ING strengthens focus on electronic invoicing with Anachron After raising its stake in Billington to 100%, ING has now also increased its interest in Anachron, a specialist in the field of electronic invoicing. ING expects the majority of European companies to switch to electronic invoicing within the next five years.
The increase in ING’s stake in Anachron to 30%, as well as the strengthening of the cooperation between its Billington unit and Anachron, illustrate the vision ING has for the future and the role it sees for electronic invoicing in the payments sector. Anachron is one of the top European companies in this rapidly developing market and its expertise makes it a very important partner. The cooperation builds on the activities already developed by the two parties in the field of electronic invoicing and will look at opportunities for their further expansion on the European market through ING’s national and international network.
ING foresees strong growth in the electronic invoicing market. “Within the next five years we expect the majority of European companies to use electronic invoicing,” said Robert Heisterborg, responsible at ING for corporate payments in his capacity as Global Head of Payments and Cash Management for ING Wholesale Banking.”The agreement reached this week between the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) and Dutch SME employers’ organisation MKB-Nederland with the Deputy Ministers of Economic Affairs, Finance and the Interior confirms the expectation that electronic invoicing is going to be the norm.”
Market growth for ING unit
Billington and Anachron ING benefits from the combined forces of its Billington unit and Anachron. Billington is a full-service provider of electronic invoicing solutions for the corporate (B2B) and consumer markets. Anachron is specialised in developing electronic invoicing solutions which are made available through the internet. “We have been developing solutions for e-invoicing since 1999. Via our customers’ websites we present invoices with interesting functionality that optimise both the outgoing and incoming flows of invoices. This makes it possible for customers to consult the e-archive at any given time, providing them not only with information on the status of their invoices but also with the ability to answer customer questions quicker. It also allows recipients to retrieve invoicing data automatically in their own system, creating important cost savings for them too. Used in more than 25 countries, our e-billing solutions are of course completely compliant with all EU regulations. We elected to join forces with ING because of the international network of ING Payments & Cash Management and its leading position both in the Netherlands and abroad,” said Anachron CEO Frank Hoekstra.
Facilitating payments is one of ING’s core activities. Combining its knowledge of payment processes with innovations in the field of electronic invoicing, ING offers a complete range of products from invoicing to payments. This makes ING even better positioned to benefit from a large portion of expected market growth.
Advantages of e-invoicing
Robert Heisterborg: “For companies the advantages of electronic invoicing are quicker payments and better working capital management, on top of the cost savings provided by the transition from manual paper invoicing to automated e- invoicing. Invoices can also be paid automatically.” At the same time, consumers also benefit from electronic invoicing. Heisterborg: “Consumers get their own archive containing all their important invoicing information and an electronic expenditure book providing easy-to-access product information. It’s a simple way to pay invoices.”
Joseph Norris on 
Hele Hammer on