Skip to main content

How Real-Time Offer Boosting Works

Updated

Overview

Real-Time Offer Boosting is a Business Capital feature that lets a merchant link their business bank account through Plaid during a loan application and instantly see a larger capital offer. Partners should understand this feature so they can explain it to merchants, guide them through the linking process, and know where to send them if they run into an issue.

What Is Real-Time Offer Boosting?

Real-Time Offer Boosting lets a merchant link their business bank account (using Plaid, a secure account-linking service) while applying for a Business Capital loan. Linking the account happens in under two minutes and can result in a larger offer, without the merchant leaving the application.

Normally, a merchant's initial Business Capital offer is underwritten using only their on-platform sales data. Once the merchant links a bank account, Parafin (NMI's Business Capital financing partner) re-underwrites the offer using the business's total revenue. This usually produces a larger, more accurate offer.

Real-Time Boosting is different from past underwriting updates because it boosts the offer immediately, in the merchant's current session, the first time they apply. The business should review the new offer carefully before accepting.

How It Works

  1. The merchant logs into the Merchant Portal and sees their pre-approved Business Capital offer, based on on-platform sales.
  2. The merchant clicks Apply for Loan.
  3. Instead of starting the application right away, the merchant sees the option Link Bank to Get a Better Offer.
  4. The merchant clicks Link Bank Account and completes the Plaid flow: selects their bank, logs in, verifies their identity, and authorizes Parafin to access their account information.
  5. Once the account is linked, a confirmation message appears: "Your bank was successfully linked and will be considered for future offers!"
  6. Within seconds, if the merchant qualifies for a larger amount, the boosted offer appears in the same session. No re-application or page refresh is needed.
  7. The merchant can accept the new, boosted offer immediately, in the same flow.

If the merchant does not link a bank account, or links one but doesn't qualify for a larger amount, nothing changes. Their original offer stays active, and no new offer is created or sent.

Behind the Scenes: Offer Replacement

When a merchant successfully boosts their offer, the system does not edit the original offer — it replaces it with the new, boosted offer. Partners will see this reflected as a replaced offer in the Business Capital Report table in the Partner Portal.

Linking Details Partners Should Know

  • A merchant can link their bank account after they have already submitted their application.
  • A merchant can link only one bank account. 
  • Linking a bank account does not affect the merchant's traditional credit score. Plaid does not check credit scores. Parafin uses the linked transaction, income, and cash flow data to generate an alternative risk assessment, separate from a traditional credit report.

Common Questions

Can merchants unlink or change their linked bank account? Yes, merchants can unlink or change their linked bank account.

Is Plaid safe? Yes. Plaid is a widely trusted fintech company used by over 8,000 apps to securely connect bank accounts.

What if a merchant's bank isn't listed? Is there another option? Plaid supports over 12,000 banks and financial institutions globally, including major banks, digital neobanks, credit unions, and brokerages. If a merchant's bank still isn't listed, they can link manually using their bank account and routing number instead.

What's the next step if a merchant can't log into their bank through Plaid? The merchant can link manually using their bank account and routing number.

Can a merchant link their bank account after they've already submitted their application? Yes, merchants can link their bank account after submitting their application.

Can a merchant link more than one bank account? No. Merchants can link only one bank account.

Does linking a bank account affect the merchant's credit score? No. Plaid does not check a merchant's traditional credit score. Parafin uses the linked transaction, income, and cash flow data to build an alternative risk assessment.

Is Real-Time Boosting available to all merchants, or is it being rolled out gradually? It is available to all merchants.

What are the escalation paths for Plaid-related issues versus Parafin-related issues? Both Plaid-related and Parafin-related issues should be escalated to Parafin support:

Need Help?

For additional support, please contact our Support team by Submitting a Ticket.