B2B payments platform Melio has debuted a tool to help small businesses access capital.
The company’s Pay Over Time product lets small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) pay vendors and business bills in monthly installments, while their suppliers are still paid on time and in full, according to a Tuesday (Aug. 1) press release.
In addition, Pay Over Time offers eligible SMBs instant access to capital of up to $50,000 via their Melio accounts, per the release.
“Payment terms are traditionally set by vendors, and small businesses have to meet them,” the release said. “Pay Over Time gives business owners the option to extend the time they have to pay their bills. While their vendors still get paid on time, business owners can pay in net-30 terms or in up to 12 equal monthly installments.”
The debut of Pay Over Time is happening as SMBs, key players in powering the U.S. economy, are facing increasing obstacles as they try to secure working capital and other financing.
According to the PYMNTS report “Main Street Health Q2 2023: Credit’s Key Role in SMBs’ Plans,” 4 in 10 of SMBs expressed heightened apprehension about inflation compared to the year before. In addition, 15% of SMBs said they felt a growing concern over declining revenues.
“Nearly half of small businesses are planning to increase their utilization of alternative funding for their company in the next 12 months,” Scott Steinberg, chief product officer and chief operating officer at data intelligence platform Enigma Technologies, said in an interview with PYMNTS posted in July.
The debut of Melio’s Pay Over Time tool follows May’s release of a mobile app that lets SMBs make and keep track of B2B payments while on the go, and which complements web access to Melio’s B2B payments platform for SMBs.
With digitization becoming more firmly entrenched among SMB owners, businesses are finding positive ripple effects in the form of time saved (no more going to the post office to mail checks) and cash flow flexibility, Melio Co-founder and CEO Matan Bar told PYMNTS last year.
“Being digital means you have more payments choice, and having more choice means you are able to manage your cash flow in ways that can smooth financial volatility,” Bar said at the time.
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