Merchant Cash Advance in Fort Lauderdale: 2026 Guide for Business Owners

Quick Answer: Florida’s HB 1353 (effective January 1, 2024) gives Fort Lauderdale businesses dollar-cost disclosure before you sign — but no APR requirement and no ban on confession-of-judgment clauses. Those two gaps mean extra work: calculate the APR yourself using the MCA calculator, and read every contract for a COJ clause. Factor rates for Fort Lauderdale businesses typically run 1.15–1.50, translating to 40–100%+ APR depending on repayment speed. For the full Florida regulatory picture, see our Florida MCA state guide. The rest of this page covers what’s specific to running a business in Fort Lauderdale.

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What Florida HB 1353 Gives Fort Lauderdale Businesses

Fort Lauderdale business owners are covered by Florida’s commercial financing disclosure law — meaningful, but with two significant gaps compared to Texas and New York:

State	Law	APR Required?	COJ Status
Florida (Fort Lauderdale)	HB 1353 (Jan 2024)	No — dollar cost only	Not banned
Texas (Dallas/Houston)	HB 700 (Sept 2025)	No — dollar cost only	Banned statewide
California (LA/SF)	SB 1235 + SB 362 (Dec 2022 / Jan 2026)	Yes — before signing	Heavily restricted
New York	S5470B (Aug 2023)	Yes	Banned for out-of-state borrowers (2019)
Virginia	HB 1027 (July 2022)	Standardized metrics	Banned
Georgia	SB 90 (Jan 2024)	No — dollar cost only	No restriction
Nevada	None	No	No restriction

HB 1353 requires a written disclosure of the dollar cost — total financing amount, disbursement after fees, total repayment, payment schedule and amounts, all fees, and prepayment terms — before the deal closes.

What Florida does not require is an APR. A $60,000 advance with a $76,800 total repayment tells you the cost in dollars but not whether that’s 48% APR or 96% APR (repayment speed decides). Use the MCA calculator to convert it into an annualized rate.

The COJ Gap: Florida’s Biggest Missing Protection

Florida has not followed Texas or New York in banning confession-of-judgment clauses. A COJ lets a provider skip the lawsuit entirely: claim a default, go straight to a court judgment, and levy your accounts without prior notice. Before signing, search the full text for “confession of judgment,” “cognovit,” and “warrant of attorney to confess judgment.” Ask the provider to remove it before you sign, and get the removal in writing.

OFR Licensing

MCA providers operating in Florida must hold a Sales Finance Company license from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR). Verify a provider’s license at flofr.gov before signing — an unlicensed provider is operating outside Florida’s oversight framework.

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What an MCA Actually Costs in Fort Lauderdale

An MCA uses a factor rate — a flat multiplier on the advance — typically 1.15–1.50 for Fort Lauderdale businesses:

Advance	Factor Rate	Total Repayment	Cost
$20,000	1.20	$24,000	$4,000
$40,000	1.25	$50,000	$10,000
$60,000	1.28	$76,800	$16,800
$120,000	1.38	$165,600	$45,600

Repayment comes as a holdback — a fixed slice of daily card sales or weekly deposits, typically 10–20% — until the balance clears. Because that compresses into months, the effective annual cost runs far above the factor rate:

• $100,000 at 1.35, repaid over 6 months: roughly 70% APR
• $100,000 at 1.35, repaid over 3 months: roughly 140% APR

Where Fort Lauderdale businesses fall in the range:

• 1.15–1.25: Restaurants, bars, and retail with steady daily card volume and clean statements.
• 1.25–1.38: Healthcare practices, contractors, and service firms with mixed card and invoice revenue.
• 1.38–1.50: Marine-trade and seasonal-tourism businesses with large, irregular deposit timing.

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Fort Lauderdale’s Economy and Where MCAs Fit

Fort Lauderdale anchors Broward County with an economy built on the water — marine trades, tourism, real estate, and healthcare. Four sectors drive most MCA demand.

