Storfund set to offer US$1bn to Amazon SMEs | Financial Services (FinServ) | Fintech Magazine
Summary
The London-based fintech, Storfund has announced it will hand out $1bn in cash advances to small business operators selling through Amazon and other online European, American, and Asian marketplace. The fintech startup, which was co-founded in 2018 by former investment banker George Brintalos, provides sellers with the same or next-day access to their total Amazon balances. According to a UK government survey, $32bn worth of late invoices is owed to small firms across Britain, impacting on businesses cash flow and ultimate survival. Storfund’s fellow co-founder, Akbar Ahsan said its services would serve to alleviate the “pain of long payment terms” and provide “growth capital to e-commerce merchants.” Late last month industry experts also pointed out that the fintech’s stellar growth simply highlights how established banks are unable to adapt their technology to facilitate the needs of small business owners. Over 1.5 million businesses have been helped with government-guaranteed loans totalling over £68bn.” He added that traditional, established banks don’t work well for small businesses because their credit is as hard to underwrite as that of large corporations, yet they only want small and flexible working capital facilities - not three-year and five-year standardised term loans that suit the banks.