Short answer
Reliant Funding is a San Diego business funder that has operated since 2004, offering business loans, merchant cash advances and equipment financing. Two things in its public file stand out. Its Better Business Bureau customer reviews average 1.06 out of 5 across 16 reviews, close to the floor of the scale. And the BBB profile carries an open licensing disagreement: the BBB states its view that the company should hold a California lender license, and the company's published response is that it does not believe one is required for its current work, though it has applied.
This page summarizes what the public record shows as of August 13, 2026: the BBB business profile including its licensing note and published customer reviews, corporate registration details, and publicly reported litigation and regulatory history.
The licensing question, in both parties' own words
Most lender profiles carry a generic note that an industry may require licensing. Reliant Funding's carries something more specific, and it is worth quoting the substance because it is unusual.
The BBB states that it has expressed the view that this company should obtain a license with the California Department of Business Oversight, the regulator now operating as the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Reliant Funding's response, published on the same profile, is that Reliant's view is that a license is not required for the work it currently does, however out of a desire to expand and to be conservative it has applied for licensing from its state. The BBB then advises consumers to verify that the company is properly licensed in the state where they are located.
The practical takeaway is not that anyone has been found to have broken a rule. It is that a regulator facing question about this company remained open on a public profile, and the resolution depends on how the work is characterized. Merchant cash advances are frequently structured specifically so that lending rules do not apply, because a purchase of receivables is not a loan. That structure is the whole reason this product sits outside interest rate caps. Whether it should is a live argument in several states.
If you are in a state with its own commercial financing disclosure rules, check what applies where you are before signing, and keep the answer in writing.
A 1.06 out of 5 customer rating
Sixteen reviews is a small sample, and we say so. But 1.06 out of 5 is not a mixed picture, it is close to unanimous, and the BBB notes it does not fold customer reviews into the letter rating at all, so the two figures measure different things.
The payoff problem
The most recent customer review published on the profile, dated January 2023, describes requesting a payoff figure from five different people over roughly two weeks while daily payments continued to be taken, receiving a sequence of explanations for the delay, and eventually being told by a representative that they did not like the reviewer's tone before the call ended. The reviewer states they have 33 emails and a call log documenting the payoff requests.
The outcome recorded on the profile is that Reliant Funding replied twice with an apology and directed the reviewer to its client services team.
The practical takeaway is the mechanism, not the anecdote. If you cannot obtain a written payoff figure while daily debits continue, you cannot refinance, you cannot settle, and you cannot budget. Every day of delay is another debit. Request payoff figures in writing, by email, and keep the thread. That record is what makes a dispute winnable later.
Complaints, litigation and regulatory history
BBB complaints.
3 closed in the last three years, none closed in the last twelve months.
2017.
The company was the subject of a putative class action concerning the use of robocalls.
California regulatory settlement.
Publicly reported as resolved with a compliance program implemented.
Recurring complaint themes.
Transparency of repayment terms, aggressive email and telephone outreach, and reports of continued calling after do not call requests.
Advertising scrutiny.
The company has been the subject of coverage by advertising watchdog reporting.
A word on sourcing: the litigation and regulatory items above come from secondary reporting rather than from dockets we have pulled ourselves. Treat them as leads to verify rather than as findings, and search the alternate entity names below if you are checking records.
Three names on the paperwork
Reliant Funding is a limited liability company that also trades as Reliant Funding Group and Reliant Services Group LLC, per the alternate names published on its BBB profile. It lists an address at 9540 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 200, San Diego, and Steve Kietz as chief executive. The business was started in December 2004 and incorporated in February 2009.
Search all three names when checking UCC filings or court records. Filings follow the legal entity, not the brand on the email you received.
What to check in your own paperwork
Which entity signed.
Reliant Funding, Reliant Funding Group, or Reliant Services Group LLC.
Loan or advance.
A stated interest rate with a maturity date is a loan. A purchase of future receivables is an advance.
Total payback in dollars.
Not the rate. The number you will actually repay.
Remittance.
Daily or weekly, and the exact amount leaving your account.
Payoff process.
Ask now, in writing, how a payoff figure is requested and what the response deadline is. Keep the reply.
Reconciliation.
Whether revenue drops trigger an adjustment, and what documentation is required.
Personal guarantee and confession of judgment.
Whether either is in the file.
Frequently asked questions
What is Reliant Funding's customer rating?
On the Better Business Bureau profile, Reliant Funding's customer reviews average 1.06 out of 5 stars across 16 reviews. That is close to the lowest score the scale allows. The BBB notes separately that customer reviews are not used in calculating its letter rating, so the review average and the rating are different measures. The company has 3 complaints closed in the last three years and none closed in the last twelve months.
Does Reliant Funding hold a lender license?
This is disputed, and the BBB publishes both sides. The BBB profile states that BBB has expressed the view that this company should obtain a license with the California Department of Business Oversight. Reliant Funding's published response is that its view is a license is not required for the work it currently does, but that out of a desire to expand and to be conservative it has applied for licensing from its state. The BBB advises consumers to verify that the company is properly licensed in their own state. That is unusual language to find on a business profile and it is worth reading before you sign.
Is Reliant Funding a merchant cash advance company?
Reliant Funding offers business loans, merchant cash advances and equipment financing to small businesses. It has operated since 2004 from San Diego, California. What matters is which of those you actually signed. If your agreement is structured as a purchase of future receivables with daily or weekly remittance, it functions as a merchant cash advance regardless of the name on the marketing material, and it will behave like one when revenue dips.
Why does Reliant Funding appear under other names?
The BBB profile lists Reliant Funding Group and Reliant Services Group LLC as alternate business names. Reliant Funding is organized as a limited liability company, was started on December 27, 2004 and incorporated on February 27, 2009, and lists Steve Kietz as chief executive. If you are searching UCC filings, judgments or court dockets for the company that funded you, search all three names, because filings are recorded under the legal entity rather than the brand.
What do Reliant Funding complaints say?
The recurring themes in public complaints are difficulty obtaining a payoff figure while daily debits continue, transparency around repayment terms, and aggressive outbound contact. The most recent customer review published on the BBB profile describes requesting a payoff from five different people over two weeks while payments kept being taken, and being met with a series of explanations for the delay. Reliant Funding responded to that review with an apology and a client services contact. Separately, the company was the subject of a putative class action in 2017 concerning robocalls, and has been the subject of a California regulatory settlement resolved through an implemented compliance program.
Can a Reliant Funding balance be settled?
Often, yes, particularly where the agreement is an advance rather than a term loan. The practical obstacle reported most often with this funder is not willingness to negotiate but difficulty getting a straight payoff number while debits continue, which is why documenting every request in writing matters. Send us the agreement, your recent bank statements and any payoff correspondence, and we will tell you what is realistic before you commit to anything.
If the payments are the problem
If you are trying to get out of a Reliant Funding agreement and cannot get a straight payoff number, start documenting immediately: every request by email, every response, every debit. That record is worth more than any phone call. Send us the agreement, your recent statements and the payoff correspondence, and we will tell you in writing what is realistic before you commit to anything.
