worth reading in full. Before you accept an offer, check:

• The total you'll repay, and the fixed fee within it.
• The percentage of each sale YouLend will take.
• What happens if your sales drop or stop for a while.
• Whether a personal guarantee or other security is part of the deal.
• Whether the platform or broker that introduced you is paid. YouLend says it may pay an introducer a commission, typically a percentage of the fixed fee.

Reviews from businesses that have used YouLend are on Trustpilot.

{{alternative-lenders-blog-cta="/seo-components"}}

‍

What a YouLend advance costs compared with an iwoca business loan

YouLend doesn't publish its fees, so the figure to compare is the fixed fee in your offer. Set it against what a business loan of the same size would cost over the time you expect your sales to take.

With a fixed fee, the cost is set on day one. If a strong season clears the advance in three months, you've paid the whole fee for three months of funding. If sales are slower, repayment takes longer, but the fee is still the one you agreed upfront.

An iwoca Flexi-Loan, our business loan with flexible repayment options, works the other way. We charge interest on what you still owe, only for the days you borrow it, so the sooner you repay, the less you pay. The table shows the interest on a £10,000 Flexi-Loan over 12 months, depending on when you clear it:

The Flexi-Loan figures are at our representative rate of 3.33% per 30 days and show interest only. Your rate depends on your business, and the business loan calculator shows the figures for your own amount and term. There are no fees on 12-month loans. Longer terms may include a fee, typically 5% for 13 to 24 months and 6% for longer, and there's never a fee for repaying early.

To compare, find the row closest to how long you expect your sales to take to repay the advance. If your offer's fixed fee is higher than the interest in that row, a loan at that rate would cost less over the same time. The trade-off is that you'd repay it in set monthly amounts, not from your sales, and at least one director would need to give a personal guarantee.

‍

When YouLend suits a limited company, and when it doesn't

Sales-linked funding can suit a company whose card or online sales are steady but rise and fall through the year, especially when the offer is already in a platform it uses. It fits less well when most income arrives by invoice or bank transfer, or when you'd want to cut the cost by repaying early.

It can suit your company if:

• Most of your income comes through card payments or an online store.
• Your sales vary through the year, and a fixed monthly repayment would be hard to meet in quiet months.
• The offer is already in a platform you use, and you'd like an application with no physical documents.
• You expect to want top-ups as you grow.

It may fit less well if:

• Customers mostly pay you by invoice or bank transfer. Invoice finance releases cash against unpaid invoices instead.
• Your margins are thin, so giving up a share of every sale would leave too little for running costs.

If you'd prefer set repayments but like the rest of YouLend's offer, ask whether your platform offers its Fixed Payments option.

‍

Using an iwoca Flexi-Loan alongside or instead of YouLend

A sales-linked advance is repaid from your takings, so it's built around what runs through your till or online store. A Flexi-Loan is repaid by a set amount each month over one to five years, so it can cover needs that don't line up with your sales.

Limited companies could use one in two ways:

• Instead of a sales-linked advance, if you'd rather know your monthly repayment and pay less interest by repaying early.
• Alongside one, for costs that sit outside your card sales, such as suppliers who invoice you, or for a project you'd rather spread over several years.

Taking both means two sets of repayments, so work out what your margins can carry before adding either.

Chris Billingham, founder of Muscle Squad, sells fitness equipment online, where sales come in waves, and he borrows and repays his Flexi-Loan in step with them: 'We go through waves of borrowing a significant amount and paying back a significant amount. You need the conviction that a good period is only around the corner.'

A few terms decide whether a Flexi-Loan fits your company:

• Who can apply: we lend to UK limited companies.
• How much: £1,000 to £1m.
• Repayments: a set amount each month over one to five years, with no fees for repaying early.
• Decision: many customers get an instant decision. For larger loans, one of our underwriters takes a look and comes back within 24 hours.
• Personal guarantee: every new Flexi-Loan needs a personal guarantee from at least one director. That director could be personally responsible for the debt if the company can't repay.

Since 2012, we've provided £5bn+ in funding to 100,000+ UK businesses. A Flexi-Loan isn't the right fit if your business isn't a limited company, or if no director is willing to give a personal guarantee.

‍

Frequently asked questions

Why is YouLend on my bank statement?

A 'YouLend Limited' entry usually relates to YouLend funding, which may have come through a platform you use, or to a payment made to YouLend, whose bank account is in that name. Existing customers can check payments and balances in YouLend's merchant dashboard, and YouLend's support team is on 020 4572 9023 or support@youlend.com.

‍

Can I repay YouLend early?

YouLend says you can pay your account at any time, by bank transfer or through its payment portal. Its site doesn't say whether paying early reduces the fixed fee, so ask YouLend or the platform that made the offer before you sign.

‍

Does YouLend need a personal guarantee?

YouLend's website doesn't say whether it asks for a personal guarantee or which credit checks it runs, and third-party reviews of YouLend disagree. Check your offer and the agreement, and ask YouLend if it isn't clear.

‍

Who is behind YouLend?

YouLend was founded in 2016 by Mikkel Sølvsten Velin, Kasper Larsen, and Anders la Cour, and launched in the UK and Ireland in 2018. Companies House lists Kasper Larsen as a director of its UK company, YouLend Limited. In 2024, YouLend announced what it calls a '£4 billion financing investment' from J.P. Morgan.