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Accompany Capital loans: rates, fees and requirements
By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded
Accompany Capital is a New York City nonprofit lender, founded in 1997 as the Business Center for New Americans and renamed in 2020, that makes loans of $1,000 to $350,000. Its microloans and small business loans carry an 8% fixed rate with no minimum credit score, its SBA Community Advantage loans are 9.99% fixed, and its NYC Future Fund loans are 7.5%. It lends to immigrants, refugees and asylees with legal status, women and other underserved owners, and its smaller loans are limited to businesses in the five boroughs.
How much Accompany Capital lends, by product
Maximum loan amount for each Accompany Capital product, October 2026. Most carry an 8% fixed rate.
Who qualifies
For the microloans, small business loans and credit-building loans, the published rules are short: you must be 21 or older, the business must be in one of the five boroughs and hold the licenses it needs to operate, and you cannot have declared bankruptcy in the past 24 months. Accompany sets no minimum credit score. The microloan and small business loan also require positive cash flow from operations, and Accompany says it will not approve a borrower with a pattern of not repaying other debts.
Startups can apply. The loans page says a strong startup file has a business plan, the owner’s experience, realistic projections and a personal investment equal to 25% of the amount requested. Existing business loans and credit card debt can be refinanced case by case.
Products, sizes and fees
| Loan | Amount | Rate | Term | Fees | Other conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit-building loan | Up to $2,000 | 8% fixed | Up to 1 year | $25 application fee, 1% closing fee | Verifiable income; no minimum score |
| Microloan | $1,000 to $50,000 (pilot up to $75,000) | 8% fixed | 6 months to 3 years | $25 or $50 application fee, 1% closing fee, no prepayment penalty | Positive cash flow |
| Small business loan | $50,000 to $75,000; repeat borrowers up to $100,000 | 8% fixed | Up to 3 years | $50 application fee, 1% closing fee, no prepayment penalty | Positive cash flow |
| NYC Child Care Loan | $5,000 to $25,000 | 8% fixed | Up to 3 years | $50 application, $60 UCC filing, 1% closing | Valid child care provider license |
| NYC Future Fund | $25,000 to $150,000 | 7.5% fixed | Up to 5 years | 3% closing fee, no application or prepayment fee | 12 months in operation, $50,000 in revenue, credit check |
| SBA Community Advantage | $100,000 to $350,000 | 9.99% fixed | Up to 10 years | Not published | NYC startups and existing businesses that meet SBA rules |
A guarantor may be required on the 8% loans and the Future Fund loan. Collateral is not addressed on any product. All figures are from the loans page as of October 2026.
Documents and timing
Accompany lists a standard set: government photo ID, business or personal tax returns, the last three months of bank statements, any business licenses or permits, and a business plan or overview. It then sends a checklist for your file. The Future Fund loan adds one year of filed tax returns, year-to-date financials and a year of monthly projections, which matches the city’s requirements.
Regular loans take 2 to 4 weeks to process. SBA Community Advantage loans are approved 30 to 45 days after a complete application, and Accompany says the larger ones take two months or more. No processing time is published for the Future Fund loan. The about page says staff work in 14 languages and dialects.
City, state and federal programs it lends through
- NYC Future Fund: the city names Accompany as one of four participating lenders. The city’s ceiling is $500,000, but Accompany lists its Future Fund loans at $25,000 to $150,000. Our NYC Future Fund guide covers the revenue-based repayment.
- New York State Small Business Revolving Loan Fund, Round 2: Accompany is on the state’s lender list as of May 15, 2026.
- SBA microloans: Accompany appears on the SBA’s list of microlenders.
- SBA Community Advantage, from its own loans page.
It is not a lender for the state’s Main Street Capital Loan Fund, which Empire State Development runs with Pursuit.
Offices
The site footer lists two offices: 11 Broadway, Suite 1515, in Manhattan, and 78-27 37th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. The loans themselves are open to businesses in all five boroughs. The organization reports 5,317 loans totaling more than $76 million as of September 2025.
What the SBA file shows
In our analysis of SBA loan data, Accompany Capital made 40 SBA 7(a) loans in the five boroughs between October 2019 and June 2026, with a median of $250,000. Twenty-nine of them came in fiscal 2024 or later, so most of its 7(a) activity is recent. The file codes 30 as standard 7(a), 9 as Community Advantage and 1 as an international trade loan. They spread across all five boroughs: 15 in Manhattan, 14 in Brooklyn, 7 in Queens, 3 in the Bronx and 1 on Staten Island.
Against a merchant cash advance
Take $50,000. As an Accompany microloan at 8% over three years, the payment is about $1,567 a month and the interest about $6,400; with the 1% closing fee and $50 application fee, the APR is about 8.8% by our arithmetic. A $50,000 merchant cash advance at a 1.40 factor rate costs $20,000 and, repaid by debits every business day, runs about 71% APR over twelve months and 142% over six. Owners already in an advance should ask early how Accompany counts the daily debits against its positive-cash-flow requirement for the microloan and small business loan.
When a different lender fits better
- Above $350,000, Accompany’s ceiling, a bank 7(a) loan is the route; city 7(a) loans of $350,001 to $1 million had a median starting rate of 10.25% in fiscal 2024 through June 2026, in the same SBA data.
- For a Future Fund loan above $150,000, ask one of the other three city lenders, such as Pursuit.
- For $1,000 to $15,000 with no refinancing involved, Kiva charges 0% and no fees.
- With a bankruptcy inside 24 months, Accompany’s 8% loans are closed to you. Renaissance publishes no bankruptcy rule and lends up to $100,000 at 4% to 6% fixed, pre-revenue startups included.
- If you need a decision in two business days and your score is 640 or higher, Pursuit’s SmartLoan publishes that timeline, at a rate capped at 11.9% plus a 5% fee.
Comparing financing offers? Send one short request and a funding partner will tell you what you may qualify for. We may be paid when you submit a request; see how this site is funded.