Factofrance, the market leader in French factoring, has bought a 12% share in Trust & Pay, the largest operator in the market for global solutions for business-to-business cash flows, electronic invoicing, electronic payments and online receivables financing. This partnership confirms the intention of Trust and Pay (www.trust-and-pay.com ) to become a global platform for banking and financial services, to serve major organisations and to enter on to the European stage.

A European dimension

Factofrance will bring both its expertise in invoice processing and accounts receivable financing and access to the other entities of the General Electric Group. Factofrance will initially use the platform in its supplier relationships, for the fiscal dematerialisation of invoices.

The service will then be offered to Factofrance's clients, allowing them to integrate the application into their internal accounting systems and obtain online receivables financing. The platform may also be adapted to GE Medical Systems. Over the long term, the venture could be used to benefit all members of the General Electric Group in Europe as well as their suppliers.

There is a huge growth potential in the market for electronic invoicing. Of the 2 billion invoices exchanged every year only 3% are electronic. This is despite the fact that online payment would reduce costs by over 50% and speed up receivables recovery. This operation reflects the strategic position held by the BRED bank on the e-commerce value chain.

Trust & Pay, the first multi-service platform entirely dedicated to cash movements

Electronic invoicing: Trust & Pay provides a tailor-made electronic dispatch and processing service to companies issuing a large number of invoices.

Electronic payment: invoices processed using the Trust & Pay platform can subsequently be settled online. This is done using traditional methods such as transfers and LCs for collection. The company offers guaranteed authentication and a non-refusal mechanism for the transaction through digital certification processes offered by companies such as Click & Trust

Receivables financing: Once an invoice has been dispatched to the client, the company can obtain rapid financing for it through our online factoring and transaction discount service.

Partners:

b-process , the electronic invoicing specialist, is owned by Axa, Natexis Banques Populaires, the Caisse des Dépôts, the BRED bank and I-Source, a new technologies investment fund. It has designed and operates an Electronic Invoice Presentment & Payment platform known as BillManager^TM.

b-process contact:
Caroline Mauguy
cmauguy@b-process.com
Tel: 33 (0)1 55 50 48 44
Fax: 33 (0)1 55 50 48 49

The BRED Banque Populaire is the largest of the Banque Populaire group of retail banks. It is a major player in inter-company cash flow management, and it developed one of the original digital certification systems through its Click & Trust subsidiary.

BRED contact:
Françoise La Balme
flabalme@bred.fr
Tel: 33 (0)1 40 04 72 23
Fax: 33 (0)1 40 04 70 99