Billie, a Germany-based startup offering invoicing and financing solutions for small businesses and corporates, announced about $33.6 million in new funding, according to TechCrunch reports Tuesday (July 16).
Investors at Creandum led the Series B round, while SpeedInvest, Rocket Internet’s GFG and Picus also participated, reports said.
Billie operates a platform upon which companies can send invoices to their corporate customers, collect payments and access invoice financing on unpaid bills. Its accounts receivable and cash management solutions are offered via two main products: A checkout financing solution that integrates a point-of-sale financing option for buyers when in the checkout process of an online B2B store; and an invoice factoring tool allowing B2B suppliers to manage their outgoing invoices and obtain financing in real-time as they wait for their corporate customers to pay.
“We’re able to place ourselves in the middle of B2B payments because B2B sellers often face long payment terms until getting paid, administrative burden to handle collections on unpaid invoices, and severe economic risks from payment defaults,” explained the firm’s Co-Founder Dr. Matthias Knecht in an interview with the publication. “Meanwhile, B2B buyers often face rigid one-size-fits-all payment terms that are not tailored to the cash cycle needs of their business. As a result, they revert to old-fashioned working capital loans to cover their liquidity needs.”
The latest funding for Billie will be used to launch new products for corporate buyers and their accounts payable needs, with the company said to be exploring a feature that connects businesses to flexible and custom payment terms. Billie also said it will focus on expanding across Europe.
Point of sale financing is beginning to take hold in B2B eCommerce. In an earlier interview with PYMNTS, Daniel Lipinski, founder and CEO of point of sale (POS) financing company CreditDigital, explored the opportunity of such financing for B2B buyers.
“In 2019, business customers are expecting similar payment experiences and processes to that of their personal lives,” he said.
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