NatWest Links Businesses To MarketInvoice

In the latest move of a traditional lender collaborating with the alternative finance industry, NatWest, a financial institution (FI) based in the U.K., announced a deal with MarketInvoice to link its corporate clients to invoice financing solutions.

Reports in International Finance on Wednesday (April 11) said NatWest is integrating MarketInvoice into its Capital Connections panel to help small businesses access financing when they are turned down for a loan by a traditional lender. The collaboration follows MarketInvoice’s announcement that it reached the milestone last month of providing more than $2.8 billion in financing to small business borrowers.

“Featuring on this panel will broaden our reach and help even more businesses achieve their goals,” said MarketInvoice CEO and Co-Founder Anil Stocker in a statement. “Companies across the U.K. are choosing to diversify funding sources with more than £4 billion [$5.67 billion] advanced through alternative finance firms. Furthermore, the invoice finance sector is providing more finance to U.K. businesses than ever before. Funding volumes are up 5 percent year on year and stand at just over £23 billion [$32.63 billion]. This is the highest figure ever.”

“As the first invoice finance provider on the panel, we will be able to showcase how invoice finance can help businesses of all sizes and work with them to find the right solution,” Stocker continued. “Enhancing access to borrowing is essential for jobs and economic growth.”

Business customers of NatWest can choose to have specific invoices financed or access financing based on their entire ledger of outstanding invoices, the companies explained.

In another statement, NatWest CEO of Commercial and Private Banking Alison Rose said the FI understands “that traditional funding routes are not always the best option for fast-growing startups.”

“Through Capital Connections, we’re able to signpost a broad choice of funding options through its impressive range of alternative lenders,” Rose said.

NatWest now has nine alternative finance companies on its Capital Connections panel, including Funding Circle, iwoca and Seedrs.

U.K. financial institutions are required to refer SMBs rejected for a loan to alternative finance providers as a result of new regulations that came into effect in 2016.