Poor Communication and Ongoing System Issues with FNB Merchant Cash Advance

I am a small business owner and took out a Merchant Cash Advance with FNB around July/August 2025. I settled this advance early, in full, on 10 December 2025, well before the end of the term.

In anticipation of the December trading period, I tried to app**** for a new cash advance but faced app issues with an error message popping up saying “invalid offer”. Unfortunately, this process has been extremely frustrating and poorly handled. After multiple calls to the call centre trying to understand why this error message was popping up, it became clear that many agents do not fully understand how the Merchant Cash Advance works or how to assist with related issues.

Eventually, I was advised that I would only qualify for a new offer on 22 December, which did appear on my app on said date. However, every time I attempted to take up the offer, the system continued returning an “Invalid Offer” error. The application proceeds through disclosure and consent stages, but fails at the final step.

Since 22 December, I have called FNB almost daily. Each time, the issue was “escalated,” yet no one contacted me to explain the problem or provide updates. I received multiple, conflicting explanations, including that it was a system glitch, that I no longer qualified, or that I should simply keep retrying.

The only clear assistance came from Nelisiwe, who contacted me on 31 December and confirmed that this is a known system issue on the FNB app, affecting multiple customers, and that it would be resolved by 2 January. Today is 2 January, and the issue still persists.

What is most disappointing is the lack of proactive communication. I am always the one calling. No one has followed up, emailed, or provided a timeline. Even my relationship banker has been unable to assist. As a small business owner, access to funding is time-sensitive — I needed this funding weeks ago.

FNB markets itself as supportive of small businesses, but this experience has been the opposite. I hope this issue is resolved urgently and that better communication and accountability are implemented going forward.