Finance
B2B Companies Embrace Invoice Financing to Drive Business Continuity
As businesses evolve, so too do the ways in which they pay and get paid.
After all, cash flow is the lifeblood of any business.
Against that backdrop, there exists a broader trend in the FinTech industry where innovative solutions are transforming the traditional landscape of accounts receivable (AR) and invoice financing.
There are three primary factors influencing the contemporary B2B landscape, Ben Weiner, senior vice president and global head of B2B Payments at Nuvei, told PYMNTS, citing prevailing high interest rates, the growth and challenges faced by small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and the increasing interest in alternative capital within the FinTech sector.
Weiner explained that high interest rates have narrowed the spread between prime rates and the annual percentage rates (APRs) for alternative capital, making such solutions more attractive.
At the same time, SMBs, although growing, face difficulties in accessing unsecured credit and are driven by “an often unrealistic” need for efficiency. Taken together, these realities have led to the concept of alternative capital gaining traction.
“This started back with the whole buy now, pay later (BNPL) craze on the consumer side, and it’s starting very slowly to trickle into B2B payments,” said Weiner, noting that high interest rates and inflation are putting a lot of strain on businesses, while at the same time, buyers are “really driving the balance sheets” of suppliers.
He explained that many smaller suppliers are “stuck between” large B2B buyers that frequently not just set the terms, but often pay beyond the terms, creating “an odd cash flow dynamic” for the suppliers.
Increasingly, suppliers are looking for the right tools to help them fight back and increase the certainty and speed of cash for their balance sheets.
Read also: Nuvei Launches Invoice Financing Service Integrated With Leading ERP Systems
Tapping AR Innovations for Business Continuity and Growth
To help solve for this issue, Nuvei in April debuted a cutting-edge invoice financing solution aimed at enhancing merchant cash flow. Invoice financing enables businesses to access cash within 24 hours by converting outstanding invoices into immediate working capital. It also enhances cash flow with one-click financing integrated into enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
“Our mission is to balance the financial equation,” Weiner said. “We want to give suppliers the tools to take back control of their balance sheets.”
He illustrated the ideal use case of an SMB supplier receiving a large order with extended payment terms from a significant buyer. The supplier faces multiple financial obligations and growth opportunities that require immediate funding, but by using an innovative embedded invoice financing solution, the supplier can finance the invoice at competitive rates within their existing accounting processes, thus ensuring business continuity and growth.
Weiner explained that by embedding invoice financing solutions within suppliers’ ERP systems, modern solutions can ensure seamless integration and usability, addressing a pain point for businesses that may have previously been relying on external, often clunky, financing solutions.
At a high level across the B2B landscape, technology and automation are increasingly playing crucial roles in transforming AR processes. By driving efficiency from purchase order (PO) to cash, businesses can accelerate growth and improve margins. Innovations in AR automation, such as facilitating interactions on partial payments and eliminating manual processes, are helping businesses streamline operations and reduce friction.
“It’s important to remember that AR is sales, so when you do that effectively from an automated perspective, you should be able to drive growth and enhance margins,” Weiner said. “Funding more orders, bigger orders, and being able to make business decisions more quickly while eliminating manual processes like the three-way match” are all immediate impacts of embracing AR automation.
Ongoing Innovations in AR and Invoice Financing
Looking ahead, Weiner identified two key areas of innovation: expanding the total addressable market for invoice financing and using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The next step involves financing pre-invoice stages, such as PO financing, which could attract lenders with a higher risk appetite. Additionally, AI and machine learning can provide predictive insights, helping suppliers identify financing opportunities and optimize their cash flow strategies.
“Failing to modernize isn’t really an option,” Weiner said. “There are things like, ‘my customers all pay with paper check,’ but we know that effective buyer-facing portals will help drive that down. ‘Cost of accepting a credit card is too high,’ but we know that the all-in cost, considering time and labor and the lack of certainty, can shift that calculus … the real question is more about how many vendors do you want touching your ecosystem and your tech. Do you want point solutions or something more holistic?”
He added: “The common thread, at least for suppliers, is smarter decisions, more efficiency and taking control of working capital.”
For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.
Finance
The New Hampshire Business Finance Authority honors lenders at the 5th annual Granite State Awards
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has responded to renewed criticism about the network’s total value locked (TVL) and relatively sluggish decentralized finance (DeFi) growth.
On October 31, Hoskinson acknowledged the gap between Cardano’s DeFi activity and leading blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. However, he said the numbers fail to capture the network’s broader participation and governance strength.
