Transcription

• Speaker #0

  Welcome to FinTrans, the podcast series where we explore the hot trends and news in the financial sector with experts. Today, I'm welcoming Nicolas Pinto. He's been working in a fintech space for over eight years. And if you spend some time on LinkedIn or X, you've probably come across him. Nicolas is one of the most engaged voices in the industry, a true top voice. recognized for expertise in embedded finance, payments, and credits. He is head of marketing and partnerships at Rolling Funds, which has developed a platform enabling businesses to access B2B BNPL services. And that's exactly what we are going to talk about today. BNPL, Buy Now, Pay Later, the concept we all know as consumers. I buy now, I pay later. and almost invisible. But when you apply this model to the business world, what really changes? In this episode, we will break down B2B BNPL into three essential building blocks, onboarding, scoring, and financing, to understand how this model reinvents business financing and how it helps with cash flow and growth. So Nicolas, I've already introduced you briefly, but how would you describe yourself in your own words?

• Speaker #1

  Hi everyone, I'm Nicolas Pinto. I have been navigating the fintech world for over eight years now, with a strong focus on marketing and customer acquisition, as we call it growth. Along the way, I have the opportunity to explore multiple areas of the industry, payments, and even banking infrastructure, particularly in the core banking space. And more recently, I joined Rolling Funds, a company specialized in the B2B BNPL, with a clear mission to transform the B2B purchasing experience into a genuine growth level for businesses. In practical terms, we enable professional buyers to benefit from payment terms of 30, 60, 90 or even up to 180 days. On the other side, we guarantee that... B2B sellers are paid the day after the invoice or the order has been issued.

• Speaker #0

  Thank you, Nicolas, for being with us and sharing your time. Now that we know you a bit better, let's dive into the topic by unpacking the concept and challenges behind BNPL. And first, I'd like to go back to the differences compared to consumer BNPL.

• Speaker #1

  Although B2B solutions share some similarities with B2C in terms of technology and business models, the B2B space involves a more complex onboarding and credit assessment, longer payment cycles, higher collection costs, larger transaction sizes, but also stronger customer retention dynamics, and the need to define tailored risk profiles with dedicated credit lines. for each company.

• Speaker #0

  Why is B2B BNPL becoming such a major topic today?

• Speaker #1

  We have seen that traditional lenders have often overlooked certain types of businesses. Why? Because serving them can be costly, perceived risk can be high and their needs are sometimes too specific for conventional credit tools. So this is where B2B buy now, pay later comes in. It's a hybrid approach that takes the best of traditional credit tools and make them far more accessible and digital. Often referred as embedded lending, this means a financing option is directly integrated into the purchasing journey, whether online or even at the point of sale. So a new generation of players is emerging in this space with a clear role on the market to absorb cash flow pressure and payment risk on behalf of sellers. They become a key intermediary supported by a full-tech infrastructure, bridging the gap between the payer and the recipient of the funds. In practice, these solutions integrate seamlessly into the sales flow of B2B distributors and merchants. They allow professional buyers to access payment terms almost instantly, and sellers in turn are paid in full the next day, without having to manage collections. All aspects of risk assessment, default management, and cash collection are handled by the BNPL provider. What makes B2B BNPL particularly compelling is its ability to handle large volumes of highly granular transactions on a daily basis. And to do so in a way that is simple, fast, scalable and repeatable.

• Speaker #0

  That makes me wonder what concrete business needs does it address?

• Speaker #1

  Most B2B buyers are micro and small businesses. We can call them SMEs or SMBs. And they face a range of challenges. First, payment terms are getting longer. In Europe, the average went from 55 days in 2022 to 62 days in 2024. So this is a direct pressure on cash flow. Next, there is inventory management. overbuying or poor timing ties up cash in stock and storage costs, creating a real liquidity constraint. On top of that, many small businesses must advance significant sums of money to purchase products long before they are paid by their own clients. These challenges create strong expectations for both B2B distributors and sellers, as well as for buyers. For distributors and sellers, different payment solutions can increase conversion rates, sometimes by 15 to 40%, increase average order value by 10 to 40%, strengthen customer loyalty by up to 30%, but also reduce default risk by half, and provide immediate payment, ensuring a more stable cash flow. For buyers, the benefits are equally clear. A better purchasing experience with more payment options. Tools to manage cash flow and plan expenditures more effectively. Payment term approvals in just a few seconds. And the flexibility to adapt payment schedules to their needs.

• Speaker #0

  You mentioned retention. Do you have any figures from rolling funds to... illustrate BNPL's impact on businesses in terms of conversion, retention and average basket size.

