In the fintech universe, many have already seen the business. Although the market for electronic invoices on the stock market is still small, those who made their bet are already asking for a clue to launch their apps dedicated exclusively to this operation.
It is an alternative that allows companies, medium or small, to finance themselves in the market via the discount of these new digital invoices, mandatory since April. The potential, they insist on the City, is phenomenal, to the point that in countries like Chile it moves the equivalent of 10% of GDP. Moreover, several believe that it will soon shade the deferred paycheck, the mechanism by far preferred by SMEs to access credit.
To get an idea, these instruments moved $ 7.5 billion in September, the latest data available from the CNV, representing a total of 23,836 checks and 54% of the financing that companies obtained that month in the capital market. The invoice discount, meanwhile, represented 1%.
In perspective, the truth is that in September already showed the exponential growth that this operation will experience: until August, only 12 invoices for $ 39 million had been negotiated, then jump to 39 for a total of $ 71 million.
Run with advantage
For now, there is a fintech player in the market that has offered this solution since September and took several heads out of its competitors. Strictly speaking, I was running with an advantage, since I was linked to the business of discount bills.
Pablo Sanucci, CEO of InvoiTrade, summarizes that story. The firm has 7 years of life, manages invoices of 80 large companies and 75,000 SMEs, which means about 800,000 per month. He even received a contribution from the World Bank and an investment fund that allowed him to expand its operations to other countries.
When the electronic invoice arrived, Sanucci was ready. "InvoiTrade started in September with a collaboration alliance with Rofex for clearing, which was key because it gave us great credibility. In November we plan to launch the mobile version with biometric recognition," anticipates iProUP.
"Other players seek to offer a fintech option, completely digital. Even one or two have already requested authorization from the Stock Exchange or obtained it," he says, somewhat reluctantly. "There are also banks that are interested, although they would be platforms designed for their own customers. At least that is said," he adds.
Of course, to take the "digital leap", SMEs need advice. "Today we are helping many companies to change accounting processes to adapt to the law and the new regime. More than 70% of the invoices that were negotiated were through us," he says.
And he adds: "The check will gradually disappear, even for compliance reasons. Think of the big companies that should explain to their parent company that it is still used, when they are not handled like this anywhere else."
In the last 15 years, approximately 20,000 SMEs have operated in the capital market and there are currently more than 12,000 active. 200,000 could participate, thanks to the electronic credit invoice system.
The unknown listing
"I know of several platforms that are in the process of dedicating themselves specifically to this operation and I find it natural, because it is entirely digital. The connection between the AFIP and the Stock Exchange gives it a lot of transparency. It is easier to take it to the fintech world," he reveals. to iProUP Andrea Manavella, manager of SMEs in Criteria.
For this business to develop its full potential, it is necessary to inform. "One of the problems to overcome, beyond the situation, demand and rates, is ignorance. Lack of dissemination. A large majority of small and medium-sized firms do not know about FONDEP's participation in this market (National Productive Development Fund) ", it states.
He adds that "that fund has a limited list for the purchase of direct checks but that it also exists for invoices and is much broader, although with smaller amounts. For example, when it is not a first-line company, it is authorized to buy up to $ 15 million in bills. "
How SMEs are financed
SME investment vehicles accounted for 54% of the total funding that local companies went out to look for in the capital market in September.
By far, the preferred instrument was the deferred paycheck: $ 7,538 million. 72% had the endorsement of a Reciprocal Guarantee Society (SGR). There are other less popular investments, such as the guaranteed promissory note, which represented $ 102 million. In the case of the brand new electronic invoice, $ 71 million was traded.
Both the negotiation of checks and promissory notes showed significant increases over the same month last year (123% and 81%, respectively), but this has a lot to do with the "official hand" that intervenes through the National Productive Development Fund .
"Anyway, beyond this official support, there will always be other investors open to new instruments. Operations have already been done with companies such as Cencosud, Telefónica and Celulosa. The important thing about the role of FONDEP is to turn the wheel," he adds. Manavella
A key fact provided by the directive is that the invoices are negotiated at rates of 63%, comparable to that of direct checks. That is, without endorsement of an SGR. The so-called guaranteed checks, which do have that support, account for 72% of the market and basically facilitate access to financing at a lower cost.
"As for the intervention of the SGR, I imagine that they will play an important role in a second instance, when the invoice can be negotiated between the SMEs themselves and the guarantee is a guarantee that the market demands," suggests Manavella, already thinking of an operation evolved It is that, since they are large companies and small and medium-sized companies charge, the credit risk is low.
There are also those who assure, more immediately, that of the 1,500 large companies in Argentina, perhaps 300 are really known, which could lead to SGRs participating granting a "counter guarantee".
Manavella is not the only one that puts many tokens to this new tool, especially at a time when the local square has remained, after the reperfilation, without instruments in short-term pesos that do not involve public risk.
Martín López, wholesaler of Comafi Bank (an entity that knows a lot about SMEs and the only one that supports small business checks in the market), says to iProUP: "I think it will compete equally with e-cheq ". And he adds: "It is an instrument that even has tax advantages: with the invoice, the issuer pays at the time of collection, while with the check, it does when it issues."
"In addition, the minimum emission amounts were reduced and they will come together for all industries at $ 100,000 for December. That will also help boost momentum and give the market much more dynamism," he adds.
A sleeping giant
Santiago Lacasia, chief of advisers of the Secretariat of Productive Simplification, in charge of Pedro Inchauspe and part of the Ministry of Production and Labor, has been working on the subject for months.
"The schedule of decreasing amounts can be said to be over. We had started the pilot trial with the auto industry, with $ 9 million, but today 20 of 25 sectors of the economy are already on the $ 100,000 emission floor, and by December they will all be" , details in dialogue with iProUP. "Since March, when we just started, more than 400,000 bills were issued. Half was in the last month and today we are at a rate of 25,000 per day," says Lacasia.
According to the official, they worked side by side with the AFIP rearming the billing system. "It is the third time that has been tried. Now, the keys were to be mandatory and to have the necessary technological development. The system almost did not fail all this year. It is incredible," he takes pride. The task, in effect, was monumental.
About half of those 400,000 invoices are in what is called "modifiable status," which is the 30-day margin that every large company has to decide what to do, explains Lacasia.
"Of the rest, 25,000 were rejected for formal errors, barely 5%, which seems very reasonable. Another 25,000 were issued yesterday and of the remaining 150,000, 125,000 were canceled. Many large companies tell me: 'I used to pay 45 days and advanced to 30 ", account.
And here comes the central data regarding the assembly of the discount market: "There are 25,000 invoices for $ 30,000 million accepted, what we call formed and converted into an executive title that can be negotiated. However, do you know how many were transferred? to the Stock Exchange to be traded? Only 122. That is the measure of its potential. It can produce an explosion of SME access to the market, "he concludes.
