Podcast: The shadowy world of merchant cash advances
Mar 11
1 min read
By Alina Selyukh, Wailin Wong, Angel Carreras, Kate Concannon March 11, 2026
During the pandemic, mostly unregulated lenders went after struggling restaurants and music venues, charging at times sky high rates. Now, they’ve found a new market: small businesses that desperately need cash to pay tariffs.
Today on the show, the story of a financial lifeline that can turn into a financial choke hold.