Transcard Debuts Supply Chain Financing Tool for Billers

Payments solution provider Transcard says it wants to help billers access working capital.

To make this happen, the company on Monday (Feb. 13) announced it has updated its embedded payments platform, SMART Suite, to include receivables and supply chain financing (SCF) capabilities.

“Billers have long been at the mercy of a receivables ecosystem with slow and unpredictable payment flows,” Transcard CEO Greg Bloh said in a press release. “Now, billers have a single platform to manage their receivables process, from invoice presentment and payment processing through financing and reconciliation.”

The release says the platform’s embedded SCF functionality lets billers generate working capital by accelerating payment for approved invoices in return for a discount on the amount due.

“Compared to traditional factoring, embedded financing offers a streamlined process and potentially more competitive rates,” Transcard said.

The new tool follows Transcard’s December rollout of a solution that lets property managers refund security deposits more quickly.

“As more consumers embrace digital payments for daily financial tasks, we’re giving lessees more options for how they receive security deposit refunds,” Bloh said at the time.

Lessees can elect to have their security deposit refund sent to a debit card, straight to their bank account or through a paper check. Those who choose real-time payments can get their money refunded within seconds, according to a company press release.

The launch of the newest offering comes at a tough time for small and dedium-sized businesses (SMBs), as PYMNTS noted last week in an interview with Enigma Technologies Chief Operating Officer and Chief Product Officer Scott Steinberg.

He told PYMNTS that economic uncertainty is not only making capital harder to come by and more costly for SMBs.

“Interest rates are rising across the board and affecting the entire industry,” Steinberg said. “The cost of capital is going up, the opportunity cost of that money being invested is going up, and so small businesses are being hit with much higher interest rates.”

There’s pressure on the lenders as well. Although delinquencies had not changed, there’s a “perceived” risk of lending to SMBs that has been growing, leading lenders to be more conservative in their underwriting efforts.

Steinberg noted that overall approval rates are starting to creep downward, although they haven’t dropped dramatically so far. Even some alternative lenders (like Upstart) had begun suspending SMB lending efforts altogether.

“There may be some major changes ahead as people pull out — and there will unfortunately just be less funding available,” Steinberg said.

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