• Speaker #1

  When we talk about B2B buy now, pay later, we are really talking about tangible business impact, particularly on the revenue of distributors and sellers. First, there is speed. Financing becomes almost instant, which drives more applications and higher adoption rates. As a result, the distributors offering B2B BNPL can see their sales success rates increase by up to 15%. Next comes reduced administrative burden. Paperwork, manual follow-up, and long processes become a thing of the past. Collections and tracking are automated with a greater transparency and access to data. This can translate into... 30 to 50% savings on technology, administrative costs and traditional financing operations. Then there is economic flexibility. Credit limits, for example, are adapted in real time based on each company's profile and payment behavior. Limits can range, for example, from 2,000 euros to 30,000 euros per month. and evolve over time. Good payers are rewarded with higher limits, which also boost their average order value. Even today, a 10% increase in credit limits can generate between 5% to 7% additional revenue for a distributor. Another key point is a higher approval rate with precise risk management. A buyer can be onboarded in just 2 minutes analyzed in seconds, and assigned a tailored refinancing line. This approach allows us to maintain very low default rates, typically between 0.60% and 0.90%, depending on the industry. And finally, B2B BNPL opens new markets and segments, wherever there are recurring purchases. Numerous small transactions and payment term needs, it creates value. For example, one of our distributors sees professional clients use rolling funds an average of 65 times per year. On this financed activity, some distributors can generate over 30% additional revenue.

• Speaker #0

  To understand how B2B BNPL supports cash flow and growth. Can you quickly explain why these three, onboarding, scoring and financing, are critical?

• Speaker #1

  At Rolling Fund, the entire B2B purchasing experience we integrate for distributors and B2B sellers on behalf of their professional customers is made up of these three components. KYB, your business, scoring, and finally, the financing provision, because this is a regulatory standpoint and we don't have any choice to make it like that.

• Speaker #0

  Great. So I guess that client identification is more complex in B2B than B2C. So what solutions exist to make this step smoother without compromising security?

• Speaker #1

  While KYC for know your customer focuses on verifying an individual, checking an ID, a proof of address and ensuring there is no risk of fraud. KYB, for know your business, goes much further. In B2B, it's not enough to validate a single identity. The entire business structure must be verified. This means confirming that the company exists legally, is properly registered, is compliant with tax obligations, for example, and most importantly, identifying the individuals who ultimately benefit from or control the company, the so-called ultimate beneficial owners . So if KYC is about checking a person, KYB is almost like conducting an investigation on an entire organization including its legal relationships, shareholders and sometimes subsidiaries. Naturally this makes the process far more demanding for both administratively and from a regulatory standpoint. Fortunately, modern solutions now make these easier. We have automated checks directly connected to official registries to automatically retrieve all the needed information. Risk-based approach to determine a light approach for low-risk entities and hence the one for sensitive cases. We have also artificial intelligence tools to detect suspicious patterns. and a continuous monitoring to track changes in the company over time.

• Speaker #0

  So once onboarding is complete, how do you really assess risk? Scoring is at the heart of B2B BNPL. So how do we measure a company's solvency today and how are scoring practices evolving?

• Speaker #1

  For a long time, B2B risk assessment relied primarily on manual checks. Modern models, however, leverage a far richer and more dynamic data. We no longer rely solely on annual accounts. Instead, we integrate real-time information, transaction histories, purchasing behavior, sector and geographic data, and even insights from executives' backgrounds. Each new data point feeds into the scoring, hallowing for much finer risk calibration. and importantly, increasing the financing capacity for solid businesses. It's truly a continuous, intelligent, data-driven and contextualized approach. We also no longer focus solely on whether a company has defaulted in the past, but on how it repays. Does it pay on time? How regularly? And does it respect deadlines? This gives a more nuanced and realistic view of risk. And of course, the integration of alternative data such as online behaviour, technological signals, etc. further expands access to financing. This enables the creation of a scoring system that is more inclusive, smarter, and more closely aligned with a real business behaviour.

• Speaker #0

  After scoring, decisions need to be made. Who finances what and up to what amount? So how is the final financing decision taken?

• Speaker #1

  In practice, it all starts with scoring, which evaluates companies' risk based on hundreds of data points. These results are then cross-referenced with each partner's specific criteria. Each partner means B2B distributors or sellers, for example. Every partner has its own requirements, depending on their business model, Objectives and constraints. Some partners only want to finance low-risk profiles, while others are more flexible but with defined limits. From this combination, scoring plus partner criteria, we determine whether financing will be approved, declined, or offered on a graded scale in order to assign the most appropriate credit line for the company and its needs.

• Speaker #0

  So from your side, how does Rolling Funds address these three building blocks in practice? Do you have concrete examples or client use cases?

