Alternative, or non-bank, lending got a big boost in 2008 when the mortgage meltdown caused banks to roll up their welcome mats. In that era of recriminations, no bank wanted to go out on a limb and lend to anyone other than the most creditworthy customers. Today, businesses have learned that alternative lending, which includes commercial business loans, factoring, peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding, can solve many problems quickly and efficiently without a lot of the delay and paperwork associated with bank loans.

Still, some business owners have negative misconceptions about alternative lending, so we’d like to clear them up:

Only bank-rejects apply to alternative lenders:
While it’s true that many businesses find it easier to qualify for a loan from an alternative source than from a bank, many owners prefer dealing with alternative lenders, as they tend to be more flexible, less judgmental and faster to respond. Many alternative lenders do not require collateral, can process an application in a few hours, and fund a loan within a day or two. One feature that IOU Financial borrowers truly appreciate is daily automatic repayment, which means a business doesn’t have to face a large monthly payment that can disrupt the business’ cash position.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/finance/5-common-misconceptions-alternative-lending-01781141#VWAd0a3Ou0wHkck8.99