Working Capital
Editorial Team
At Working Capital, we believe access to funding should be simple, transparent, and designed around your business not the other way around. We’re committed to helping entrepreneurs make smart financial decisions with tools, guidance, and lending partners they can trust.
Small business owners rarely have the luxury of perfect timing when it comes to funding. Cash flow can swing quickly when a slow stretch follows a strong sales month, inventory piles up before demand catches up, or growth opportunities suddenly appear before capital is actually available. In that gap between need and access, financing options can look similar even when they operate very differently.
Walmart Marketplace Capital and Arc are built around distinct business environments. One aligns with companies that rely on predictable, recurring revenue streams and measure performance through subscriptions and retention. The other is designed for sellers operating in marketplace ecosystems, where product sales and platform activity drive revenue. Each approach is narrowly tailored to a specific operating model rather than broad, general-purpose lending.
Because of that focus, eligibility is shaped less by traditional credit standards and more by how a business generates revenue. Even with these differences, there are a few common threads. Both approaches emphasize business performance over personal credit history, use fee-based pricing rather than standard interest rates, and are designed to support U.S. businesses operating in fast-moving markets.
Where these merchant cash advance companies diverge comes down to execution, including how each system determines funding amounts, how repayment responds to business activity, and how deeply each model integrates into day-to-day operations.
Arc provides fast working capital loans to businesses using a model that emphasizes company performance rather than traditional underwriting. The platform first gained attention among SaaS companies and other subscription businesses. While these businesses remain a strong fit, Arc has broadened its customer base over time to include companies across advertising, legal services, retail, and education.3
Instead of basing decisions primarily on credit scores, Arc connects directly to a company’s financial infrastructure to analyze revenue trends, cash balances, and operating performance. To qualify, businesses generally need at least six months of cash runway, $250,000 annual revenue, and U.S. incorporation. With underwriting focused on the business’s strength and predictability, personal guarantees and collateral are generally not needed.3
Funding amounts vary based on business performance and financial profile. Arc notes that Working Capital generally does not exceed 10% of company revenue,3 while Arc funding can reach up to $5 million. Its revenue-based financing guide also explains that ARR can be used to determine advance size, with higher percentages potentially available to established customers.2
Arc’s approach to pricing differs from that of many revenue-based financing providers, which rely on fixed fees. Borrowing costs generally reflect current interest rates and the company’s risk profile, with pricing often around prime plus 1–2%. The company also allows early repayment without imposing prepayment penalties, although the exact terms can vary.3
Businesses with steady recurring revenue streams and strong growth metrics remain particularly well-suited to Arc’s approach, which aligns access to capital with stable cash flow.
Capital by Walmart is a merchant cash advance (MCA) program only available to sellers on Walmart Marketplace. Walmart uses internal data to evaluate marketplace participants using its algorithm and to extend financing offers to selected sellers.6
Eligibility is driven by factors such as sales volume and account performance, with offers appearing directly within the Walmart Seller Center. Sellers cannot proactively apply for funding. Access depends on receiving an offer through Walmart’s system.6
Underwriting for these fast approval MCA business loans is based primarily on marketplace performance, and Walmart does not disclose potential financing limits. Sellers on the Walmart platform can review the terms upon receiving an offer. Once an offer is accepted, Walmart delivers funding through the seller’s existing Walmart payment infrastructure.6
Repayment is automated and tied directly to Walmart Marketplace sales. Instead of fixed monthly installments, Walmart collects a predetermined percentage of sales proceeds until the advance and associated capital fee have been repaid.6 Because payments fluctuate with revenue, repayment naturally accelerates during stronger sales periods and slows when sales activity declines.
The financing cost is disclosed upfront as a flat fee rather than an interest rate. Paying off the balance more quickly does not change the borrowing fee.6 Walmart does not publicly publish fees or typical repayment timelines. Those details are provided only to eligible sellers when an offer becomes available.
As a result, Capital by Walmart operates more as an invitation-based financing program embedded within the Marketplace ecosystem.
Arc’s platform gives businesses a centralized place to manage cash flow and access capital. Rather than separating banking functions from expense management, the platform brings them together within the same interface.
Businesses can issue both physical and virtual cards, establish permissions for team members, and monitor spending activity without relying on a collection of standalone tools.1 The goal is to simplify financial operations by keeping core banking and spending functions under one roof.
Arc also provides access to treasury capabilities intended for businesses that maintain larger cash balances. Companies with significant reserves or longer operating runways can allocate idle funds to generate yield instead of leaving excess cash sitting entirely in a conventional operating account.5
This additional layer of treasury infrastructure gives startups another mechanism for managing liquidity between funding events while keeping those resources connected to the broader Arc ecosystem.
Walmart’s financial offerings for Marketplace sellers remain relatively narrow. While sellers receive marketplace payouts through the payment infrastructure linked to their Walmart accounts, the company does not currently offer a dedicated small-business checking account or an integrated banking suite. Capital by Walmart is structured as a standalone financing program rather than part of a broader banking ecosystem.
Sellers who want operating accounts must obtain those services from banks or third-party financial institutions. As a result, businesses using Walmart Marketplace Capital typically manage their day-to-day banking relationships outside the Walmart platform.
Available to businesses with an Arc account, the Arc Card can be issued in both physical and virtual formats and is intended to support day-to-day company expenses.4
Because it operates on a debit structure, purchases are funded by money already held within the business’s Arc accounts rather than through a revolving line of credit. Spending capacity, therefore, reflects the resources available to the business. Account balances and the company’s financial profile also affect spending limits.4
Companies can distribute cards to employees, establish permissions and spending controls, and monitor transaction activity across the organization from the same dashboard used for banking and cash management. In addition, the card offers cashback rewards on eligible purchases, adding a rewards component while remaining fundamentally a debit-based product.4
Unlike a traditional business credit card, the Arc Card does not allow businesses to carry balances from month to month or borrow against a separate credit limit.4 The card is primarily a tool for expense management and operational efficiency rather than a source of financing.
Unlike some financial platforms that pair lending products with spending tools, Walmart Marketplace Capital does not include a branded business credit card or related card program. The Capital by Walmart offering focuses exclusively on financing and does not provide merchants with a built-in option to manage everyday purchases on the platform.
As a result, sellers who want access to a business credit card must obtain one through a bank or third-party card issuer. Any rewards programs, revolving credit features, or expense management capabilities associated with those cards exist outside the Walmart ecosystem and operate separately from Walmart Marketplace Capital.
Merchants cannot combine Walmart financing with an integrated card product in the way some broader financial platforms allow.
Small business financing usually comes down to fit and how closely a funding model aligns with the way a business earns revenue, manages cash flow, and operates day to day. When financing is structured around recurring revenue on one side and marketplace sales performance on the other, the differences are less about preference and more about business model alignment.
Arc and Walmart Marketplace Capital represent two distinct approaches to fast small-business lending. One is built around ongoing, predictable revenue streams and integrates financial tools into a broader operating system for managing cash, capital, and spend. The other is embedded directly into a marketplace environment, where funding and repayment move in step with daily sales activity and platform performance.
For small business owners, the key takeaway is the importance of understanding structure. When financing aligns with how a business actually generates revenue, it tends to feel less like an external obligation and more like part of the operating rhythm.
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