What First American Merchant does

First American Merchant, LLC (operating as First American Merchant; legal entity Ambergris Holdings, LLC) is a privately-held California-based financial services company headquartered in Thousand Oaks that operates a dual-platform offering combining merchant cash advances (MCAs) and alternative business funding with payment processing and merchant account services. The core funding products include revenue-based MCAs (purchase of future sales at a discount, repaid via a percentage of daily card transactions), an ACH bank-only program (approval based on gross checking deposits with daily ACH pulls), working capital loans, micro loans, no-credit-check funding, medical accounts receivable factoring ($5K-$10M lines at 0.69%-1.59% monthly), and an in-house consumer financing program (3/6/12-month plans at 6.00%-24.00%). The payments stack bundles credit card processing, ACH/check processing (eCheck, checks-by-phone, checks-by-web) routed through a roster of third-party gateways (Authorize.net, NMI, USAePay, eNET, TransFirst, Inspire Commerce, EMerchant Broker), POS systems, virtual terminals, an offshore merchant account product, and chargeback prevention via Verifi CDRN and Ethoca partnerships.

The company serves SMB and high-risk merchants largely rejected by traditional banks, including automotive, beauty/wellness, bars/nightclubs, construction, medical/dental, retail, hospitality, trucking, restaurants, liquor stores, cannabis dispensaries, adult entertainment, and online pharmacies. GTM is sales-led, combining an in-house call center (1-800-210-5649), an online self-service application at atlasmanager.com, and an ISO/agent channel program with training and commission infrastructure. Underwriting emphasizes business cash flow over personal credit (FICO sub-500 accepted in some programs, 6 months in business, $10K gross monthly deposits minimum for ACH), with funding decisions in minutes and disbursements typically within 24-72 hours. The California Finance Lenders Law license (#0DBO 59320) and A+ BBB rating constitute the principal regulatory and reputational anchors; the company operates as a broker/aggregator rather than a balance-sheet lender, monetizing via discount-rate spreads, transaction fees, and residual processing income across its multi-product stack.

Concentration is highly fragmented across thousands of small-ticket merchants, reducing individual customer concentration risk but leaving the business exposed to portfolio credit performance, regulatory shift in the high-risk verticals (especially cannabis and adult), and competitive pressure from ML-driven alternative lenders. With 11-50 employees and no disclosed funding, revenue, or financial metrics, the company presents as a niche, established, modestly scaled operation whose growth trajectory and competitive durability cannot be precisely calibrated from public information alone.

Name

First American Merchant

Legal name

First American Merchant, LLC

Website

https://firstamericanmerchant.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

First American Merchant is a California-based alternative lender and payment processor that provides merchant cash advances, ACH funding, consumer financing, and credit card processing tailored to SMB and high-risk merchants including cannabis, adult, and medical practices rejected by traditional banks, distributing via direct sales and an ISO agent network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Business Lending

NAICS

Sales Financing (52222)

SIC

Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

High-Risk / Specialty Merchant Acquirers (FSAMABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Merchant Acquiring & Processing Platforms (BPAMAFAB), Merchant-Branded Installment Financing (Retailer Private-Label) (FSAKAFAA)

Keywords

• Merchant cash advance
• Small business funding
• High risk processing
• Payment processing
• ACH lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Thousand Oaks

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Merchant Cash Advance: Purchase of future credit card sales at a discount. Revenue is generated from the spread between the face value of future receivables and the discounted purchase price. Payments are automatically collected as a percentage of daily credit card transactions.
2. ACH Funding Program: Bank-only funding where approval is based on gross deposits into business checking account. Daily ACH withdrawals are made based on gross sales.
3. Payment Processing Services: Credit card processing, payment gateways, POS systems, and check processing services for merchants. Revenue from transaction fees and discount rates.
4. Consumer Financing: In-house financing program allowing merchants to offer customers 3, 6, or 12-month financing. Merchant receives purchase amount within 3 days; rates range 6.00%-24.00%
5. Medical Factoring: Cash advance on future insurance receivables for healthcare providers. Financing rates at 0.69%-1.59% monthly. Credit lines from $5,000 to $10 million.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

First American Merchant provides alternative business funding and payment processing services primarily to small and medium-sized merchants. Core offerings include merchant cash advances (purchasing future credit card sales at a discount), ACH/bank-only funding programs, payment processing (credit card, ACH check processing, POS), consumer financing programs, and medical accounts receivable factoring. The company specializes in serving high-risk industries and credit-challenged businesses that traditional banks reject.

