Point-of-Sale vs Marketplace vs Direct Lender: What Contractors Should Know

A financing partner that looks fine on a Tuesday can file for bankruptcy by Friday. In June 2025, Mosaic, one of the largest US residential solar and storage lenders, filed for Chapter 11, leaving contractors to re-paper pipelines mid-quarter. The logo on the financing button matters far less than the model behind it.

Most contractors blur three different things together: point-of-sale, marketplace, and direct lender. They then pick a partner on brand recognition instead of on how the money actually flows. This guide gives you a plain decision framework, a side-by-side comparison table, and the red flags that quietly cost you deals.

> Key Takeaways

> - Point-of-sale is HOW financing reaches your customer; marketplace and direct lender are WHO funds and services the loan. That reframe is the whole decision.

> - A direct lender funds loans with its own capital and owns underwriting, disclosures, and servicing. A marketplace routes your customer to third-party lenders and sits in the middle.

> - Lender stability is now a real risk: Mosaic filed for Chapter 11 in June 2025 (pv magazine, 2025), disrupting contractor pipelines.

> - With US residential storage up 92% in 2025 (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), the partner you pick decides how many deals you keep.

See how Eos Loan financing helps you close more projects

What is point-of-sale financing for contractors?

Point-of-sale (POS) financing is an offer you make inside your own sales conversation, so the customer never leaves to shop for a bank loan. It is a delivery channel, not a funding model. In 2025, total US energy storage installations reached 18.9 GW, up 52% year over year (Wood Mackenzie, US Energy Storage Monitor, 2025), and POS is how contractors capture that demand at the kitchen table.

Here is the part most explainers miss. Both marketplaces and direct lenders can deliver financing at the point of sale. POS is the entry point; it does not tell you who is sitting in the room behind it. When you compare "POS vs marketplace vs direct lender," you are comparing a channel against two funding models, which is why the question feels muddier than it should.

!A contractor and a homeowner reviewing a project quote on a tablet at a sunlit kitchen table.

What POS actually does for you is keep control of the deal. The customer applies and gets an answer without walking away to a bank, so the momentum of your pitch stays intact. A customer who leaves to "think about financing" is a customer you may not see again.

Point-of-sale financing is a delivery channel that both marketplaces and direct lenders can offer, and it keeps the contractor in control of the deal instead of sending the customer off to shop. With US storage at 18.9 GW in 2025, up 52% year over year (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), POS is how installers turn demand into signed projects.

For the broader playbook on building a program around this, see our contractor's guide to offering customer financing.

Marketplace vs direct lender: what is the real difference?

A marketplace routes your customer's application to third-party lenders and takes a position in the middle. A direct lender funds the loan with its own capital and owns underwriting, disclosures, and servicing. The fork that actually matters is who funds the loan and who holds the relationship afterward. US residential storage reached 2.7 GW in 2025, up 92% year over year (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), so that choice now governs a lot of volume.

Think about who you call when something breaks. With a marketplace, a borderline application can bounce between lenders, each with its own criteria, and a servicing question can land you on hold with a party you never spoke to. With a direct lender, one company underwrote the loan, funds it, and services it, so there is a single accountable name on every step.

Source: Eos Loan, conceptual comparison of funding models, 2026.

A marketplace routes your customer's application to third-party lenders and takes a position in the middle, while a direct lender funds the loan with its own capital and owns underwriting, disclosures, and servicing. With residential storage up 92% in 2025 (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), the model you choose decides who is accountable on every deal you write.

Eos Loan is a direct lender. We fund the loans we offer, which is why one accountable relationship runs from application through servicing. We are not a marketplace, a broker, or a platform that connects you to other lenders.

How do dealer fees compare across models?

The main contractor-side cost in any model is the dealer fee, the discount the lender takes when it funds the loan. Transparency varies more by partner than by model. Some lenders inflate the purchase price to make the advertised rate look lower, which raises the customer's total cost (NerdWallet, 2025). The number to compare is always total cost on the same scope, never the headline rate.