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Cardano Bets on Bitcoin Interoperability to Unlock Billions in DeFi Liquidity
Hoskinson pushed back on the long-standing belief that introducing major stablecoins such as USDT or USDC would automatically transform Cardano’s DeFi ecosystem.
“No one’s ever made the argument and explained how the existence of one of these larger stablecoins is magically going to make Cardano’s entire DeFi problem go away, make the price go up, massively improve our MAUs, our TVL, and all these other things,” he said.
He argued that their arrival alone would not solve the network’s structural challenges or guarantee growth.
According to him, Cardano already has native, asset-backed stablecoins like USDM and USDA that can be minted at will and rarely lose their peg.
Instead, Hoskinson pointed to user behavior as the main reason Cardano’s DeFi TVL remains small.
For context, he noted that the network has about 1.3 million users who stake or participate in governance, collectively holding more than $15 billion in ADA.
However, those figures don’t count toward TVL metrics, and most ADA holders remain passive participants rather than active liquidity providers.
“Cardano has a fertile ecosystem. There’s a lot of people floating around. There’s a lot of people who hold ADA, who have Cardano wallets, who have been in our ecosystem — in many cases more than five years. But not a lot of those people have crossed the chasm to use DeFi in Cardano,” he stated.
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He added that this distinction creates a “chicken-and-egg” loop for Cardano’s ecosystem. According to Hoskinson, the network’s low activity deters partnerships and liquidity, while the lack of external integrations further limits on-chain adoption.
To counter these limitations, Hoskinson outlined a multi-year roadmap that ties DeFi growth to real-world finance and Bitcoin interoperability.
He highlighted the Midnight network—a privacy-focused sidechain—and RealFi, a microfinance platform targeting African markets, as key initiatives.
Both will integrate with Bitcoin DeFi, allowing ADA and BTC to be lent, converted into stablecoins, and used in real-world lending products.
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Hoskinson expects this combination to drive “billions of dollars” in new liquidity while attracting Bitcoin’s vast capital base. He also cited ongoing projects such as Leios, as proof that Cardano continues to evolve at the protocol level.
Still, he conceded that Cardano’s core issue is coordination and accountability, not technology.
“It’s not a technology problem. It’s not a node problem. It’s not a problem of imagination and creativity. It’s not a problem of execution. We can pretty much do anything. It’s a problem of governance and coordination and ultimately accountability and responsibility,” Hoskinson said.
To fix this, he proposed delegating clear responsibility for ecosystem expansion. He also called for targeted marketing and event strategies to mobilize ADA holders toward DeFi participation.
“The problem isn’t the ability to do a marketing campaign. The problem isn’t our ability to ship great software. It’s that there’s no one accountable to actually conceive of it, execute it, and be held accountable to the outcome of it. That’s the problem in a nutshell. So that is the problem we have to solve next year as we look to 2026,” He stated.
Finance
I’m a Single Woman Eager to Date. But My Terrible Financial Situation Will Send All My Suitors Running.
Our advice columnists have heard it all over the years—so we’re diving into the Pay Dirt archives to share classic letters with our readers. Submit your own questions about money here. (It’s anonymous!)
Dear Pay Dirt,
I am a mid-30s single woman with no kids, and because of my credit score—low 500s—I feel like I am invisible. I don’t qualify for a credit card, I can’t rent a car, I can’t get an apartment without my parents co-signing. I have “modest” student loans—$38,000—that because of the CARES Act have finally come out of collections, but nothing on my credit score has changed.
I don’t know where to begin to resolve this, and I feel like I’m failing at life. I’m even embarrassed to seriously date anyone because of my financial status. I work in the restaurant industry in an expensive city, and so even though I make decent money, when it comes down to it I’m still living paycheck to paycheck. How do I get out of this?
—I Don’t Exist
Dear I Don’t Exist,
You are not alone. Millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, and not because they’re irresponsible or have done anything wrong. There are probably many people you know who are struggling with similar issues, and you’re unaware of it because people are embarrassed to talk about financial struggles. We live in a country where people equate money with success and hard work, even though financial security is often determined by other factors, and there are plenty of people who work incredibly hard and still have trouble making ends meet.
There are also trade-offs we choose to make that mean forgoing options that might be financially more secure. If you work in the restaurant industry in an expensive city, I imagine you’re in a competitive job and that to some extent you enjoy it and the things that come with the expensive city, or you’d consider a move. It’s worth thinking about what these trade offs are, and how you value them—good and bad.
But also know that your situation is not unusual and try to be kinder to yourself. First, you should consider talking to a credit counselor. There are non-profits that specialize in helping people repair credit and get on track financially. I know it probably creates some anxiety for you to talk about these things, but having a plan will reduce your anxiety about it longer-term, and taking that first step will make you feel a lot better. When you have debt and no concrete plan for getting out of it, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and that the situation is insurmountable. Talking to a professional will help you envision and figure out a path out of it.
