Business financing in Scranton.
County-by-county financing guides. No paperwork. No social. No ID.
No institution is based inside the Scranton line. We do not hide that — below are the doors that serve it from the rest of Pennsylvania.
Not this lane? Home FinancingPersonal Financing
The doors in Scranton.
The CDFIs, credit unions, and microlenders that actually say yes — county by county, in two languages. We are not a lender. Nobody paid to be listed. And where a county has no good doors, we say so.
- Ascendus Inc.SBA microlenderCommunity lending · Business capital
- ASSETS LancasterSBA microlenderCommunity lending · Business capital
- Bridgeway Capital, Inc.SBA microlenderCommunity lending · Business capital
- Community First FundBusiness capital
- Community First Fund – PhiladelphiaBusiness capital
- IN THIS LIST
4 of the 11 are CDFI-certified.
The U.S. Treasury certifies them to lend to the people banks pass over. It is a loan, not a favour.
- Community First Fund dba FinantaCommunity lending · Business capital
- Cooperative Business Assistance CorporationBusiness capital
- Enterprise Center Capital CorporationBusiness capital
- Accion Opportunity FundAccepts ITIN
Nonprofit small-business lender. Accepts ITIN in place of SSN. Serves most states, in English and Spanish.
Business capital - Grameen AmericaAccepts ITIN
Microloans for women entrepreneurs. Requires photo ID and proof of address — no SSN requirement. Branches in major metro areas.
Business capital - Mission Asset FundAccepts ITIN
Zero-interest lending circles and credit building. SSN or ITIN accepted. Works through nonprofit partners across the country.
Personal
3 of these doors accept an ITIN.
They will open an application with an ITIN instead of a social security number. They are marked ACCEPTS ITIN below.
Scranton has more financing doors than most people realize, and you do not need a perfect credit score or a bank relationship to walk through them. Local CDFIs, credit unions, and state-backed programs were built specifically for small contractors and investors who have been turned away before. This guide names the actual places, explains what to bring, and warns you about the traps. Read it once and you will know more than most people who have been in business for years.
It's a relationship, not a transaction.
Most contractors and small investors in Scranton treat financing like ordering takeout — you show up, you ask, you expect a yes or no in five minutes. That is not how local business lending works, and understanding that one fact changes everything. The lenders worth working with — CDFIs, credit unions, SBA-linked programs — want to know your story. They want to see that you are serious, that you have a basic plan, and that you are not going to disappear after the first check clears.
That means you should reach out before you are desperate.
Introduce yourself. Ask questions. Attend a free workshop at the SBDC. The lenders who can actually help you in Scranton are making relationship decisions, not just credit score decisions. The sooner you start building that relationship, the better your options look when you need capital.
Forget what the big banks say.
If a major national bank told you no — or quoted you terms that made no sense — that answer does not define your options. Big banks are built for borrowers who already have everything: long credit history, large collateral, established revenue, and a business that looks exactly like every other business they have funded. Solo contractors, newer investors, and ITIN holders do not fit that mold, and the banks are not going to change their underwriting for you.
That is fine. The Community Development Financial Institutions in this region, the SBA district office in Philadelphia that covers Lackawanna County, and the credit unions that serve working people in the Scranton area have completely different criteria. Some of them use alternative credit scoring. Some accept ITIN instead of SSN.
Some will fund you based on contracts in hand or a solid business plan even if your balance sheet is thin.
The big bank rejection is the beginning of the search, not the end of it.
Five things. Get them in order.
Before you walk into any lender's office or fill out any application, get these five things straight.
- 01
Know exactly how much you need and what it is for — a specific number tied to a specific purpose is ten times more convincing than a vague ask.
- 02Pull your credit report from annualcreditreport
Com and look at it yourself before anyone else does — disputes take time and you want to handle them early.
- 03Gather your last two years of tax returns
Personal and business if you have both — lenders will ask for them and gaps raise flags.
- 04
Write a one-page business description that explains what you do, who your customers are, and how you plan to repay the loan — it does not need to be formal, it just needs to be honest.
- 05If you have any existing contracts
Purchase agreements, or letters of intent, bring copies — evidence of work beats promises every time. Walk in with these five things and you will be ahead of most applicants.
- MISSING ONE?Ask Iris which one you're missing.ASK A QUESTION ↓
Five doors worth knowing.
These are the financing sources that actually serve Scranton and Lackawanna County. Each one operates differently, so read the descriptions before you decide where to start.
A regional economic development organization serving Northeast Pennsylvania, including Lackawanna County, that offers SBA 504 loans and other small business financing for entrepreneurs who may not qualify at conventional banks.
BEST FOREquipment purchases and commercial real estate with limited bank accessA local foundation with community investment programs that periodically connects Scranton-area small businesses to grant and low-interest loan opportunities, especially for businesses with community impact.
BEST FORCommunity-rooted businesses needing small amounts with flexible termsA no-cost advising center on the University of Scranton campus that helps small business owners prepare loan applications, write business plans, and connect to the right lenders — they do not lend money themselves but they open doors.
BEST FORFirst-time borrowers who need help getting application-readyA Pennsylvania-based federal credit union serving parts of the Scranton region that offers small business loans and lines of credit with underwriting criteria that are generally more flexible than large commercial banks.
BEST FORSmall contractors and sole proprietors with limited credit historyA Pennsylvania CDFI that provides small business loans statewide, including Scranton-area borrowers, with programs designed for entrepreneurs who face barriers at traditional banks, including newer businesses and ITIN borrowers in some cases.
BEST FORUnderserved borrowers, minority-owned businesses, and startups with a clear planDon't fall into these traps.
Scranton has real financing options, but it also has people who will charge you a lot of money to connect you with those options — or who will disguise a bad product as a good one. The three traps below are the most common ones. Learn to recognize them before you sign anything.
Any person who charges you a fee before you receive a loan approval is almost certainly a middleman you do not need — legitimate lenders and CDFIs do not charge you to apply.
Merchant cash advances are marketed as fast and easy but carry effective interest rates that can exceed 80 percent annually, and taking one often makes it harder to qualify for a real loan later.
Some online lenders will approve you for multiple loans simultaneously without disclosing the combined repayment burden, leaving you with daily debits that drain your operating cash within weeks.
Same county, another question.
Home FinancingPurchase, renovation, HELOC, and bridge loans for homeowners and investorsSEE IT IN SCRANTON →
Personal FinancingPersonal loans, credit building, and ITIN-friendly financing optionsSEE IT IN SCRANTON →53PA COUNTIES WITH DOORSThe whole stateEvery county in Pennsylvania, in this same lane.85 institutions fund business financing inside Pennsylvania county lines.OPEN THE STATE →
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Ask Iris. She'll explain it the way it should have been explained the first time.