The Door Painted on the Wall
A merchant cash advance says it's a purchase of your future sales, not a loan, and whether that holds up depends on one clause most owners never use.
Nell and Hank · 23 min · 13 Oct 2026
About this episode
Ten thousand dollars lands in your account. The next morning, and every weekday after it, a fixed debit goes back out. In the first episode of Days of Cash, Nell and Hank use the New York Attorney General's own filing against Richmond Capital Group to explain what a merchant cash advance is, what a factor rate of 1.35 costs per day, and why funders say it isn't a loan. They also go through the February 2026 appeals ruling that called Richmond's deals usurious loans, and the reasons small businesses across the US are now being sued in a New York county they've never been to.
The deciding question comes down to one clause: reconciliation, the promise that payments shrink when sales shrink. We look at how courts test it, why nobody publishes how often it's honored, and how wage buyers made the same "it's a sale, not a loan" argument around 1910 before the law settled it. We finish with what we'd steal from this: plain moves for any owner who gets offered fast money. This episode is general information, not legal or financial advice. Court filings are allegations, and a filing proves nothing about any named business.
Hosted by Nell and Hank, from real reporting. Supported by Lynqly.
Sources
- syfert.com/new-york/cases/cl-10796696/people-v-richmond-capital-group-llc
- crediblelaw.com/richmond-capital-judgment-modified/
- exa.ai/library/legal/opinion/hvvgg7tql20
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- capitalxo.com/resources/calculators/factor-rate-to-apr-calculator/
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