rc23, Having a bit of trouble following the post, but I'm pretty sure I understand.

No chance that was a direct funder you worked with, as it seems like you now know. Working in collaboration with another ISO is fine when it comes to sourcing the deal, but they just need to be transparent about that relationship ahead of time. Plenty of "direct lenders / funders" in this space which are 100% ISO/broker shop.

Second point I'll make echoing John C is to never engage in any type of business without a contract in hand. It will offer you legal protection. If there's no contract, there's nothing preventing a funder from simply not paying you at all. Words mean nothing. Gotta be careful

We're a direct funder (our paper, our contracts) on a small percentage of our volume (< 15%) but we don't necessarily market that. The rest of what we do is still brokered. I'd imagine that some good direct funders will pop their head in this conversation to aid you in future deal flow. Best of luck! Message me with any Q's. Hope this helps - R