Interest Rate Impact on Supplier Early Payment

The Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates. 

These increases can affect all types of funding, regardless of industry. So what does this mean for your suppliers?

Coupled with the supply chain’s fight against inflation, materials are more costly whether you’re purchasing to manufacture or to resell.

Are any funding options available that won’t force suppliers to increase their prices or push them out entirely? According to our data, there is: supply chain finance.

Where Our Data Shows Consistency

Supply chain finance (SCF) is a means for buyers to pay their invoices at a later date while still providing faster access to cash for suppliers. Typically, funders purchase a buyer’s invoice for a nominal fee, extending the payment term for that buyer while paying the supplier before the invoice’s maturation date. Afterwards, the buyer pays the bank the invoice amount directly.

Minimizing the effects of soaring interest rates on both loans and debt, trends show that while other financing methods are becoming more expensive, SCF will hold relatively steady.

We’ve found that interest rate increases have had zero impact on supplier trading behavior over the last 5+ years. Early payments have remained steady (~75+%) despite the base rate fluctuating between 0.1% to 2.75+%.

Why SCF is Still a Great Solution

For smaller sub-investment companies, SCF may be the best option for financing.  Their rates increase faster than for investment grade businesses, so a smaller company is left having to pay painful amounts to keep in business, risking accessibility to customers.

Through SCF, trading doesn’t falter as much. In 2009, Electrical Components International (ECI) was a major supplier to Whirlpool, who was running a supply chain financing program with PrimeRevenue. ECI needed funding and relied on SCF to keep their business from going bankrupt.

Supply chain finance offers a lifeline.