TCPA Basics Every Funding Broker Should Know
A plain-English orientation to the federal law that shapes how your floor calls and texts, so you know which questions to bring to your lawyer.
Somewhere on most funding floors there is a broker who says the TCPA does not apply because they are calling businesses, not consumers. Sometimes there is a manager who says it does not apply because the merchant filled out a form. Both statements are the kind of half-truth that gets shops into trouble, because the answer depends on details: what number you called, how, with what consent, and what the merchant was told.
This guide is not legal advice and it does not tell you what the rules currently require in any specific situation. Rules, regulatory interpretations and court decisions in this area change, and some states add their own requirements. What it does is explain the main concepts in plain language so you can set up sensible practices and ask your counsel the right questions.
If you take one thing from it: build your process so that, for any call or text, you can show who the person is, what they agreed to and when.
Pre-flight summary
- Calling businesses does not automatically take you outside the TCPA.
- Keep exact consent records for every number: wording, time, source, companies named.
- Whether your dialer is an autodialer is a question for counsel, not a vendor.
- Make opt-outs instant and company-wide across every channel.
- Set calling windows and attempt limits with counsel, then enforce them in your systems.
Leg 01What the TCPA is, in one paragraph
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a US federal law that restricts certain telemarketing calls, texts, prerecorded and artificial voice messages, and calls made with certain automated equipment. It is enforced by regulators and, importantly, allows private lawsuits, which is why it shows up so often in business news. Text messages are generally treated as calls for many purposes under the law.
Small business owners frequently use personal cell phones for their business, which is one reason the business-versus-consumer distinction is less tidy than it sounds. Do not assume a call is outside the law because the person on the other end owns a company. Ask counsel how the rules apply to the numbers on your lists.
Leg 02Consent is the concept everything hangs on
Much of the TCPA turns on whether the person gave the right kind of consent for the kind of contact you are making. Different contacts can require different levels of consent, and marketing calls or texts using certain technology generally require stronger, written consent than an informational call. The precise standards, and how they have been interpreted, are exactly what you need counsel for.
What you can control is the record. For every lead, keep the wording the person agreed to, the date and time, the source, the number they provided, and which companies the consent named. If a lead vendor cannot give you that, treat it as a red flag and ask counsel before you call or text.
- Capture consent language exactly as it was shown, not a paraphrase.
- Store the timestamp, source page and phone number together.
- Note whether your company was named or only a category of companies.
- Record revocations the moment they happen, by any channel.
- Keep records for as long as counsel advises.
Leg 03The autodialer question
Part of the law concerns calls made using an automatic telephone dialing system. What counts as one has been argued over for years, and the answer has shifted with court decisions. Whether a particular dialer, including a power dialer, falls inside the definition depends on how it actually works and on current interpretation.
Do not rely on a vendor's marketing claim that its dialer is compliant, and do not rely on what another shop believes. Describe your setup accurately to qualified counsel and get their view. Separately, prerecorded or artificial voice messages carry their own rules, so ask about those specifically if you use them.
The question is never whether your dialer is compliant. It is whether this call, to this number, with this consent, is.
Leg 04Do Not Call lists: national, state and your own
There is a national Do Not Call registry, some states maintain their own, and every company is expected to keep an internal list of people who have asked not to be contacted. How and how often you must check registries, and what exceptions might apply, are specifics to confirm with counsel.
Your internal list is the part you fully control. Make opting out effortless and immediate. When a merchant says stop calling me on a call, in a text or in an email, that preference should apply across every broker, every number and every channel your shop uses, right away.
- Give brokers a one-click Do Not Call action on every record.
- Apply it company-wide, not just to the broker who heard it.
- Block the number from dialer lists and text campaigns automatically.
- Log who recorded the request and when.
- Check purchased and aged lists against internal and applicable registry lists before use.
Leg 05Calling hours and frequency
Federal rules restrict the hours during which certain calls can be made, measured by the recipient's local time, and some states set tighter windows, limits on the number of attempts, or other conditions. Because these vary and change, set your allowed windows and attempt limits with counsel, then let your systems enforce them so nobody has to remember.
In FundPilot, campaigns respect local time and stop on reply or funding, and every call and text is logged to the deal. That does not make anyone compliant on its own, but it means the rules your counsel sets can be built into how the floor works, and you have a record of what happened.
Leg 06Practical habits for a careful floor
Most risk comes from ordinary shortcuts: a list bought without checking consent, a broker texting from a personal phone, an opt-out that only one person knew about. Keep all calls and texts on business systems that log them. Train new brokers on your consent and opt-out process before they dial; FundPilot's practice mode lets them rehearse calls without reaching a real merchant.
Schedule a periodic review with qualified counsel, especially when you add a new lead source, a new dialing method or a new type of text campaign. This article is general information only and not legal advice.
Questions from the floor
Does the TCPA apply to calls to business owners?
It can. Many owners use personal cell phones for their business, and parts of the law focus on the type of number and the technology used rather than whether the recipient owns a company. Do not assume you are exempt. Describe your calling practices and lists to qualified counsel. This is general information, not legal advice.
If a merchant filled out our form, can we call and text them?
Often a form submission is the basis for contact, but whether it is enough depends on the wording shown, which company it named, the type of contact and the technology used. Keep the exact consent language and timestamp, and have counsel review your forms. Revocations must be honored whenever the merchant makes them.
Is a power dialer an autodialer under the TCPA?
That depends on how the specific system works and on current legal interpretation, which has changed over time through court decisions. No article can answer it for your setup. Describe your dialer accurately to qualified counsel and get their view before using it, and keep consent records regardless of the answer.
How should we handle stop requests?
Treat them as immediate and company-wide. Record the request on the merchant's record, block the number from every broker, dialer list and text campaign, and log who recorded it and when. Do not require a specific phrase or channel before honoring it. Ask counsel about any confirmation message rules for texting.
General information only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules for telemarketing, texting, recording, disclosures and data retention vary and change; confirm current requirements with qualified counsel.
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