Another topic that has been appearing in postings more and more is Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), also sometimes referred to as In-purchase financing, which in the fintech world has worked its way from primarily consumer uses into the small business and larger space. Members of the Credit service will be familiar with some of our work in this space.
In the referenced posting from The Fintech Times, we see a new development in B2B uses for BNPL. The piece talks about former execs from a couple of known fintech ventures who have developed a solution that they call Biller, which is based in the Netherlands.
This is a very new venture, so we are unsure if this will be the final company name or just a product name, given that there is already a fintech named Biller, which is a 2016 startup based in Uruguay. This piece says that the company will be built out in conjunction with Slimmer AI, another startup based in Amsterdam.
‘The product will assist commerce leaders in reducing risks, optimising cash flow, and exceeding buyers’ needs and expectations. The Biller team is co-building its company with Slimmer AI, a European AI B2B venture studio that recently spun-out regtech startup Sentinels….The B2B commerce market is changing rapidly and according to Goldman Sachs, B2B is the next untapped market opportunity for the payments industry. In Europe, online B2B commerce volume was 710 billion and growing at 18% CAGR….Derek Vreeburg, co-founder and CEO of Biller explains why he is excited to launch Biller, “Current B2B invoice solutions have lacked innovation for years. With our experience at Klarna and Mollie we know how to transform complex processes into easy-to-use services. Combined with the AI expertise of Slimmer AI, we are confident that we can challenge the status quo and contribute to the next chapter in online B2B commerce” ‘
We recently covered the B2B e-commerce space in member research and would of course agree that it is a high growth space, particularly in the post-pandemic world. The brief article emphasizes the use of AI (machine learning) to help power the invoicing and decision-making processes across the Biller solution. AI has of course found many uses in B2B use cases, most noticeably in risk management and financial processes, so expansion into credit assignment and ongoing management is not unexpected.
‘Biller was founded to take away the challenges both buyers and sellers experience trying to fit traditional processes into an increasingly digital world. Realtime, AI-powered credit and fraud checks, flexible payment terms, personalised debtor management, and guaranteed payouts are all areas needed to future proof B2B invoicing and provide an improved experience for both sellers and buyers….JC Heyneke, CEO of Slimmer AI, concludes with, “We are convinced that machine learning will reshape the way credit risk assessment in B2B is done, and that this is needed to evolve B2B eCommerce. We are thrilled to partner with Derek, Mick, and Uwe to build Biller!”‘
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group