A Coleman Conversation: Sean Murray of deBanked
July 23, 2025
In this week’s episode of A Coleman Conversation, Bob Coleman speaks with Sean Murray, editor and publisher of deBanked. Sean shares his extensive knowledge of the small business finance world, offering insights from his two decades in the industry, from his beginnings as a merchant cash advance lender to building deBanked into a leading resource.
Topics Covered:
✓ Creating & Defining deBanked: Sean recounts the journey from his blog, “Merchant Processing Resource,” to the well-known “deBanked,” highlighting the growth of fintech and non-bank finance. Today, deBanked focuses on news, insights, and community for small business finance, especially unsecured online and revenue-based lending.
✓ MCA in 2025: A comprehensive definition of Merchant Cash Advances, highlighting their structure as a purchase of future revenues, primarily collected via ACH, and clarifying why they are not considered loans.
✓ Main Street Economy: Sean’s observations on the current state of the American Main Street for small businesses, noting a recent resurgence in new deal originations after initial uncertainties.
✓ The Regulatory Landscape: An overview of the current focus on state-level commercial financing disclosure laws, and the recent federal pause and proposed rewrite of CFPB Section 1071.
✓ Next Industry Event: Sean’s next event is the B2B Finance Expo, happening on October 28th-29th at the Wynn in Las Vegas, co-located with Money 20/20. Lenders are encouraged to attend to forge partnerships, explore new deals, and connect with the broker community, particularly in light of current SBA policies regarding MCAs.