Behind the curtain: 0% interest business funding (and how the ads really work)

When you shop for business funding in 2025, the algorithm will personally deliver marketing agencies, lead brokers, and lending companies straight into your feed.

Because I research this space constantly, I get hit with funding ads across Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit — everywhere. And with experience on both sides of the industry, it's usually not hard to translate the marketing lines into reality.

Lately one type has been showing up more than any other.

I call it the "0% APR business funding" pitch.

Usually a sales-bro figure is sitting at a desk asking something like:

• "Are you looking for real business funding?"
• "Ninety percent of businesses fail because they don't have the right funding."
• "We'll help you get bank funding with our exclusive partners."

The "requirements" are always simple:

• Personal credit score over 700
• Fill out the form
• Get your "approval"

This industry is massive, the incentives are… enthusiastic, and the marketing changes constantly. So in this article I'm going to break these ads into categories and explain how each one works, how they make money, what the risks are, and how to spot them.

Category 1: Legit 0% APR business credit cards (the responsible version)

Most major issuers offer introductory 0% APR business credit cards (Chase, Amex, Capital One, etc.). These typically provide:

• A set credit limit
• A 0% APR intro period (often 9–24 months)
• Then a standard variable APR afterwards

If used correctly, these can be excellent tools.

A simple "responsible borrower" scenario

Say you get:

• A $20,000 limit
• 0% APR for 12 months
• Minimum payment is 2%

That minimum payment is about $400/month early on. Not terrible.

But if you make minimum payments for a while and then decide to pay the whole thing off within the promo period, your monthly payments can become aggressive fast.

In other words: the deal is real, but you still need budgeting discipline.

The part that's usually missing from the ads

These cards are designed for business purchases and expenses.

They are not automatically free liquid working capital for payroll or cash needs. Many issuers explicitly limit certain "cash equivalent" transactions or treat them differently.

Yes, balance transfers can help if you're consolidating existing balances, but that feature exists to relieve interest while you pay down principal — not to turn your credit limit into cash with no consequences.

Used correctly:

• They can finance purchases at 0% for meaningful terms
• They can help build credit when paid on time
• They can relieve compounding interest on existing balances

So far, so good.

Then we meet the internet funding expert.

Category 2: "Funding expert agencies" and credit stacking (the part they don't explain)

This is the most likely explanation when an ad claims:

• "We can get you $50k–$200k at 0% interest"
• "We have exclusive relationships with all the big banks"
• "All you need is a 700 score"

The playbook often looks like this:

Step 1: You fill out a form and sign something "simple"

You enter your info to "check eligibility."

If they proceed, you're asked to sign an agreement allowing them to operate on your behalf — meaning they can share your info, run checks, and submit applications as they see fit.

They will usually push hard to make this feel like a formality.

Sometimes there's an upfront consulting fee. Sometimes not. Either way, the hook is the same:

"Why worry about a small fee if you might get $200k at 0%?"

Step 2: Rapid-fire applications (hard pulls included)

They submit applications to multiple 0% APR card issuers in quick succession. This is intentional: they want each issuer to approve you before the next issuer sees your newly increased total credit exposure.

This can mean:

• multiple hard inquiries
• a noticeable credit score drop
• a "credit shopping" signal to underwriters

At this point, you're invested, your credit has taken hits, and you're emotionally committed to seeing it through.

Step 3: The "funding" is approved… and the real business model appears

Then the agency comes back and says they secured you something like:

• "$100k in diversified funding"
• "0% interest for 9–18 months"

But the next contract is where the machine is revealed.

They use the credit card limits you were approved for and convert them into liquid cash by charging you for "consulting services" and/or running transactions through payment workarounds.

The cards are maxed out.

And then they "disburse" funds to you.

Step 4: You get less than you think, and you owe more than you expected

They commonly take fees from the amount released to you — sometimes 10–20% (or more) depending on the company and how much leverage they have in the moment.

Why do people accept it?

Because by now:

• Their credit score is lower
• They've applied to many of the issuers already (cooldowns apply)
• They may have signed exclusivity
• Alternatives are harder and more expensive

The result can feel like a scam even if it's legally structured.

Yes, you may still receive "something like" $80k, but you now have:

• multiple minimum payments across multiple cards
• extremely high utilization (often near 100%)
• major personal credit impact
• a steep payoff schedule if you actually want it to stay "0%"

And if you miss payments or fail to clear balances before the promo term ends?
Welcome to standard variable APR.

What this is called

This is credit card stacking.

As of the time of writing, the practice itself can be legal in the U.S., but certain methods can violate card issuer agreements and have triggered fraud investigations in some cases. If you believe you've been misled or harmed, it may be worth speaking to an attorney.

How to avoid getting trapped in stacking

A few simple rules save a lot of pain:

1. Have a paid professional review the agreement before you sign Someone paid by you is far more likely to share your incentives than "funding bro."

2. Ask directly if it's credit stacking Early. Bluntly. Make them say it.

Ask about:

• the exact fee structure
• whether they apply to multiple card issuers
• whether they convert credit to cash
• what minimum payment exposure looks like at full utilization

1. If you still want that route, consider doing it yourself The "exclusive relationships" pitch is mostly nonsense. Credit card companies love issuing credit cards to qualified applicants. The application doesn't become magical because a guy on YouTube said "partners."

If liquidity conversion is the issue, talk to your accountant or a trusted advisor about legitimate ways to handle that — ideally without handing 10–20% away upfront.

Category 3: The MCA bait-and-switch (honorable mention)

This is language semantics.

A merchant cash advance (MCA) is often described as "interest free" because it's structured as a purchase of future receivables. Instead of "interest," it uses:

• a factor rate (example: 1.45)
• and a remittance percentage (example: 30% of receivables)

They may claim "no interest," while the cost is effectively built into the factor rate and fees.

You can often spot MCA-style ads by phrases like:

• "We just need 6 months of bank statements"
• "At least $10k/month in revenue"
• "Fast funding"
• "No collateral"
• "Bad credit OK"

MCA underwriting tends to emphasize revenue consistency and time in business more than high personal credit.

These ads don't always match the exact "700 score / 0%" archetype, but they're common, similar, and worth knowing.

Better alternatives than internet ads

If you have good credit (roughly 680+), visit your bank or local credit union before clicking ads.

Even if a bank only offers personally guaranteed options, you're still dealing with a regulated institution, face to face, with someone whose job is not to keep you on the phone until you sign.

If your bank doesn't work out, consider a local CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution). CDFIs are regulated and supported through the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and they often offer more transparent processes and manageable terms than many online lenders.

How Mathews Consulting Services helps (without turning you into a lead)

My role isn't to sell funding products or run applications. I'm not a broker, and I don't work for lenders.

What I do is help you avoid expensive traps and sequence decisions correctly so you don't accidentally torch your credit profile while chasing "cheap" funding.

That can look like:

• Reviewing an agreement before you sign anything (especially exclusivity clauses and fee language)
• Sanity-checking whether an offer is truly what it claims to be
• Mapping which funding category actually fits your business stage and cash flow pattern
• Helping you compare options in writing so you can negotiate from a calm place instead of a pressured one

The goal is simple: more clarity, fewer forced decisions, and less regret.

Final word

This space is wild and underregulated. Performance varies. Some companies are less harmful than the worst-case scenario, and some are much worse.

I'd rather give you the worst-case framing so you're mentally prepared than a rose-colored perspective that leads you straight to the slaughterhouse.

Thanks for reading. Stay safe.