Muse Launches Supply/Invoice Financing Product

Business finance startup Muse Finance has launched a solution that combines supply finance and invoice finance, the British company announced Thursday (June 23).

According to a news release, the tool lets businesses pay overseas suppliers while getting access to cash tied to their pending invoices.

“The new business finance product was developed by Muse after recognizing a rising demand for an extension to working capital in the U.K.,” the company said. “By alleviating the financial burden on small businesses when paying their suppliers, as well as increased flexibility when repaying finance — customers can better manage their cash flow and maintain supplier relations.”

With supply finance, Muse pays suppliers on behalf of its customers for products being shipped to the U.K. This gives the customers increased cash flow flexibility while they wait for their merchandise to arrive, with the option of paying back the loan over 120 days.

And with invoice finance, Muse can also ease the repayment of supply financing by letting customers claim 90% of the value of their invoices within 24 hours.

“This level of flexibility is increasingly important given new regulations surrounding Brexit and the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, both of which have caused delays in the shipment of goods to the U.K., and increased demand for working capital,” Muse said.

Read more: FinTechs Provide Solutions to Small Exporters Struggling to Access Finance

In an interview with PYMNTS earlier this year, Nelson Holzner, co-founder and CEO at MODIFI, spoke about the struggle small exporters face when trying to access financing.

Larger global banks have no interest in taking on the cost of onboarding smaller and medium-sized operations, while smaller banks aren’t experienced in international trade.

Holzner said this has created opportunities for companies like his to help buyers and sellers finance and manage their trades.

“That leaves us in a very nice space where the big guys don’t have the incentive and the smaller guys don’t have the knowledge to do the international piece of the business,” he said. “This is where FinTechs like us are really helping the customer to bridge that gap.”