Globally liquid, locally hedged
Export financing
via factoring
Secure financing
Financial stability in uncertain markets
International business offers enormous growth potential – but it also entails risks: long transport routes, uncertain payment behaviour and legal hurdles in the target markets. Anyone who exports must be flexible, capable of acting and financially secure.
With export factoring from A.B.S., you can professionally secure your cross-border receivables – and remain liquid, protected and ready for growth even with long payment terms.
Export factoring: Growing risks in international trade
Global payment behaviour has deteriorated – especially abroad, delayed payments and insolvencies are on the rise. So it’s no wonder that export factoring is becoming increasingly popular as a bank-independent financing instrument. It offers:
- Immediate liquidity
- professional default protection
- personal relief in processing and dunning
A.B.S. - Your strong partner for international receivables financing
If you want to export successfully, you need more than capital: you need a partner who knows the legal differences, cultural customs and local payment terms – and is networked in the respective markets.
Reliable foreign financing can therefore only be offered by factoring institutions that, like A.B.S., have their own branches or a well-developed and reliable network in the partner countries concerned.
A.B.S. is active in Europe and the 35 OECD member states – through its own branches and long-established networks. We support you with expertise, proximity to the market and resilient solutions for:
- Payment targets of 60-90 days (e.g. France, USA)
- Language barriers & legal peculiarities
- Enforcement of claims abroad
Countering the risks of export financing with full service factoring
Export transactions harbour particular risks for exporting companies. This is due in particular to the creditworthiness of customers and the problems of judicial recovery from defaulting payers in foreign countries.
In addition, foreign customers sometimes utilise very long payment terms: in France, for example, 60 to 90 days payment terms are the norm, in the USA even 90 days or more.
For this reason, the exporter not only becomes a supplier, but often also a lender to its foreign customers over the period in question.
Marc Meier
Managing Director A.B.S. Global Factoring AG
Export financing with Full Service Factoring:
Your advantages
If medium-sized companies involve us in their foreign transactions, A.B.S. assumes three functions for their processing:
As factoring allows you to receive cash very quickly, even if your customer has not yet paid, you can utilise cash discounts to a greater extent with factoring and thus indirectly increase your earnings. Another competitive advantage is that you are able to plan your cash inflow precisely and are therefore not dependent on the payment behaviour of your customers for months on end. This allows you to grant customers longer payment terms without having to demand the unpopular “prepayment” payment method.
- Immediate liquidity (usually 90% within 24 hours)
- No longer dependent on the payment behaviour of your customers
- Utilisation of discounts & purchase rebates
- More room for manoeuvre for new markets and large orders
Your advantage: Comprehensive security.
- Protection against bad debts abroad
- Del credere insurance for maximum security
- No recourse in the event of non-payment by insured customer
In addition to the risks already familiar from domestic trade, there are other risks such as political risks (e.g. due to unstable conditions or strikes) as well as legal and intercultural differences. However, it is mainly economic risks that threaten you. These can be caused by exchange rate fluctuations, changes in the price of raw materials, wage increases, protective tariffs and much more.
In addition to the usual protection of foreign transactions through Hermes guarantees, blanket export guarantees (APG) and guarantees (letters of credit), factoring enables you to protect yourself against bad debt losses abroad. Our decision to offer you factoring for a specific target country is based solely on a politically neutral country risk assessment. The conditions are then agreed in a framework agreement for a large number of deliveries, customer relationships and a manageable period of time.
This means that renegotiation is always possible to take account of emerging new developments.
Your advantage: professional accounts receivable management.
- Taking over credit checks, dunning and debt collection
- Relief for your accounting and administration
- Local expertise for linguistic & legal challenges
Language barriers, currency risks and differing legal systems are just some of the many factors that complicate receivables management across national borders. In most cases, it is not feasible for a medium-sized company to carry out professional accounts receivable management from a distance. However, if you utilise export factoring as full service factoring from A.B.S., you can place this task in experienced hands. For you, this means that we handle the bookkeeping for your receivables just as professionally as the dunning process, legal proceedings and debt collection.
We first check the creditworthiness of your customers, monitor the further receipt of payments and, if necessary, take all the necessary measures, including professional dunning and debt collection through to legal proceedings. This means that you can also largely dispense with your own debtor management in relation to your foreign activities.
Better rating: The genuine sale of receivables has a positive effect on your company’s balance sheet – and therefore also on your rating: Follow-up financing becomes more favourable and is easier to obtain. This also means that short-term debt capital can be reduced thanks to the cash generated.
Possibility for sales financing: If you also use factoring for your international business, you can grant your customers long payment terms without suffering liquidity bottlenecks yourself. This gives you an attractive marketing tool that sets you apart from the competition and helps you expand your business abroad.
Legal certainty: With an experienced partner like A.B.S. at your side, you will find it easier to deal with different laws, languages, mentalities, payment and business practices. For example, we can call in experts from our network of internationally active lawyers when dealing with jurisdiction abroad.
Risk distribution: It can make sense to opt for a new corporate strategy, especially if domestic demand is sluggish. Use the scaling effects associated with your foreign sales to minimise your risk.
Competitive advantages that pay off
With export factoring, you win:
- Planning security in international business
- Better creditworthiness through balance sheet optimisation
- Increased flexibility in payment terms
- Professional receivables management across national borders
- Risk diversification through international customer structure
It’s that simple: Your export financing with A.B.S.
- You are exporting goods or services.
- We purchase your receivables.
- You usually receive 90 % within 24 hours.
- We take care of the remaining processing, incoming payments and security.
Successfully open up new markets!
Export business doesn’t have to be complicated – with the right partner behind you. A.B.S. secures your foreign receivables and creates the necessary scope for growth, expansion and international strength!
Further examples from practice