A marketplace layer can add opacity here. When the application passes through a middle party to reach the lender, the fee math can get harder to see, and you may not know which party set the markup. A direct lender controls the fee directly, so it can disclose the dealer fee cleanly and you know exactly what you are paying.

Here is the trap to watch for. A very low advertised rate paired with a padded system price is not a deal; it is the same money moved into a place the customer does not check. The honest version is a true rate paired with a low, disclosed dealer fee, where nothing is buried in the price.

The main cost in any financing model is the dealer fee, and transparency varies by partner more than by model: some lenders inflate the system price to make the rate look lower (NerdWallet, 2025). A direct lender that controls the fee can disclose it cleanly, so you compare total cost on identical scope.

For a full breakdown of the mechanics, read how dealer fees actually work.

Add financing to your installs, talk to our team

Why does lender stability matter for your pipeline?

If your financing partner fails, your in-flight deals and customer relationships are exposed. On June 6, 2025, Mosaic, one of the largest US residential solar and storage lenders, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of Texas (Solar Power World, 2025). Contractors who routed pipelines through it had to scramble mid-year.

Counterparty risk rarely shows up in contractor-financing comparisons, but it should. When an incumbent destabilizes, three things are suddenly in question: pending applications, partially funded installs, and the dealer relationships built on top of them. A pipeline that looked secure on Monday can need re-papering by the end of the week.

!A professional handshake between two people in a bright, established office during the day.

> What I am seeing: After Mosaic's filing, installers across our partner conversations described the same pattern, scrambling to re-paper in-flight deals mid-quarter and fielding nervous calls from customers about loans they had already signed. I share this as a pattern we are seeing, not a forecast or a guarantee about any specific outcome.

So ask the stability questions before you commit. Where does the funding come from? Who underwrites and who services the loan if the platform changes hands? A direct lender that funds with its own capital gives you a clearer answer than a chain of parties where no single name owns the outcome.

An incumbent's failure exposes in-flight deals and customer relationships, and it is not hypothetical: Mosaic filed for Chapter 11 in June 2025 (pv magazine, 2025). Before you pick a partner, ask who funds, who underwrites, and who services the loan if the platform changes hands.

Which financing model is right for your business?

Match the model to how much control and continuity your business needs. A direct lender suits contractors who want one accountable relationship, no hidden dealer fees, and flexible terms. A marketplace can suit those prioritizing breadth of credit tiers over relationship continuity. With residential storage up 92% in 2025 (Wood Mackenzie, 2025), continuity is worth more as your volume grows.

Run your decision on five criteria: control of the deal, dealer-fee transparency, servicing continuity, term flexibility, and multi-vertical coverage. These reinforce each other. A direct lender can keep fees transparent because it controls the fee, and term flexibility only helps if the same partner covers more than one project type. With Eos Loan, battery energy storage terms range from 6 to 240 months, with flexible terms on EV chargers and water filtration.

Source: Eos Loan, financing-partner decision framework, 2026.

The table below puts all three side by side. Read POS as the channel across the top of your decision, then settle the real fork underneath it: marketplace or direct lender.

| --- | --- | --- | --- |

A direct lender suits contractors who want one accountable relationship, no hidden dealer fees, and flexible terms, while a marketplace can suit those prioritizing breadth of credit tiers over continuity. With Eos Loan, there are no dealer fees and battery energy storage terms run from 6 to 240 months, all subject to approval and eligibility.

Want to weigh Eos Loan against this checklist for your business?

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Or call +1 833-989-3737 to talk through a financing program for your business.

How does Eos Loan fit as a direct lender?

Eos Loan is a direct lender, not a marketplace or broker, that funds loans with its own capital, lets contractors offer point-of-sale financing on essential projects, and keeps the dealer relationship in one place. To date, Eos Loan has originated more than $4B and processed over 30,000 proposals (Eos Loan), all on the direct-lender model this guide argues for.

