Guide
Small business loans for online stores: what you can get
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Start here · What do you need?
Yes, a small online store can usually borrow, and the amount is set mainly by your monthly sales, not by your accounts. On their own pages, iwoca lends £1,000 to £1 million but says you can borrow up to 20% of turnover (capped at £10,000 if you have traded for under a year; every iwoca business loan needs a personal guarantee from at least one director), Liberis offers £1,000 to £1 million repaid from your sales, and Wayflyer's financing starts at £10,000 but needs £10,000 or more in monthly sales and 6 months of trading. A newer store can look at a government-backed Start Up Loan of £500 to £25,000 per founder.
If you're a sole trader
Many small online shops are run by sole traders. FundBiz enquiries are only for limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners, so we can't pass on an enquiry from a sole trader. Some of the options on this page are open to you directly from the provider.
A Start Up Loan is a personal loan to you, and its published conditions are about you and how long the business has traded. Check each provider's own rules: iwoca's page asks for a limited company or LLP, and Wayflyer asks for an incorporated business.
What each provider says a small store can borrow
Checked on 19 October 2026 on each provider's own UK page. These are the ranges they publish. What you are offered depends on your own sales and history.
| Provider | What it is | Amount on its own page | Conditions it publishes | Source (checked 19 Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iwoca | Flexi-Loan (a business loan you can repay early with no fee) | £1,000 to £1,000,000 | UK limited company or LLP. Up to 20% of turnover, capped at £10,000 if you have traded for under a year. Needs a personal guarantee from at least one company director. Interest from 1.5% per 30 days; its example of 3.33% per 30 days is 49% APR representative. Borrowing for more than 12 months may add a fee, typically 5% for 13 to 24 months. | iwoca home page (limits, guarantee) and Flexi-Loan page (rates, 49% APR example, longer-term fee) |
| Liberis | Revenue-based funding (repaid as a share of your sales, with one fixed fee) | £1,000 to £1 million | Offer built from your sales data. Liberis expects to receive a minimum monthly amount of up to 3% of what you owe. | Liberis explore-funding page (amounts, minimum monthly amount of up to 3%) |
| YouLend | Revenue-based funding, mostly offered inside partner platforms such as Amazon | Up to £2,000,000. No minimum published. | Uses Open Banking to build offers. Fixed fee rather than interest. | YouLend FAQs (up to £2,000,000, Open Banking, fixed fee) |
| Wayflyer | Financing for online and other growing businesses | £10,000 to £20 million | At least 6 months of trading, £10,000 or more in monthly sales, incorporated in the UK or another country it supports. No personal guarantees. | Wayflyer UK page and FAQ (£10,000 to £20 million, 6 months, £10,000 a month, no personal guarantees) |
| Shopify Capital | Funding repaid from your Shopify store's daily sales | Shopify's UK page gives its upper limit in US dollars only, so we have no UK figure to quote | Available to select UK merchants. At least 90 days selling on Shopify. By invitation, shown in your Shopify admin. The repayment terms on the page are for loans issued in the US, so ask Shopify for the UK terms. | Shopify Capital UK page |
| Amazon Lending | Term financing from TradeBridge (Amazon says it works similarly to a term loan, but TradeBridge is buying from you rather than lending); cash advances and a flexible financing line from YouLend | Not published on Amazon's page | Check for a financing invitation in Seller Central. Repayments come from the bank account linked to your Amazon account. | Amazon Lending UK page |
| eBay Seller Capital | Funding for eBay business sellers from YouLend and Liberis, repaid from eBay sales or drawn as needed | Up to £1 million | For business sellers. Shown in Seller Hub if you may be eligible. YouLend or Liberis, not eBay, decide and set the terms. No origination, late or early payment fees, only a pre-agreed fee; Flexible Growth Funding charges a fee on each amount you draw. | eBay Seller Capital help page (up to £1 million, fees) |
| Start Up Loans | Government-backed unsecured personal loan | £500 to £25,000 per founder, up to £100,000 per business | 7.5% fixed a year over 1 to 5 years. You live in the UK, are 18 or over, have the right to work in the UK, and the business has been fully trading for less than 5 years. You must be unable to get finance elsewhere (your own declaration). Credit check needed. Up to 12 months of free mentoring. | GOV.UK Start Up Loan page (amount, rate, term, mentoring) and Start Up Loans (£100,000 per business) |
Shopify Capital, Amazon Lending and eBay Seller Capital all run in the UK, but you can't apply without an invitation: the offer appears in your Shopify admin, Seller Central or Seller Hub if you may qualify. We couldn't open Etsy's help pages on 19 October 2026 to confirm what funding Etsy offers UK sellers, so look in your Etsy Shop Manager. If you sell from your own WooCommerce site, the platform-based offers don't apply, and providers that work from your bank account and sales data, such as iwoca or Liberis, are the place to start.
