Industries
Factoring Companies Merchant Cash Advance Alternative Lenders B2B Buy Now Pay Later Marketplaces
Platform
Why Brief Arbitration Rules
Get Free Clause Request Demo →
For Merchant Cash Advance Providers

Stop choosing between writing off defaults and spending $15K to recover $30K.

MCA default rates run 15–20%. Every one of those defaults is a business decision: pursue it and burn legal fees, or absorb the loss. Brief gives you a third option: recover it online in 45 days for a fraction of what litigation costs.

Trusted by Ironwood Finance. No upfront fees. Claims up to $500K.

MCA Default: Your Options
OPTION A

Collections agency: 25–40% fee, no guarantee

OPTION B

Litigation: $8K–$15K in attorney fees, 6+ months

OPTION C

Write it off: 15–20% of your portfolio gone

OPTION D (Brief)

Online. 45 days. ~$1,500. Binding award.

The default math is broken. You already know this.

MCA providers face a structural problem that traditional dispute resolution makes worse.

Your advance is $40,000. The merchant defaults. Your options as described above each have serious flaws. None of them are acceptable. At 15–20% portfolio default rates, this is a P&L problem, not an edge case.

None of these are acceptable. Brief is Option D.

Brief turns your MCA arbitration clause into a recovery advantage.

Add Brief's dispute resolution clause to your MCA agreements. When a merchant defaults or disputes the advance terms, you have a defined path: file online, submit your agreement and payment history, Brief assigns an E-Judge, binding award in ~45 days.

No attorneys required on your end. No travel. No hearing dates to coordinate. The merchant can respond from their phone.

The award is court-enforceable. Ironwood Finance converts Brief awards to enforceable judgments as a standard collection step.

MCA Default Recovery: The Numbers (Based on $40,000 advance)

Litigation Path

Attorney fees$10,000–$15,000
Timeline6–18 months
Net recovery (if won)$25,000–$30,000

Brief Path

Filing fee~$1,500
Timeline~45 days
Binding awardFull claim
Recoverable feesYes
Difference: $8,500–$13,500 saved per dispute

Ironwood Finance built Brief into their standard MCA agreements.

Ironwood Finance uses Brief to resolve MCA and factoring defaults across their portfolio. When a default occurs, the process is already defined in the agreement. Brief issues binding awards that Ironwood domesticates into enforceable judgments.

~45 daysper dispute
70–90%cost reduction
Portfolio-wide coverage

Ironwood doesn't treat every default as a one-off legal decision. Brief makes default resolution a systematic, scalable process.

Scale this across your portfolio.

If you're funding 50+ advances per month, default resolution isn't a one-off problem. It's an operational function.

20 defaults/year × $40K avg advance = $800K in disputed capital

With Litigation

$150K–$300K
in legal fees (and 18-month timelines)

With Write-offs

$300K–$500K
absorbed annually

With Brief

~$20K–$40K
in resolution fees, 45-day cycle
Brief isn't a nice-to-have. At portfolio scale, it's a P&L line item.

MCA disputes don't need hearings. They need decisions.

📁

Your Evidence Lives in Documents

Your MCA agreement, funded amount, payment history, and default notice. That's the dispute. Brief reviews the documents and decides. There's nothing to argue in a conference room that isn't already in the file.

💸

No Attorneys Means Higher Net Recovery

The merchant may choose to retain counsel. You don't have to. Brief's E-Judges evaluate the evidence, not the quality of legal arguments. Your $40K advance doesn't need $12K in attorney fees to recover.

🔄

45 Days Protects Your Capital

Your cost of capital is running every day a default sits unresolved. Brief's 45-day timeline means disputes close in the same quarter they open. Your books stay cleaner, and your capital rotates faster.

One addition to your MCA agreement. Every future dispute covered.

Brief provides a free, customizable arbitration clause for MCA agreements. Add it once during your next contract refresh. Every advance funded from that point has a defined resolution path.

mca-agreement-clause.txt
DISPUTE RESOLUTION Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to this Merchant Cash Advance Agreement, including any dispute regarding the characterization, performance, or breach thereof, shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by Brief (thinkbrief.com) in accordance with its Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall be conducted online. The award shall be final, binding, and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Your legal team can review it. We can customize it. The important thing is getting it in before the next default happens.

MCA providers ask hard questions. Here are the honest answers.

Yes. Brief handles disputes about the terms and performance of contractual agreements, including merchant cash advances structured as future receivable purchases. The characterization of the product matters for regulatory purposes. For dispute resolution, what matters is the breach of the agreement.
That's a substantive legal defense the E-Judge evaluates based on the submitted documents and applicable law. Brief's process doesn't pre-judge the merits. It provides a neutral, efficient forum for that determination. If the merchant has a valid defense, they'll present it. If they don't, the award reflects that.
Yes. Brief operates nationally. E-Judges are assigned based on jurisdiction and subject matter. Cross-state MCA disputes are standard for Brief.
Brief's process has defined response windows. If a merchant fails to participate, Brief may proceed on the evidence submitted and issue a default award. The award carries the same legal weight as a contested award.
That's the point. Brief's fee structure makes it viable for disputes that aren't worth litigating, but are worth recovering. A $15,000 default that litigation can't profitably pursue is exactly what Brief handles.
New York has been an active regulatory environment for MCA. Brief's process is neutral and applies the law as it exists. Brief does not advise on regulatory compliance. We handle the dispute resolution piece.

Your next default is already in the pipeline.

You can't prevent defaults. But you can define exactly what happens when they occur. A Brief arbitration clause means every future default has a 45-day resolution path. Without it, you're back to the same three bad options.

Request a Demo → Get Free MCA Clause

No upfront fees. No commitment. See how Brief works for your MCA portfolio.

Scroll to Top