Tradeshift launches a $3bn factoring business to improve access to cash for SMEs

As we all know (and feel) there is an urgent need amongst SMEs for cash, liquidity, and for innovation in the financing and lending space which is dominated by dinosaur-like institutions like banks. Thanks to a new funding solution by Capital Aid, TradeShift will be able to fund B2B transactions on the Tradeshift platform across all of Europe with a strong focus on the UK.

The new service provided by CapitalAid will address the cash-flow problems faced by most businesses today, by offering them instant payment on their invoices with a ONECLICK solution covering the entire approval process. The aim is to disrupt the current credit market by offering instant cash against invoices — cheaper & faster than any bank can do today.

Top Image Systems wins major European Digital Mailroom contract

Top Image Systems, won a six-figure eFLOW Digital Mailroom contract at a Central Bank in Europe; the bank is fully owned by the federal government and plays an integral part in both the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem.

The bank chose the eFLOW(R) mailroom automation solution to manage its current volume of some 300,000 documents per year. The prestigious financial institution selected eFLOW because of its high-performance, multiple-OCR/ICR-engine recognition platform and because of its open architecture and scalability. In future, the Bank aims to employ eFLOW to process its financial statements and to implement the eFLOW INVOICE solution for automated AP processing.

ComReg: forcing up e-billing is a change of contract and a breach of statutory regulations

Hail, hail ComReg! The Irish ComReg (Commission for Communications Regulation) quite probably is at the forefront of consumer protection when it comes to e-billing adoption. In this case communications provider EirCom began changing customers to e-billing. Even though EirCom notified the affected customers on three separate occasions, under ComReg rules EirCom should have given its customers the chance to reject or opt out of it.

ComReg stated that the implementation of the online billing represented a change to the customers’ contracts, and that EirCom had not complied with its statutory obligations by the Universal Service Regulations to notify customers of such modifications.

RBS e-Invoicing and SCF wins Award for Innovation in Trade and Supply Chain Finance

As one of the first banks to launch e-Invoicing, RBS has continued to innovate, recognising the benefits of linking e-Invoicing with Supply Chain Finance (SCF). RBS has been recognised by The Banker magazine for this innovation, winning The Banker’s Innovation in Trade and Supply Chain Finance 2013.

RBS successfully integrated their e-Invoicing and SCF offerings, allowing e-invoices to be sent directly from the e-Invoicing platform into the MaxTrad™ Global Trade Channel. The solution creates a straight-through process for clients, rapidly decreasing invoice cycle times and driving greater opportunities to utilise approved payables finance. This allows them to offer clients a seamless end-to-end solution.

Basware and CEDEX create largest auto manufacturer e-invoicing network

Basware has partnered with CEDEX e-Autohub to connect automotive manufacturers in Europe and North America with suppliers in China. The agreement enables the connection of 5,000 Basware and 2,500 CEDEX e-Autohub suppliers and customers. A number that is expected to grow even further in the next future.

CEDEX e-Autohub ensures that the invoices of Chinese suppliers meet the customer requirements in Europe and North America, including the global invoicing standard used by major automotive manufacturers. The partnership should enable easier transmission of e-invoices between manufacturerers. Lowering the payment cycle with ten to fifteens days on average. This should lead to even better relationships between suppliers and carsellers.

Belgian government moves to full B2G electronic invoicing

The new system should result in a sharp drop in the administrative burden both for the government and for businesses. It should also provide a powerful tool in monitoring and reducing payment terms.

With e-invoicing the Flemish government wants to achieve an efficiency gain of € 7.6 million on a total of 700,000 invoices per year. The implementation of the system goes through various phases. Around January 1, 2014 a digital billing platform is erected to make it possible to receive invoices. As from 1 January 2015, companies have the opportunity to send digital invoices to all entities of the Flemish government. By 2017, all invoices are to be received and processed digitally.

France introduces “choc de simplification” to cut down on red tape for SME’s

According to the European Commission, a 25 percent reduction in administrative costs for businesses could see the country’s GDP rise by 0.8 percent in the short term and 1.4 percent in the long term. This should have help the French finance Minister Pierre Moscovici when he announced announced a series of measures that are aimedto simplify live for SME’s.

One of the measures is to “facilitate relationships between business and government” by the development of online billing and high security systems for online payments.

Indonesia tests e-Billing for tax payments

Indonesia’s Directorate General of Tax (DJP), Ministry of Finance has introduced electronic billing for tax payments or e-Billing, in order to minimise human error and cut the queues.

The e-Billing service is currently available in testing mode to those taxpayers registered in regional DJP offices in Jakarta and West Java, and large taxpayers. They will need to register at sse.pajak.go.id using their Tax Identification Number (TIN). Upon registration, users can fill out their personal details which will be stored by the system, and can then obtain a billing code from the system.

BREAKING: Tungsten acquires OB10 (valued at £99m) and buys a bank too!

Tungsten Corporation has agreed the conditional takeover of OB10 for £99m in cash and shares. Tungsten also signed a five-year rolling licence agreement with @UK plc to deploy its analytic software technology to enable TungstenAnalytics to be delivered across -now- Tungsten’s global e-invoicing network.

And Tungsten has another trick in its sleeve. It also decided to acquire an identified duly authorised UK bank, whose assets solely comprise short term UK gilts and/or certificates of deposit and to seek admission to trading on AIM.

Accolade Wines automates its AP, selects Basware InvoiceReady

Accolade Wines will deploy InvoiceReady to automate the more than 10.00 invoices processed annually. Additionally, Accolade Wines implements Basware’s scan & capture service to convert supplier invoices to e-invoices. That way the company can process all invoices electronically regardless in which format they are received. Accolade Wines is also going to implement InvoiceReady Mobile. Recently announced by Basware, InvoiceReady mobile enables the company’s employees to review and approve tasks anytime and anywhere from their mobile devices like Iphones, Ipads and Android-phones.

These solutions, to be implemented in the U.S. and other regions globally, enable Accolade Wines to eliminate inefficiencies, while gaining visibility and control over its financial commitments.