Product overview

First American Merchant is a financial services company offering a dual-product platform combining business funding and payment processing solutions. The core funding products include Merchant Cash Advance (MCA), Small Business Funding, and ACH Loans, while the payment processing suite includes credit card processing, payment gateways, and check processing services. Specialized offerings address high-risk industries, consumer financing programs, and medical receivable factoring. The company operates primarily as a broker/middleman connecting merchants with lending partners and processing providers, with approval criteria based on business performance rather than traditional credit metrics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) A sales-based financing product where the company purchases future credit card sales at a discount. Approval is based on business performance rather than personal credit, with automatic payments drawn as a percentage of daily credit card transactions. Targets small and medium-sized businesses needing working capital.
• Small Business Funding Business funding programs including merchant cash advances and ACH-based funding for small businesses with flexible approval criteria based on business performance rather than credit scores. Funding amounts range from $5,000 to $500,000.
• Consumer Financing In-house financing program allowing merchants to offer customers 3, 6, or 12-month payment plans. Merchants receive purchase amount within 3 days with no risk if customer defaults. Rates range from 6.00%-24.00%.
• ACH Loans / Bank Only Program Funding program for merchants without merchant accounts, based on gross deposits into business checking account. Daily ACH withdrawals collected based on sales volume. Approvals require as low as 500 FICO score, 6 months in business, and $10k gross monthly deposits.
• High Risk Business Funding Specialized funding for businesses classified as high-risk by traditional lenders, including those with bankruptcy history, poor credit, or in industries banks avoid such as adult, cannabis, travel, and collection agencies.
• Working Capital Financing Short-term financing to cover day-to-day operational expenses, designed to help businesses manage cash flow and seize growth opportunities.
• Micro Loans Small, short-term loans typically used for startup costs, working capital, equipment, inventory, or supplies. Can be arranged through SBA programs or alternative lenders.
• No Credit Check Funding Business funding that evaluates cash flow rather than credit scores. Credit scores below 500 can be approved with funds available within 72 hours.
• Medical Accounts Receivable Financing / Medical Factoring Cash advance loan on future insurance receivables for healthcare providers. Funding based on net realized value (NRV) of accounts receivable with credit lines from $5,000 to $10 million and rates of 0.69%-1.59% monthly.
• Large Project Financing Long-term financing for large projects using projected profits as collateral. Funds disbursed based on project milestones or sales levels. Available up to $1 million.
• Payment Processing Credit card processing services including payment gateways (Authorize.net, NMI, USAePay, eNET, TransFirst), POS systems, and virtual terminals for both retail and online merchants. Revenue from transaction fees and discount rates.
• ACH Check Processing Check processing solutions including eCheck, checks by phone, paper guarantee, and checks-by-web for merchants accepting checks online or over the phone. Monthly Statement Fee $5-$10, Discount Rate 1%-5%, Transaction Fee $0.10-$1.00.
• Instant Approval Merchant Accounts High-risk merchant accounts with approval decisions in as little as 24-48 hours. Covers industries including medical marijuana, adult content, travel services, and financial services.
• Offshore Merchant Account International merchant account for high-risk businesses requiring offshore processing. Offers 24/7 access to funds, no transaction limits, and minimal tax obligations.
• Adult Merchant Account Payment processing for adult entertainment businesses including adult toys, bookstores, content sites, strip clubs, and escort services.
• Bad Credit Merchant Accounts Merchant account services for businesses with poor credit, bankruptcy history, or tax liens. Works with high-risk business types including adult, collection agencies, and nutraceuticals.
• Chargeback Protection Chargeback prevention and resolution services including Verifi Cardholder Dispute Resolution Network (CDRN) and Ethoca alert systems to help merchants combat fraudulent disputes.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% of bank loan applications are declined (Pepperdine University study)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EMerchant BrokercoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partnership for credit/debit card processing solutions. EMerchants Broker provides processing infrastructure enabling merchants to accept credit cards and repay cash advances. Combined expertise helps high-risk businesses get approved.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OnDeck Capital: Online term loans and lines of credit to small businesses, with similar minimum time-in-business and revenue thresholds; competes head-to-head for the SMB working capital customer.
• Rapid Finance: Specializes in MCA, small business loans, and SBA loans for SMBs with subprime credit profiles. Highly comparable in product mix (MCA, ACH, working capital) and high-risk SMB target customer.
• Credibly: Provides working capital, merchant cash advances, and small business loans to underserved SMBs. Same revenue-based repayment structure and similar minimum requirements as FAM.
• Fundbox: Offers working capital advances and lines of credit to small businesses using invoice and cash-flow data, overlapping with FAM's revenue-based funding product and SMB target.
• Kabbage (American Express): SMB working capital via lines of credit tied to bank and payment data; now backed by American Express. Competes directly for the same cash-flow-based SMB funding use case.
• Forward Financing: Revenue-based funding provider focused exclusively on small businesses; offers MCAs up to several hundred thousand dollars with daily remittance, directly mirroring FAM's product mechanics.
• CAN Capital: Direct MCA and small business funding competitor targeting SMBs that fail traditional underwriting, with a multi-channel agent and direct sales motion comparable to FAM's ISO/distribution model.
• BlueVine: Provides working capital lines, term loans, and invoice factoring to SMBs; an online alternative lender competing for the same underserved SMB segment FAM targets.
• National Funding: MCA, equipment financing, and small business loans aimed at SMBs rejected by traditional lenders. Overlapping product set and shared high-risk / low-FICO underwriting philosophy.

Broad incumbents

• Square Capital (Block): Embedded working capital product for Square merchants, combining payments and lending on the same platform — illustrates the direction FAM's bundled payments-plus-funding strategy could head if scaled.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/1stamericanfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/firstamericanmerchant

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about First American Merchant