• Speaker #1

  Our offering is built around three main pillars. The first one is KYB for Know Your Business, the scoring and the financing decision. These three elements are fully integrated into the B2B Purchasing experience. turning it into a genuine growth lever for distributors and sellers. In practical terms, this approach allows us to increase conversion rates and average order value, strengthen customer loyalty, reduce risk, accelerate credit checks and approvals, and provide working capital solutions that fit the needs of both buyers and sellers. For example, La Plateforme du Bâtiment, a subsidiary of the Saint-Gobain Group, use these all the three pillars to offer a smooth and secure purchasing experience for its professional clients. These pillars can also be used independently, depending on specific needs. KYB is used alone by partners such as Diossiassi, a credit insurance broker, but also Chausson Materiaux, a wholesale building material company. Scoring is used individually by a financier to provide a working capital financing, and we have financing decisions. that is used in standalone by a retailer like Howl the Laz in the Benelux. In short, rolling funds can support businesses easier globally or modularly. But the goal is always the same. How we can optimize the customer experience while securing and streamlining B2B financing.

• Speaker #0

  So now that we understand how rolling funds tackles these three areas today, I'd like to look ahead. And I'm wondering, what will B2B BNPL look like tomorrow?

• Speaker #1

  In the long term, B2B transactions, and we can, of course, integrate BNPL B2B in that, will inevitably shift from paper and emails to digital platforms such as SaaS, online marketplaces and digital payment rails. But we have also the integrated, instant and flexible financing that can act. as a real catalyst for this transformation. From my perspective there are four key distribution channels in this order. The first one is the B2B distributors and sellers because they are under margin pressure from manufacturers and they want to enhance their services. So these allow them to anticipate restocking, automate upselling and optimize the pricing. In second we have all the direct e-commerce. with more and more manufacturers that are selling directly through their websites. In third, we have the marketplaces, where they already integrate BNPL directly into the checkout process. And finally, in fourth, we have the offline sales, where a sales representative can simply send a payment link, and the client enters their information, and the BNPL solution instantly evaluates the credit to offer tailored payment terms.

• Speaker #0

  So what trends should we watch?

• Speaker #1

  The major trend in B2B BNPL is the extensive use of data and artificial intelligence to better manage risk and personalize financing conditions. We are moving away from a fixed scoring model based solely on financial statements and credit ratings toward a dynamic approach fueled by real-time data. AI allowed us to analyze alternative signals such as companies' payment behavior, transaction frequency, daily activity and even seasonality in revenue. The result is a faster, more precise and above all more inclusive decisions. We can now offer payment terms to companies that were previously excluded by traditional models simply because they lack historical credit data. AI also enables a true personalization, tailored payment terms, flexible amounts, and differentiated offers based on a company's profile and behavior. In short, we are moving away from a binary logic, finance or non-finance, to a much finer approach. How can we finance better for more companies while reducing risk?

• Speaker #0

  Great, so to sum it up... And to conclude this episode... B2B BNPL modernizes a model as old as commerce. It streamlines onboarding, makes scoring smarter, and accelerates access to financing. The result? More cash flow, more sales, and less friction for businesses. And obviously, with AI and data, we are heading toward BNPL that's even faster, more personalized, and more inclusive. What do you think?

• Speaker #1

  Behind the concept of B2B BNPL, the entire landscape of intercompany credit is being reinvented. With a growing cash flow need, lengthening payment terms, and often limited access to credit for micro and small businesses, B2B BNPL emerged as a modern, seamless, and integrated solution. But this is not just about shifting payment dates. This transformation redefines how businesses purchase, finance themselves, and build a customer loyalty. B2B BNPL is far more than a deferred payment service. It's a trust infrastructure between companies, giving them greater control over cash flow, improved visibility, and financial breathing room. With a high smart data utilization and seamless integration into the purchasing journey, Financing stops being a constraint and becomes a natural growth lever. At Running Funds, this is precisely our mission, to make financing a better driver of development.

• Speaker #0

  What advice would you give a company that's still reluctant to use B2B, BNPL?

• Speaker #1

  I would like to invite any interested companies to reach out to us directly on LinkedIn or through our website. We will be delighted to show how B2B BNPL can seamlessly integrate into your business operations, but also credit processes and most importantly, your customer loyalty strategy in today's challenging economic environment. We already have solid references that illustrate the real impact and value of a solution like ours. So if these topics... interest you, if you would like to explore what B2B BNPL can bring to your organization, feel free to get in touch. We will be thrilled to answer your question and discuss it further.

• Speaker #0

  Thank you, Nicolas, for being with us and sharing your insights.

• Speaker #1

  Thank you so much, Karine.