Barclays partners with MarketInvoice to boost access to finance

Barclays has become the first high street bank to enter a partnership with leading financial technology firm MarketInvoice in a move that will help to change the way that small and medium-sized businesses in the UK manage their cash flow and accelerate growth.

The deal comes as part of the bank’s plans to invest in up-and-coming business models for growth and MarketInvoice’s aim to extend its services to business across the UK.

Minority stake

The partnership will see Barclays taking a minority stake in MarketInvoice, which will enable the bank to give its SME customers access to the business finance firm’s innovative services.

One of MarketInvoice’s main focuses is invoice finance, with this type of finance becoming available to Barclays’ SME customers through the new deal.

MarketInvoice’s invoice finance service enables SMEs that provide other businesses with goods and services to upload or sync their invoices to the business finance provider’s platform and sell them to investors. This gives businesses quick access to finance, enabling them to fund their business.

The new partnership will enable Barclays’ SME customers in areas such as North West London, Hertfordshire and the East and West Midlands to have access to MarketInvoice’s products, with the service set to become available to the rest of the UK in 2019.

The deal is part of Barclays aim to support SMEs in the UK, with the bank recently increasing its unsecured lending amount for businesses from £50,000 to £100,000.

Good news

Commenting on the partnership, MarketInvoice’s CEO Anil Stocker said: “It’s exciting to be combining the knowledge and footprint of a 325-year-old British banking institution with MarketInvoice’s tech-led online finance solutions. Bringing this together in a strategic partnership can only mean good news for UK businesses, with the segment we’re targeting responsible for upwards of 60% of UK employment.”