Ebury launches supplier payment finance in New Zealand

Ebury has launched its Supplier Payment Finance product in New Zealand, targeting small and medium-sized businesses that trade internationally.

The product offers unsecured finance for importers paying local and overseas suppliers, with pricing from 0.35% to 1.2% a month and repayment terms of up to 150 days. It also lets businesses manage foreign-exchange exposure associated with overseas invoices as part of the same arrangement.

The launch extends a product line already active in Australia and Europe. Supplier Payment Finance has grown by about 35% year-on-year globally and has become one of Ebury's larger business lines.

New Zealand importers often face a gap between paying suppliers and receiving, selling and generating cash from goods, particularly when those suppliers are based in markets such as China, the United States and Europe. Traditional lenders have often required property-backed security or taken a more cautious approach to lending to smaller firms, putting pressure on working capital for trading businesses.

Rick Roache, Managing Director APAC at Ebury, said the product is designed to address that problem.

"At the moment, SMEs looking for capital to forward-pay supplier invoices have to navigate a failed system. We're filling that gap by providing a product that is built for how international trade actually works," Roache said.

Supplier Payment Finance is structured as an unsecured loan tailored to a client's profile and usage. Businesses can use it to pay suppliers in currencies including AUD, RMB, USD and EUR without committing cash at the point of payment.

Bank retreat

Ebury argues that many smaller firms in New Zealand struggle to secure flexible trade-related finance even when they are actively importing and selling goods. That creates a financing mismatch for businesses that need to pay suppliers upfront while waiting for stock to arrive and be sold.

Roache said the financing need is closely tied to currency risk and the trading cycle.

"Currently, if you need to pay your supplier in China or the US, you need to manage the currency risk, and you need time for your goods to arrive and sell through before that payment is due. We handle all of that in one go," he said.

He was also critical of the stance domestic lenders have taken towards smaller businesses seeking trade finance.

"From what we've seen, New Zealand's banks have largely walked away from SME lending, while the ones still in the room want your house as collateral before they'll have a conversation with you. That's putting the brakes on the kinds of businesses in New Zealand that are actually driving this economy forward," Roache said.

Regional push

Ebury entered the Australian market with the product in 2019, and Australia has since become one of its leading lending markets. The company established a presence in Auckland in 2024 and is now using that base to broaden its offering in New Zealand.

Founded in London in 2009, Ebury now operates through more than 45 offices across more than 30 regulated markets. Its wider business focuses on international payments, foreign exchange services, business accounts, financing and application programming interfaces for companies trading across borders.

In New Zealand, the new lending offer places Ebury more directly in competition with banks and non-bank lenders serving importers and other small businesses with overseas supplier relationships. The product is aimed at firms that need short-term funding to preserve cash while maintaining supply chains and settling invoices in foreign currencies.

Roache said the company is bringing an approach tested in other markets to New Zealand.

"We've seen what's worked overseas, and now we're bringing it to New Zealand. We're a global fintech solving a local problem," he said.