Worldline, working in the payments industry, has announced it has partnered with 4thWave, a Finance and Banking As-A-Service (BAAS) Platform provider, to launch an integrated payment and supply chain financing offering for India and South Asia.
Through this partnership, Worldline will launch a digital platform that brings together lenders and businesses to facilitate Supply Chain Financing, Collections and Payments on a single platform. The platform will facilitate businesses to access affordable finance on one hand and helps to optimize B2B payments across multiple payment rails on the other, it said in an official statement.
The offering will address a diverse range of working capital financing use cases for MSMEs and large corporates alike, across various industry segments. The partnership will leverage the extensive merchant and banking partner network of Worldline India, the statement added.
Commenting on the launch, Vishal Maru, Executive Vice President, Merchant Payment Services Worldline, said, "We trust that the expertise of 4thWave will help Worldline develop and implement relevant products and services to address the working capital and supply chain financing challenges of the businesses in the short term and long run."
Partha Saha, Senior Vice President, Global Markets, 4thWave Inc. said, "We are confident that 4thWave’s experience in Supply Chain Financing in emerging economies, coupled with Worldline’s deep payments expertise will alleviate the B2B Payments and financing issues of the businesses, while catalyzing inclusive economic growth in India and South Asia."
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted most businesses, and the traditional lending models limited easy access to finance. The credit gap in India alone stands at over Rs20 trillion despite the contemporaneous extended credit environment. A survey conducted in 2020 highlighted that 9 in 10 respondents in India are concerned over a deterioration of their working capital cycle and short-term financing flexibility.
While the region is witnessing a lot of innovation in B2C payments, large and costly gaps remain in the B2B segment, with most of the businesses reporting high Accounts Payable (AP) processing costs as a major challenge with traditional payment methods.