What the numbers mean for a small store
In our view, the top of these ranges is for much larger sellers. For a small store, iwoca's limit of up to 20% of annual turnover is the more useful number. Wayflyer's £10,000 monthly sales threshold rules out stores selling less than that. On the product page Liberis shows to platforms, its working capital cash advance is listed with "eligibility from £500 / month". Liberis also takes applications directly on its own site.
If your store is new and selling little, a Start Up Loan may be the one to look at first. It is a personal loan, so you are personally responsible for repaying it, and it comes with help writing a business plan.
What lenders look at in an online store
- Your sales history. Liberis builds its offer from your sales data. YouLend uses Open Banking. iwoca asks for the last year of bank statements or an Open Banking link. Shopify says its model looks at your sales, disputes and customer engagement.
- How long you've been selling. 90 days on Shopify for Shopify Capital, 6 months for Wayflyer's financing (12 months for its separate Small Business Loans). iwoca says it accepts businesses of any age, but caps loans at £10,000 for the first year.
- Where your payouts land. Share-of-sales funding is repaid from your sales or payouts. On Amazon's page, YouLend takes repayments each time Amazon pays you out, and TradeBridge takes a fixed monthly payment. Expect to connect your store, your payment provider or your business bank account.
- Stock and seasonality. Share-of-sales repayments fall when sales fall, and Shopify says you pay only on days you sell. A quiet spell still costs: Liberis expects a minimum monthly amount. A fixed monthly loan repayment is due whatever you sold that month.
- Refunds and disputes. Shopify names disputes in its underwriting. We couldn't find published rules on refunds or returns from the other providers, so ask.
- How your business is set up. iwoca asks for a limited company or LLP, and Wayflyer for an incorporated business. Start Up Loans lend to you personally.
Fixed fee or interest: how to compare offers
Revenue-based funding usually charges one fixed fee, not interest. Amazon's page gives this example for YouLend: £100,000 of funding with a 10% fixed fee means you repay £110,000. The fee doesn't change if you repay faster, so a fast repayment makes the yearly cost higher. A loan such as iwoca's charges interest on the balance for the days you use it, and quotes an APR. To compare the two, work out what the fee costs over the months you expect to take to repay. Our guide to turning a fixed fee into an APR shows how.
Questions to ask before you take an offer
- What is the total I will repay, in pounds, and what does that work out at per year if I repay at my usual sales rate?
- What share of my sales or payouts will you take, and is there a minimum monthly payment?
- What happens in a slow month, or if my store is suspended on a marketplace?
- Do you need a personal guarantee from me?
- Is applying a soft search or a hard search on my credit file?
- Can I repay early, and does the fee change if I do?
- Which accounts do I need to connect, and can I disconnect them once the funding is repaid?
- Do you count refunds and returns against my sales when you size the offer?
More on e-commerce finance at FundBiz
- To see named lenders for online sellers ranked side by side, read our ranking of business loans for e-commerce and Amazon sellers.
- For how cash flows through an online business and the usual reasons lenders decline sellers, see e-commerce business finance by sector.
- For the types of funding (revenue-based finance, stock finance and asset finance) and our Shopify and Amazon pages, see ecommerce business funding explained.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sole trader with an online shop get a business loan?
FundBiz can't take an enquiry from a sole trader: it is for limited companies, LLPs and partnerships with four or more partners. Some providers are open to you directly. Check each provider's own rules on business type: iwoca asks for a limited company or LLP, and Wayflyer for an incorporated business. A Start Up Loan is lent to you personally, not to the business.
How long does my online store need to have been trading?
It depends on the provider. Shopify Capital asks you to have sold on Shopify for at least 90 days. Wayflyer asks for at least 6 months of trading for its financing. iwoca says it accepts applications from businesses of any age, but caps loans at £10,000 until you have traded for a year. A Start Up Loan is only for businesses fully trading for less than 5 years.
Is a fixed fee cheaper than interest?
Not always. A fixed fee is the same whether you repay in four months or twelve, so the faster your sales repay it, the higher the yearly cost. Amazon's own example shows £100,000 of YouLend funding with a 10% fixed fee repaying £110,000. Ask what the fee works out at over the time you expect to take to repay, and compare that with an APR on a loan.
Will checking what my store can borrow affect my credit score?
iwoca says applying won't affect your credit score. A Start Up Loan needs a credit check. For any other provider, ask before you apply whether it runs a soft or a hard search.
This is general information, not advice. Each provider's terms can change, so check its own page before you apply. FundBiz is not a lender and does not arrange the products in the table.
By Adam Parker, Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose. FundBiz is owned and operated by Best Business Loans Ltd, directed by Oliver Mackman. Last updated: .