To renegotiate your MCA terms with the funder directly, send the funder a written request. Your first option may be an existing contractual right to adjust or reconcile your payment amount. If not, you can negotiate a new remittance amount and term, or ask for a short forbearance. Make sure any agreement you reach is in writing, signed by both parties, adds no fees, and includes no judgment or waiver provisions.
For settling your remaining balance for less, see How do you negotiate your MCA debt directly with your lender?
Can you renegotiate MCA terms without a broker or a settlement company?
Yes, and you may need to if your contract prohibits you from engaging a settlement company. For example, the Future Receivables Sale Agreement filed by Knight Capital with the SEC in 2019 provides that the merchant "will not enter into any agreement with a third party that offers debt restructuring, debt settlement, debt management ... creditor negotiation ... or other similar services." A similar covenant appears in the agreement filed by One River Funding LLC with the SEC in 2022. Hiring one could therefore put you in default. The Knight Capital agreement also provides that the broker has no authority to "make, alter, modify, or discharge any contract." Your broker, therefore, cannot renegotiate your advance for you.
Any modification also must be in writing. The Cedar Advance agreement, for example, says no "modification, amendment, waiver, or consent" shall be effective "unless the same shall be in writing and signed by all parties." Libertas says "no oral agreement or representation subsequently made ... shall amend this Agreement." You cannot rely on verbal agreements with the funder. For the risks of going it alone, see Can I negotiate with an MCA company myself?
Does your contract already give you a right to a lower payment?
Some contracts do. The Libertas Funding agreement filed with the SEC includes an "Adjustment of Daily Delivery" provision, letting the merchant request a new daily amount when receipts increase or decrease, made within 5 business days, but only after a reconciliation month has reduced the total amount debited by at least 20%, and only with three consecutive months of bank statements. Other funders keep full discretion; the Aurai agreement says the purchaser "may, upon Merchant's request, adjust the amount of any payment ... at Purchaser's sole discretion."
Reconciliation is usually the first lever (see Can I lower my daily or weekly MCA payment without defaulting?), and you should request it in writing: in a 2025 case, the Second Department found that a merchant who failed to invoke its reconciliation rights could not argue that the provision was illusory.
Will a longer term or a weekly schedule actually save you money?
Extending your term will reduce your daily payment but will not reduce the amount you pay in total. Switching to weekly usually changes nothing either, as most contracts set the weekly payment at five times the daily payment. You can, however, ask the funder to reduce the amount of each payment. The table below applies common modifications to the $1,075 daily remittance in a 2026 Pristine Capital agreement, assuming a remaining balance of $90,000.
Illustration: $90,000 remaining balance under different modifications
| Type of Modification | Payment Amount | Length of Time to Pay Off | Total Paid |
|---|
| Current | $1,075 per business day | About 84 business days (17 weeks) | $90,000 |
| Switch to weekly payments | $5,375 per week | About 17 weeks | $90,000 |
| Reduce remittance by extending term | $600 per business day | 150 business days (30 weeks) | $90,000 |
| Reduce remittance by extending term and pay a 10% "modification fee" | $600 per business day | 165 business days (33 weeks) | $99,000 |
The last row is effectively a second advance because of the fee and the increased amount purchased.
What should you refuse to sign in a modification or forbearance agreement?
- Acknowledgment of the balance or that you are in default (see the statute of limitations, N.Y. General Obligations Law 17-101).
- Release or waiver of defenses like usury, recharacterization or improper reconciliation, or re-affirming that the deal is a sale.
- A new confession of judgment or stipulation for an agreed judgment. One New York workout stipulation in 2026 let the funder enter judgment without notice for $1,476,330.68.
- New guarantors like a spouse, or new collateral.
- Snap-back clauses like Aurai's, which sets the specified percentage at 100% on default.
- New venue, choice of law, or jury waivers.
The state matters. Pennsylvania still enforces confessed judgments in commercial cases and gives you 30 days after receiving written notice to petition for relief (Pa.R.C.P. 2959). New York limits where a confession of judgment can be filed to the county where the defendant resides (CPLR 3218). As of September 1, 2025, Texas made confessed judgments void in commercial sales-based financings (HB 700). Vermont will make them void in contracts entered into or modified on or after July 1, 2027 (Act 142).
Can asking for new terms trigger collection?
It can, so it is important to time your request and keep paying. In a 2024 case from the Fourth Department, the merchant requested a lower daily payment on December 18, 2018, and two days later, the funder filed a confession of judgment for $319,993.20 and fees of $105,822.75. Always propose a specific number for a set period, in writing. Do not sign an estoppel certificate saying the agreement is "unmodified" if you think it has been modified. Libertas can ask for this certificate on one day's notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will a forbearance agreement restart the statute of limitations?
It can. Under N.Y. General Obligations Law 17-101, a signed writing with either an acknowledgment or a promise is the evidence required to take a claim out of the statute of limitations.
Will extending my MCA extend my personal guarantee?
Usually, yes. The personal guarantees in filed agreements, like Libertas or One River, say the funder can renew, extend, or modify the merchant's obligations without notice to the guarantor and without affecting the guarantor's liability.
Will signing a forbearance agreement with one funder cause me to be in breach of contract with a different funder?
It might, if you have stacked your advances. Several MCA forms include a representation that the merchant has not entered into a forbearance agreement with any creditor unless it disclosed the forbearance and the funder consented to it in writing. Read all of your contracts.
Will I get a new disclosure if I modify my financing agreement?
In New York, a written offer to modify an existing commercial financing contract that increases the finance charge or APR requires a new disclosure before you agree to the modification, under 23 NYCRR 600.1(f)(2), but an offer to modify the terms of the agreement to resolve a default is exempt.