Two and Allianz Trade partner to develop ‘b-commerce’ market
- Trade credit insurer and B2B e-commerce payments platform partner to support growth in SME trade
- New offer integrates payments technology and insurance expertise
- Provides instant trade credit decisions between buyer and seller at the time of checkout
Two, the pioneering business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce payments platform, and Allianz Trade, the world leader in trade credit insurance, have formed a partnership to grow the ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ (BNPL) finance market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their clients.
The companies have combined Allianz Trade’s more than 100 years of experience in trade credit insurance with Two’s cutting-edge B2B BNPL technology. This provides businesses with real-time data, enabling them to make automated trade credit decisions. For the first time, B2B e-commerce offers a seamless and instant purchasing experience.
Fixing online B2B trade
Innovation in both digital payments and the provision of online finance to support it have progressed at breakneck speed in recent years, making global commerce more connected than ever. However, in the same century where blockchain technology is a reality, electric vehicles are commonplace, and quantum computing is around the corner, B2B sellers still lack the instant and easy payment experience available to consumers (B2C).
They are still facing last century’s challenges of using paper cheques and receipts, long transaction times for cross border payments, credit assessments on their buyers, and tedious manual back-end processes. Businesses can now expect to benefit from the same level of service as B2C, be it paying later when purchasing and preserving cash for other uses, or benefiting from a seamless, integrated and instant online purchasing experience, finally fixing B2B e-commerce (b-commerce).
“Thanks to our partnership with Allianz Trade, merchants get conversion rates of up to 40% on B2B purchases, instant credit decisions, approval rates of over 90%, and buyer credit limits of £100,000+. Business buyers get the payment terms they need plus a seamless purchasing experience,” said Stavros Tamvakakis, Co-Founder, Two.
“Allianz Trade is a scalable partner with a deep history in B2B. This partnership represents a unique opportunity to leverage decades of localised data with a global reach to solve B2B in the UK and beyond,” said Enrique Elias, Head of Expansion, Two.
“We have a role to play in helping the business community and our clients prepare for this new world of online trade, and to be the enabler of the new b-commerce market,” said Sarah Murrow, CEO Allianz Trade in UK and Ireland. “As the market leader of trade credit insurance, we are uniquely positioned to offer best in class digital trade credit solutions created for BNPL providers. We are excited about our partnership with an innovative player like Two.”
Fixing b-commerce through instant trade credit assessment online
As part of their partnership, Allianz Trade assesses credit requests instantly through its API (Application Programming Interface), which integrates both companies’ respective internal e-commerce and underwriting systems, helping Two to make financing decisions on the spot.
“E-Commerce is booming in B2B and traditional payment methods don’t allow online sellers and market places to grasp the full potential. Allianz Trade has developed the assets to secure B2B online trading by providing real time credit decisions and insurance anywhere in the world, confirming our global leadership as the key enabler for this new business trend,” said François Burtin, Global Head of Transformation, Allianz Trade.
Fintech companies are seeking out more efficient and secure methods to enable B2B growth. Two is fixing b-commerce by helping B2B players trade online without the operational complexity and the credit-fraud risk
Meanwhile finance industry players such as Allianz Trade are responding with innovation in the provision of both online and offline access to cover, whether through brokers, direct clients or finance platforms.