Now we know what happens when a global information solutions company with a talent for credit scoring and a small business financing specialist get together to help SMEs in Canada to better understand their credit profile and obtain the financing they need.
Equifax Canada and Thinking Capital have launched a new solution, BillMarket, designed specifically to enable Canadian small businesses to leverage their credit profile to extend payment terms in their supply chain.
“BillMarket creates a new language of credit for small business in Canada,” Thinking Capital CEO and co-founder Jeff Mitelman said. “For the first time, there is a practical way to talk about and put a dollar value on small business credit in Canada.”
The new solution works by using Equifax’s Small Business Grade to establish a credit limit businesses can use to extend payments. Businesses can learn how much credit they are eligible to access by registering with BillMarket and reviewing their certification report. Financing via BillMarket gives small businesses more time to pay suppliers, increased purchasing power, and the ability to deepen relationships with business partners thanks to greater potential spending and consistently prompt payment.
Suppliers benefit from on-time payment, as well, and have the ability to pick up new business from companies unable to pay cash upfront for purchases. Small Business Grade also helps suppliers determine a company’s credit and purchasing power, helping them spot and manage potential late payment risks in advance.
“BillMarket expands the purchasing power for Canadian SMBs and eliminates friction in the supply chain,” Mitelman said. “Through BillMarket, small businesses can translate their credit grade to real-time available credit that they can use to extend payments with suppliers by up to 120 days.” The service, he added, represented a “cash flow revolution for the Canadian small business market.”
Thinking Capital participated in our developers conference, FinDEVr New York 2016. The company’s Chief Strategy Officer, Anthony Lipschitz, and Chief Technology Officer, Pat Forgione, presented Lending as a Service, a look at how the company leveraged big data to streamline the complex lending process for small businesses in Canada.
Headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Thinking Capital was founded in 2006. Since inception, the company has facilitated business financing for more than 14,000 Canadian SMEs. Financing from $5,000 to $300,000 is available to small businesses through Thinking Capital’s fixed and flexible payment solutions. SMEs must be based in Canada, in operation for at least six months, and have average monthly sales of at least $7,000. Thinking Capital was acquired by Purpose Investments in May in a deal reportedly valued at more than $200 million.
Atlanta, Georgia-based Equifax demonstrated its mobile app at FinovateFall 2011. Earlier this month, the company – with operations in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific – announced a partnership with account information service provider Consents.online. In June, Equifax hired former IBM Watson and Cloud Platform CTO Bryson Koehler as its new Chief Technology Officer.
Equifax is publicly owned and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “EFX.” The company has a market capitalization of $15 billion.