The essential projects we finance are battery energy storage as the anchor, plus EV chargers and water filtration. Battery energy storage terms range from 6 to 240 months, with flexible terms on EV chargers and water filtration, and approval is always subject to eligibility. One partner, one fee structure, one servicing relationship across all three.

A quick note on 2026 affordability. The residential clean-energy credit (Section 25D) ended December 31, 2025 (IRS, 2025), so financing, not a federal credit, is the affordability lever on residential pitches now. This is general information, not tax advice. Consult a qualified tax professional. Do not describe Eos Loan financing as a tax credit, rebate, or incentive; it is a loan your customer repays over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a direct lender and a financing marketplace?

A direct lender funds the loan with its own capital and owns underwriting, disclosures, and servicing, so one party is accountable end to end. A marketplace routes your customer's application to third-party lenders and sits in the middle. Eos Loan is a direct lender, not a marketplace or broker. US residential storage grew 92% in 2025 (Wood Mackenzie, 2025).

Is point-of-sale financing good for contractors?

Yes. Point-of-sale financing keeps the offer inside your sales conversation, so the customer never leaves to shop for a bank loan and you keep control of the deal. It is a delivery channel both marketplaces and direct lenders can provide. US storage installations reached 18.9 GW in 2025, up 52% year over year (Wood Mackenzie, 2025).

What happens to my customers if my financing lender goes bankrupt?

In-flight applications, partially funded installs, and dealer relationships all come into question. Mosaic, a major residential solar and storage lender, filed for Chapter 11 in June 2025 (pv magazine, 2025). Ask any partner who funds, who underwrites, and who services the loan if the platform changes hands.

How do I choose a financing partner as a contractor?

Weigh five criteria together: control of the deal, dealer-fee transparency, servicing continuity, term flexibility, and multi-vertical coverage. A direct lender tends to score well across all five because it controls the fee and the relationship. Eos Loan offers battery energy storage terms from 6 to 240 months, subject to approval and eligibility (Wood Mackenzie, 2025).

The bottom line for contractors

Point-of-sale is the channel; the real decision is the funding model behind it. The moves that protect your pipeline are clear:

Treat POS as the delivery channel, then settle the actual fork: marketplace or direct lender.

Compare dealer-fee transparency by partner, not by model, and always on total cost for identical scope.
Weigh lender stability as a real risk, because an incumbent's Chapter 11 can expose your in-flight deals.
Favor one accountable relationship when continuity and clean fee math matter to how many deals you keep.

Eos Loan is a direct lender built for exactly this: it funds loans with its own capital, charges no dealer fee, and offers battery energy storage terms from 6 to 240 months, all subject to approval and eligibility. There is no self-serve signup; we work with you directly.

Offer your customers flexible financing on essential projects

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Sources

Wood Mackenzie, US Energy Storage Monitor (2025 installations: 18.9 GW total, +52% YoY; residential 2.7 GW, +92% YoY), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.woodmac.com/
pv magazine, US residential solar lender Mosaic files for bankruptcy amid policy uncertainty, retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.pv-magazine.com/2025/06/09/us-residential-solar-lender-mosaic-files-for-bankruptcy-amid-policy-uncertainty/
Solar Power World, Solar finance platform Mosaic files for bankruptcy, retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2025/06/solar-finance-platform-mosaic-files-for-bankruptcy/
NerdWallet, Solar Loans and Solar Panel System Financing Options (dealer-fee and rate-range context), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.nerdwallet.com/best/loans/personal-loans/solar-loans-solar-panel-system-financing-options
Internal Revenue Service, Residential Clean Energy Credit (Section 25D ended December 31, 2025), retrieved 2026-06-05, https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/residential-clean-energy-credit

About the author: Eduardo Donadi is the CEO of Eos Loan, the fintech built to finance essential projects (battery energy storage, EV chargers, and water filtration) for installers, contractors, and resellers across the United States.