Banana Exchange Is The Source Of Funding MCA Providers

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Below is our recent interview with Eyal Levy, President and CEO of Banana Exchange:

Q: Can you tell us something more about The Banana Exchange Group?

A: Banana Exchange is THE FUNDING SOURCE FOR MCA PROVIDERS. The group is comprised of Banana Funding Group, a factoring company and Banana Exchange , an MCA portfolio management system.

• We are the only ones that offer MCA Providers a funding program based only on their RTR (receivables), requiring no financials or personal guarantees
• We require 6+ months of business activity, < 10% default rate, and at least $500K RTR on the books • We advance against the existing RTR in a factoring transaction, not a loan. Basically, Banana re- factors the client's current RTR and provides capital to purchase more RTR. • Banana Exchange as a portfolio management system is used to monitor the client's RTR. The clients may elect to use our system or theirs if they have one. In case they prefer to use their system we can connect through API. • Banana Funding Group advances up to 25% capital against approved RTR Recommended: PeopleStrategy Provides Solutions For An Enterprise Approach To HR Technology

Q: Eyal, can you tell us something more about yourself? How did you get to where you are today?

A: I was the founder of Platinum Funding Group (PFG) and have extensive experience with factoring and commercial finance in the US and UK for over 25 years. PFG, was a premier factoring company, headquartered in New York with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Florida, New Jersey and London. PFG commenced its operations in 1992 but had to cease its operations in 2010 as its bank lenders were required to exit the market of financing cash-flow providers following the 2008 financial crisis. Nonetheless, PFG was the leader of its niche financing distressed customers, with over $250 Million in annual funding.

I started my career at Elisra, an Israeli defense contractor that marketed sensitive electronic products to the CIA, FBI, US Air Force and US Special Forces. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey and attended the business program at Bar Ilan University in Israel.

Currently I am a mentor in the Harvard Business School entrepreneurship program.

Q: What does it take to get funding? Are there any requirements?

A:

1. MCA provider must use or connect via API to the Banana Exchange LLC platform
2. MCA provider must have at least $500,000 of eligible Right To Return (RTR) in their current portfolio from more than 25 merchants
3. Factoring agreements between MCA provider and its merchants must comply with industry standards
4. The MCA provider owners must be in business for over 12 months. The MCA provider company must be in business for at least 6 months and demonstrate a portfolio default ratio of less than 10%
5. The MCA provider and it’s ACH provider must agree that Banana Exchange control the daily merchant payment flow in case of a default.

Funding prerequisites:

Banana Exchange doesn’t run background checks on your merchants, but will only purchase (re-factor) RTR that meets the following criteria:
1. Every $1M RTR purchased must comprise of at least 40 merchants
2. No more than $70K RTR will be purchased from a single merchant
3. Concentration of purchased merchants in any state will not exceed 25%
4. Specific industries are restricted based on market trends. For example, the hospitality business is reduced to 15% concentration due to the Coronavirus.

5. No 2 merchants may have the same owner (only one of them will be purchased)
6. Purchased merchants may later be disqualified should they miss 5 consecutive payments
to the MCA provider, and their RTR is automatically un-purchased
7. During any 30 days time frame, if 10% of merchants get disqualified, MCA provider goes
into default and Banana Funding Group has the right to turn on the default switch and
collect the remaining RTR

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Q: What are the company’s plans and goals for the future?

A: We intend to have a one stop shop Market Place for MCA Providers where they can get funding against their RTR (currently done), have the ability to syndicate deals if the deal is too large for them and get merchants to fund based on their own criteria.