Bank-backed factoring with lower fees and transparent pricing.
Get started at altLINE — a division of The Southern Bank Company → Pre-qualify (where available) with a soft credit pull — no score impact.
ClearValue Rating: 4.1 / 5 — our editorial assessment (how we rate)
Editorial confidence (30%), cost (25%), value (25%), accessibility (20%) — scored consistently across every product, independent of compensation.
Established B2B businesses seeking factoring through a regulated bank entity rather than a fintech.
altLINE (by The Southern Bank Company) — Bank-backed factoring with lower fees and transparent pricing. Best for: Established B2B businesses seeking factoring through a regulated bank entity rather than a fintech.. Compare it against alternatives before applying; the right fit depends on your situation, credit, and goals.
Invoice factoring is a financing method where a business sells its outstanding B2B invoices to a factor at a discount in exchange for immediate cash. altLINE, a division of The Southern Bank Company, advances typically 80–90% of the invoice face value immediately, then collects from your customer and remits the remaining balance minus the factor fee once your customer pays. Factor fees start at 0.5% per 30 days for qualified businesses. Unlike a loan, factoring doesn't create a debt obligation on your balance sheet — you're selling a receivable, not borrowing against it.
Recourse factoring — altLINE's standard arrangement — means that if your customer doesn't pay the invoice (for any reason), altLINE can require you to buy back the unpaid receivable. This is different from non-recourse factoring, where the factor absorbs the credit loss if a customer becomes insolvent. Recourse terms carry lower fees than non-recourse. If your customer base is creditworthy and stable, recourse is typically the right trade-off. Verify altLINE's current recourse terms at altline.com before signing an agreement.
altLINE typically advances 80–90% of the invoice face value at funding. The remaining 10–20% (the 'reserve') is held until your customer pays in full, at which point altLINE remits the reserve minus the factor fee. The exact advance rate depends on your industry, customer creditworthiness, and invoice volume. Contact altLINE for a rate specific to your business profile.
ClearValue Lending is a small business funding platform that may route qualifying SMB applications to financing partners. This review presents editorial information about altLINE's publicly disclosed product features. altLINE is a division of The Southern Bank Company — terms, fees, and eligibility are set by altLINE. Verify current details at altline.com.
How we rate
Every pick gets a 1–5 ClearValue Rating computed from four weighted factors: Editorial confidence (30%), Cost (25%), Value (25%), and Accessibility (20%).
Scored consistently across every product and independent of any compensation. Full methodology →
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