New Shine Feature Lets Users Insure Invoices

Challenger bank Shine, a French startup, has introduced a new program to insure invoices to help make sure they are paid, according to a TechCrunch report.

Users of Shine’s mobile banking app will be able to insure their invoices for a total of 2 percent of the invoice, useful in cases where the customer doesn’t think the invoice recipient will pay.

With Shine’s new service, after an invoice goes unpaid for a certain amount of time, the bank contacts the other company to remind them to pay.

In the case the other party still doesn’t pay, Shine’s new program helps to file a claim with a partner insurance company. If the other party is open and operating still, users get the full 100 percent of their invoice in that case, taking into account the 2 percent fee paid to Shine. If the party is closed, users receive 90 percent of their invoice paid.

This service does not have a subscription fee as it is a one-off process.

Shine mostly services small companies or freelancers, allowing customers to send and receive money in a separate business account, create invoices and keep a log of administrative tasks. Customers can use MasterCard to pay on Shine’s app, and Shine also notifies customers when they should pay taxes.

Shine’s built-in invoicing tool allows users to generate invoices in the mobile app and also receive notifications when the other party has opened them.

Once a recipient receives a Shine-generated invoice, they can download a PDF and make a payment using the bank details.

Invoices can often fall by the wayside as recipients wait until the last minute to pay them off. For those sending the invoices, though, it can become inconvenient.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the tendency toward late B2B payments might be higher than usual, due to closed-down offices and delays in the usual ways business is conducted.