FTC sends its first-ever MCA refunds: $3.3 million to nearly 5,000 small businesses
For the first time, the FTC has directed refund money to commercial borrowers in an MCA enforcement action, and the underlying case ended with an industry ban, vacated judgments, and released liens.
The Federal Trade Commission's March 2026 refund distribution to businesses harmed by merchant cash advance practices marks a first: according to industry tracking of the action, roughly $3.3 million went out to 4,981 eligible small businesses. The FTC has refunded consumers for decades; directing checks to commercial borrowers in an MCA matter is new territory, and it signals how far the agency's view of this market has moved.
The enforcement backdrop is the RAM Capital Funding matter, in which the company and its owner were permanently banned from the merchant cash advance and debt collection industries, required to pay $675,000, and ordered to vacate judgments obtained against former customers and release liens filed against their property, per the public record of the action.
The remedies are worth reading closely, because they map exactly onto the pressure points this site writes about weekly: judgments entered through aggressive collection practice, and UCC liens that outlive the underlying dispute. When a federal order specifically requires vacating judgments and releasing liens, it confirms those instruments, not the advances themselves, are where the real damage to small businesses concentrates.
For owners currently carrying MCA debt, two practical takeaways. First, the compliance climate is shifting in your favor: funders operating on the aggressive end of collections now carry regulatory risk that strengthens a negotiator's hand. Second, if you were a RAM Capital customer, or dealt with any funder later subject to enforcement, check whether vacated judgments and lien releases have actually been processed on your record; our UCC lien guide explains how to verify filings in your state.
Broader context: industry tracking places total judgments, settlements, debt cancellations, and enforcement outcomes across the MCA space at more than $1.6 billion between January 2025 and March 2026. Whatever the precise final tally, the direction is unambiguous, and it is reshaping how funders behave at the negotiation table.
Sources
Original announcement and third-party coverage referenced in this article.