Lastly, you shouldn’t be embarrassed to date because you have debt. Lots of people have debt, and a date is not a lifelong commitment to combine assets. Just be upfront about your situation to anyone it seems like you might be developing feelings for—and not just as a matter of disclosure, but because it’s important to you and shapes how you’re making decisions in your life right now. There plenty of people out there who are potential partners who can sympathize with your situation, and anyone who can’t probably isn’t for you anyway.
—E.S.
From: I’m Worried The Government Will Force Me To Pay For My Stepkids’ College. (February 10th, 2022).
Please keep questions short (
Thanks! Your question has been submitted.
Dear Pay Dirt,
My spending habits are hard to categorize. I’m sometimes frugal and sometimes a splurger, depending on the situation. The only thing is I hate splurging when I don’t want to. This has come up recently with my new boyfriend. He loves to spend a lot of money on takeout. I don’t. I hate cooking, but I like getting the most bang out of my buck when I eat out, unless there is something I really, really like on the menu. I’d prefer just to get a main course, and then if I want an appetizer or more food, it would be something I bought from the store. My boyfriend really likes taking care of me, and that sometimes means he orders extra food.
The problem is we’ve started trading off who pays, and I don’t want to pay a ton for all the extra food he wants. This last time we picked up a to-go order, I was driving home and he had to order. He ordered a bunch of food, including an entire meal of fried rice (which I think is an absolutely idiotically overpriced dish) as a leftover. I’m fine with having leftovers from a meal, but not an entire dish.
This type of frugality just seems absolutely ridiculous when I say it out loud. We’re not going out right now, but we knew each other before the pandemic and he knows I’ve had no trouble in the past spending a ton of money at the bar and I still don’t. I just worry that financially I am somehow a minefield and telling him this is just going to be so confusing. On top of it, this isn’t just a preference (it always has been), it’s a necessity because of my current financial situation, and frankly, he doesn’t make a ton of money, so I don’t know how this isn’t an issue for him either.
I just feel like an overbearing girlfriend by saying “Hey, I don’t want us to spend a ton of money eating out.” Am I overthinking this? Do I just need to be open about this? How do I say this without making him feel bad about how he likes to spend his money?
—Am I Being a Weirdo?
Dear Am I Being a Weirdo,
Part of the reason this column exists is because people have a hard time talking about money, but everyone needs to be comfortable doing it. I understand your anxiety about discussing it because you don’t want to be perceived as cheap or arbitrary in your logic by someone you love.
But it sounds as if you’re living together, and when you’re cohabitating, I think money conversations are necessary. (And this would be true even if he was just your roommate and you were sharing food expenses.)
I would begin the conversation by saying that you realize your spending might sometimes seem random, but there are just certain types of expenses that make you anxious, and you’d like to find a way to handle the question of food expenses in a way that doesn’t make him feel deprived, and doesn’t make you feel like you’re wasting money on food you don’t need or want. There are a lot of different potential solutions. One is that you create a joint food budget and stick to it. Another is that you pick up individual tabs in restaurants. Yet another is that you plan, at the beginning of the week, to figure out how much you want to spend and where. Regardless, the point is to come to some agreement about what you both feel comfortable spending.
This also requires that you be empathetic to his position. Even if your boyfriend doesn’t make a lot of money, it could be that not having to think too much about buying food, specifically, is what makes him feel secure and comfortable. I had some food insecurity my freshman year of college and, perhaps as a result, I’m more likely to spend on extra food than anything else, now that I’m relatively stable. Of course, your boyfriend may just not be thinking about the issue very much, but people’s spending priorities are often shaped by their history of feeling financially secure or not. And he may be forgoing expenses in other areas because food is important to him.
But you won’t know either way, unless you talk about it. You both need to be open about your anxieties around the issue so you understand and can sympathize with each other’s spending habits and can come to some compromise.
—E.S.
From: I’m Really Concerned About My Daughter’s Strange Financial Arrangement With Her Boyfriend. (January 27th, 2022).
More Advice From Slate
I have two very young children with severe developmental disabilities who will need lifelong care. My brother has seen them twice for a few hours each time and never calls or emails. Recently we redid our wills and had to decide who we wished to be guardians of our kids if something were to happen to both my husband and me. Because of the physical strength needed to care for the kids, we decided it wouldn’t be right to ask the grandparents to take that on when my husband and I each have a brother. My brother-in-law is a great guy and agreed to be first in line. But our attorney suggested we name a second guardian just in case.
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