Chase Small-Business Loans Review 2023

JPMorgan Chase, more commonly called Chase Bank, is the biggest bank in the United States.¹ So it makes sense that you’re considering Chase for your small-business lending needs. But does this big bank have what it takes to give you a good funding experience, or should you get your loan somewhere else?

And Chase definitely has its perks, like a good portfolio of loan options and additional banking services. It’s even an SBA-preferred lender. But Chase also has tons of cons, like the lack of online loan applications, lots of missing information about its loans, and a very (very) negative reputation.

So on the whole, we suggest getting your loan somewhere else. But in this review, we’ll explain the good and the bad about Chase so you can decide for yourself.

Chase offers a variety of term loans, business lines of credit, real estate financing, and SBA business loans (loans backed by the US Small Business Administration).

Chase doesn’t advertise interest rates on any of these loans. We guess it offers low, competitive rates―but we can’t tell you for sure. 

Oh, and one other thing worth noting before we talk about Chase’s specific financing solutions: You can’t apply for any of these loans or credit lines online. You have to find a local Chase branch and apply there (like it’s 2006 or something).

Okay, now for the loans.

First up, Chase offers a business lines of credit option. The business line of credit comes with an (unspecified) annual fee, but you can waive the fee by using at least 40% of your credit line.

Chase has several business loans too. The most basic version is its term loan, which you simply borrow and repay (making it good for working capital). 

For a little more flexibility, you can choose Chase’s draw loan (which lets you draw funds like a line of credit for one year before converting to a term loan) or its advised line (which works similarly, but each purchase in that year becomes its own loan with specific rates and terms).

Then there’s Chase’s real estate financing. You can use its commercial real estate loans to buy, sell, or refinance commercial real estate. Keep in mind, though, that you can only use these loans on owner-occupied real estate.

Finally, Chase offers several SBA loan options, including SBA 7(a) loans, SBA 504 loans, and (the much smaller) SBA Express loans. You can use these loans for working capital, equipment, real estate, or refinancing.

By the way, we should point out that Chase is actually an SBA preferred lender (and one of the 100 top SBA lenders in the country²). That means Chase doesn’t have to get SBA approval on its SBA loans―which means a faster approval and funding time for you. That’s a big perk, since the SBA loan program usually comes with notoriously long wait times.

Anyway, like we said, Chase has quite a few funding options. Before you start that loan application, though, let’s take a look at what Chase customers think of JPMorgan Chase.

This is the part of the review where we like to highlight cool things about a lender. But we don’t have many more features to point out.

Yes, Chase has lots of different loans. It’s also got business bank accounts (and other services) if you like keeping all your financial eggs in one bank basket.

And yeah, Chase is an SBA preferred lender, which can be helpful if you apply for an SBA loan.

Honestly, though, that’s pretty much all the good we have to say about Chase. We recommend going with other lenders instead. So let’s go ahead and show you some alternative options. And then, if you still want to know more about Chase itself, we’ll tell you all the drawbacks to Chase.

While Chase is a traditional bank, it’s worth looking at how it compares to both other traditional lenders and to online lending companies.While Chase is a traditional bank, it’s worth looking at how it compares to both other traditional lenders and to online lending companies.

Of course, it’s hard to compare Chase too directly, since it publishes so little information about its loans and borrower requirements (more on this in just a second).

But as you can see, Chase doesn’t necessarily offer more loan variety than either online or traditional lenders. More than some online lenders, yeah, but not all.

And also, you can get great rates from both other banks and from online lenders.

Once you consider Chase’s drawbacks, we see little reason to choose Chase.

So what’s our beef with Chase? It comes down to two (main) things.

First, JPMorgan Chase keeps a lot of important information private. 

It doesn’t list, for example, any borrower requirements. That makes it hard to know if you can qualify for its financing. Sure, you can mosey down to a branch and talk to a loan officer to find out―but why should you have to potentially waste your time with that when Chase could just publish borrower requirements like so many other lenders?

(We can guess that Chase has similar requirements to other banks, which means you need a business that’s at least two years old, a personal credit score in the high 600s, and more than $200,000 in business revenue. But of course, we can’t say for sure.)

Likewise, Chase doesn’t list interest rates on any of its loans. We assume they’re competitive, yes, because JPMorgan Chase is a traditional bank (which usually have lower interest rates than online lenders). But without specific interest rates, how are you supposed to comparison shop between Chase and another bank or lender?

As a business owner, you’re too busy to spend time on a loan application for a loan it turns out you can’t qualify for or don’t want (because of the interest rate). 

So if we were you, we’d go with a more transparent bank―like Bank of America, which publishes both interest rates and borrower requirements.

As we mentioned earlier, Chase customers don’t really like Chase Bank. It’s got downright bad reviews. On Trustpilot, Chase earns a 1.3 out of 5.³ And on its Better Business Bureau profile, it earns 1.11 out of 5 (which, to be fair, is similar to what other big banks earn).⁴

Most of the reviews come down to really, really bad customer service. People report having issues with their credit cards, loans, bank accounts, and being unable to get the help they need from Chase. Likewise, we saw complaints that Chase mishandles fraud and identity theft and that it overcharges fees.

That said, Chase does have some positive reviews too. And weirdly enough, most of them praise Chase’s customer service―the same thing other customers hate. We found stories of customers saying Chase quickly resolved issues with credit cards and fraud claims, in particular.

Still, the number of bad reviews far (far!) outweighs the good.

To be clear, most of these reviews are not business-specific, much less business loan-specific. But still, they give you a good picture at what kind of bank you’re dealing with. And based on what customers say, it’s not a pretty picture.

When all is said and done, is Chase’s small-business lending right for your business?

For most businesses, we’d say no. Chase doesn’t provide enough information about its loans―like borrower requirements and interest rates―to show that it’s worth applying with. Plus, Chase gets very poor customer reviews. And, you know, it has a history of major scandals.

So for most small-business customers, we recommend choosing a different lender instead. Still, if you like the specific loans Chase offers (because it has a lot of options) or you like that Chase lets you do your banking and borrowing in the same place, then you may decide to go with Chase anyway. 

Either way, we hope you get the business loan you’re looking for.

Want to see some Chase alternatives? We don’t blame you. Find our favorite lenders on our rankings of the best small-business loans.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.