Capital One Acquires Trade Credit Firm BlueTarp

Capital One Financial Corporation announced Friday (June 21) that it has reached an agreement to acquire purchase-to-payment and credit management company BlueTarp.

In a press release, Capital One pointed to augmented B2B finance capabilities as a result of the takeover, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). BlueTarp targets SMBs with accounts receivable management, cash flow tools, risk mitigation solutions and trade credit financing offerings. Integrating this product offering will help Capital One enhance services for business users of its co-branded and private label credit card partnership clients, the financial institution said.

Current clients of BlueTarp include B2B suppliers in an array of industries, including construction, equipment and office supplies. The company first launched as a cash flow and credit management company targeting the building material suppliers sector.

“BlueTarp offers a unified purchase-to-payment system and fosters strong banking relationships with large merchants and small-to-medium-sized businesses alike,” said Capital One senior vice president of Card Partnerships Buck Stinson in a statement. “We are looking forward to integrating BlueTarp and its innovative technology and services into Capital One’s card partnerships business, enhancing our service capabilities for existing and future partners.”

“As an emerging leader in the business-to-business credit management industry, we were eager to identify a like-minded partner who could help us transform this sector on a much larger scale,” said BlueTarp CEO Scott Simpson in another statement. “We look forward to leveraging our fully developed trade credit technology platform and delivering significant value to Capital One’s existing and future partners.”

Capital One said it plans to close the acquisition in the third quarter of this year. The firms did not reveal financial details of the deal.

BlueTarp’s CEO spoke with PYMNTS back in 2016 about some of the biggest challenges in the B2B payments and accounts receivable management market.

“Our market research, and our qualitative experience, suggests that about half of all suppliers want to have no disruption, or perceived disruption, in their relationship with customers,” Simpson said at the time, adding that the addition of a third party to manage B2B transactions may be viewed as one of those disruptions to avoid.