Marine and Yachting

Fort Lauderdale calls itself the Yachting Capital of the World, and the title is earned: boatyards, marinas, refit and repair shops, brokerages, and marine-service firms cluster along the New River and the Intracoastal. The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show (the largest in-water boat show in the world) drives an intense annual demand cycle. Marine businesses use MCAs to bridge large project timelines and seasonal swings, and the lumpy, project-driven deposit pattern tends to push factor rates higher (1.30–1.45).

Tourism and Hospitality

Beachfront hotels, Las Olas Boulevard restaurants and bars, and event businesses run on the November–April high season. Operators use MCAs for seasonal staffing, equipment, and build-outs timed to capture peak revenue. Steady daily card volume earns the lowest factor rates (1.15–1.25). Time the advance so repayment lands in your peak window, not the slow summer.

Real Estate and Construction

Broward County’s active real estate market keeps subcontractors — roofing, HVAC, electrical, concrete — busy, and they face the universal gap: pay labor and materials in days, wait weeks for milestone draws. Hurricane season adds sudden roofing and restoration demand that needs capital faster than a bank can approve it.

Healthcare and Retail

Practices tied to Broward Health and regional systems bridge 60–90 day insurance-reimbursement cycles. Retail and professional-service firms round out demand. The main risk across all of these is stacking — combined holdback above 20% of deposits can choke a slow week.

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What Fort Lauderdale Businesses Typically Qualify For

Requirement	Typical Minimum
Monthly revenue	$7,500–$15,000 in consistent deposits
Time in business	3–6 months
Credit score	475–500+ (revenue consistency matters more)
Business bank account	Active, 3+ months of statements
Industry restrictions	Adult entertainment, cannabis, firearms, gambling typically excluded

Funding usually arrives in 24–72 hours. Most Fort Lauderdale businesses qualify for $20,000–$500,000, with established firms accessing more. Seasonal businesses with strong peak-season statements often qualify for more than their slow-season deposits suggest.

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Providers That Fund Fort Lauderdale Businesses

All providers below are in the site’s verified directory, with data sourced from published terms and reviewed in June 2026. All fund Florida businesses — and Everest Business Funding is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale.

Provider	Advance Range	Min Credit	Speed	Best For
Everest Business Funding	$5K–$2M	500+	1–2 days	Larger amounts, FL-headquartered (Fort Lauderdale)
Greenbox Capital	$3K–$500K	None stated	Same-day / next day	Hospitality, retail, South Florida service
Uplyft Capital	$5K–$500K	475+	24 hrs	Lower credit, starter amounts
Credibly	$5K–$600K	500+	2–3 days	Low factor rates (from 1.11), bad credit
Fora Financial	$5K–$1.5M	500+	24–72 hrs	Large advances, prepayment discounts
National Funding	$5K–$500K	None stated	Same day	Fast funding, established businesses

Verify directly. Terms change. Check factor rates, holdback percentages, all fees, and — critically for Florida — read the full contract for any confession-of-judgment clause and have it removed before signing.

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Local Fort Lauderdale Funding Alternatives to Check First

Florida SBDC at Broward College (browardsbdc.org). Free one-on-one advising and financing referrals across Broward County. Start here before any MCA.

SBA South Florida District Office. SBA 7(a) loans run 9.75–13.25% APR — a fraction of MCA cost — and SBA Express can fund fast. The EIDL program is worth checking for hurricane-related needs.

Accion Opportunity Fund (aofund.org) and local Florida CDFIs. Loans at rates meaningfully below MCA pricing, especially for women- and minority-owned businesses banks have declined.

Fort Lauderdale community banks and credit unions. Lines of credit at 8–15% APR for established businesses give far cheaper, more flexible working capital than an MCA.

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Before You Sign: Fort Lauderdale MCA Checklist

1. Request the HB 1353 written disclosure before paperwork is finalized. If the provider won’t produce it, walk away.
2. Search the full contract for any COJ clause and have it struck in writing. Florida has no ban.
3. Calculate the APR yourself using the MCA calculator.
4. Verify the provider’s OFR license at flofr.gov.
5. Compare three offers from the directory. A spread from 1.25 to 1.38 on a $60,000 advance is nearly $8,000 in extra cost.
6. Time your advance to peak-season repayment — Fort Lauderdale’s seasonality is real, and carrying an advance through the slow summer raises the annualized cost.