MarketInvoice Introduces New Product In Search For Growth

Invoice financing platform MarketInvoice is introducing a new product as it looks to double its lending volume in the coming year.

Reports Thursday (Feb. 9) said the company is rolling out MarketInvoice Pro, a way for businesses to access an open funding line against outstanding invoices. The solution differs from other services the company offers, which finances outstanding invoices on an invoice-by-invoice basis.

“This is the first new product since we launched in 2012, so we’re very excited about that,” said Chief Executive and Cofounder Anil Stocker in an interview with Peer-to-Peer Finance News. “We built this product because of demand from our customers. We launched in the market with a single, invoice-by-invoice transaction product, but as we became a bigger brand and attracted more borrowers, they told us that they wanted a credit line backed by their invoices. So, this is really great for companies that are looking to grow and have a permanent, regular need for funding.”

The U.K. company added that MarketInvoice Pro is designed for larger business borrowers and will aim to take some market share away from traditional banks.

The new product is rolling out after the firm raised $9.5 million in financing last year from MCI Capital via its MCI.TechVentures Fund. The investment came at a time when invoice finance saw a major boom, according to data from the Asset Based Finance Association, which found that more than $943 million worth of invoice financing reached SME borrowers in the first quarter of 2016 alone. The figure marked a 63 percent increase compared to the same period a year prior.

Last year, MarketInvoice’s Paul Crayston spoke with PYMNTS to discuss the issue of late payments in the U.K., which is fueling the demand for invoice finance. While it may be unfair for some small businesses to be paid late, Crayston said that the issue isn’t some kind of conspiracy plan to ruin small suppliers, but that in reality, “there just really, in many cases, is no incentive for companies to pay on time.”