software programs such as Quickbooks, allowing businesses to immediately receive funding without an application. The emergence of these modern forms has not been without controversy. Critics accurately point out that none of these new players have experienced a complete credit cycle and thus, their underwriting models have not been market tested by an economic contraction. What's more, some of these new models rely on a market place lending format. It's unclear if this source of capital will be stable over time, as other companies, most notably, Lending Club, had a difficult time attracting investors in early 2016, even though net returns seem higher on invoice finance platforms such as MarketInvoice and FundThrough than on business loan platforms such as Funding Circle. Specialized factoring With advances in technology, some invoice factoring providers have adapted to specific industries. This often affects additional services offered by the factor in order to best adapt the factoring service to the needs of the business. An example of this includes a recruitment specialist factor offering payroll and back office support with the factoring facility; a wholesale or /distribution factor may not offer this additional service. These differences can affect the cost of the facility, the approach the factor takes when collecting credit, the administration services included in the facility and the maximum size of invoices which can be factored. Real estate Since the 2007 United States recession one of the fastest-growing sectors in the factoring industry is real estate commission advances. Commission advances work the same way as factoring but are done with licensed real estate agents on their pending and future real estate commissions. Commission advances were first introduced in Canada but quickly spread to the United States. Typically, the process consists of an online application from a real estate agent, who signs a contract selling future commissions at a discount; the factoring company then wires the funds to the agent's bank account. Medical factoring The healthcare industry makes for a special case in which factoring is much needed because of long payment cycles from government, private insurance companies and other third party payers, but difficult because of HIPAA requirements. For this reasons medical receivables factoring companies have developed to specifically target this niche. Construction Factoring is commonplace in the construction industry because of the long payment cycles that can stretch to 120 days and beyond. However, the construction industry has features that are risky