RBS currently is the only UK bank that provides e-invoicing. The company has to work hard to be at the forefront of new developments in this fast-changing area. The link between e-invoicing and Supply Chain Finance (SCF) is a special area of interest. The central question that RBS wants to answer is: how can using electronic rather than paper invoicing lead to better management of working capital, optimal financing structures for corporates, and better control of payables and liquidity?
Adding value for customers
RBS acknowledges that, while e-invoicing might not be essential for SCF, it can greatly contribute to it. And banks need to think of new ways of adding value for their customers. Eric Lemmens, Global Head of Trade Finance at RBS, believes that “the drivers for adopting e-invoicing in conjunction with SCF might have changed over the last couple of years. Today, our customers’ major topical concerns are risk and liquidity; so, we can expect to see the focus shifting towards how this joint proposition can help them better manage their risk and liquidity measures.”
Overcoming difficulties
RBS doesn’t deny that integrating e-invoicing and SCF is easier said than done. This is still very much a live issue. Saeed Rezavi, Global Head of e-Invoicing & Open Account at RBS is aware of the difficulties: “Organisations are faced with the task of managing solutions from multiple providers and are not always able to achieve what works best for them. An end-to-end e-Invoicing and SCF solution can help in many ways.” Banks should ask themselves the question: what role can we play?
Cláudia Wada on