How long does it take from enquiry to receiving funds?

Most UK SMB borrowers receive funds 2 to 5 working days after enquiry, with merchant cash advance and unsecured fintech term loans regularly funding within 24 to 48 hours for established borrowers. Bank lenders and secured facilities take longer: 5 to 15 working days for an unsecured bank loan, 4 to 8 weeks for a commercial mortgage or asset-secured facility involving Companies House charge registration.

The end-to-end timeline breaks into five steps. Step 1, enquiry to indicative quote: typically 4 hours to 24 hours. Step 2, document submission: depends entirely on you. A pre-prepared pack lands the same hour; a piecemeal submission stretches across days. Step 3, full underwriting: 1 to 3 days for fintech, 5 to 10 days for bank lenders. Step 4, KYC and ECCTA identity verification: same-day if records reconcile, 2 to 5 days if mismatches need correction. Step 5, funds release: same-day after contracts are signed.

The single biggest accelerant is documentation completeness at first submission. Lenders that quote 24-hour funding are quoting against a clean, complete file; partial submissions add a day per missing item. The single biggest blocker is identity mismatch between your application, your photo ID and your Companies House record. ECCTA 2026 makes this enforceable rather than optional.

For specific lender timelines, iwoca and Capify regularly fund within 24 to 48 hours; Funding Circle within 1 to 3 days; Allica Bank and Aldermore within 5 to 10 days for unsecured. See how long does it take from enquiry to funds being released for the same question framed differently.