Long payment periods can force smaller suppliers to hold back money for several months, even when the customer is a large and established company.
– In practice, this means that small businesses can finance the operating capital of large companies, says Invoier CEO Mats Holmfeldt.
Would you like to know more about Invoier's invoice financing? Book a meeting here
When a smaller company wins a large international client, revenue increases and growth accelerates – but the new client may not pay until 60, 90, or 120 days later. In the meantime, salaries, purchases, and taxes must still be paid.
– Paradoxically, success can therefore create a funding gap. Those who have poorer and more expensive access to capital have to bear the financing for those who have significantly better access to both bank financing and the capital market, says Mats Holmfeldt.
Invoier has built a digital marketplace where companies can free up working capital from their invoices, using real-time transaction data and automated risk assessment.
Late payments slow down growth
According to Intrum’s European Payment Report 2026, on average 12.13 percent of European companies’ revenues are paid late, and 57 percent report that late payments have caused them to miss their growth targets.
– The capital exists. The demand exists. But the capital does not always reach sound companies that need it to be able to carry out the deals they have already won. What is lacking is a better infrastructure that connects the two, says Mats Holmfeldt.
The risk is assessed per business, not just per company.
Traditionally, financing for smaller companies has been based on balance sheets and historical credit ratings. Invoier instead assesses the risk at the transaction level.
– An invoice to an established international customer with a proven payment history does not pose the same risk as a completely new business relationship. When we can assess the risk more precisely at both company and transaction level, the capital can also be priced and allocated more efficiently, says Mats Holmfeldt.
Invoier's next step is to connect even more growing companies with banks and institutional investors, so that more people can avoid bearing their customers' payment times on their own balance sheet.
– It’s about a more efficient distribution of capital in the European economy. Because when capital can move faster, companies can also grow faster, says Mats Holmfeldt.
