Alternative lender Liberis announces fintech integration with Xero

Liberis adds to growing network of distribution partners.

Leading UK-based merchant cash advancer Liberis has partnered with accounting software firm Xero. The deep integration will open up seamless access to Liberis' funding products for Xero users.

A specialist in small business accounting, Xero has over one million subscribers in more than 180 countries. Those users will now be able to access Liberis’ merchant cash advances in-app or on-site.

These advances can be managed in real-time using the Xero technology platform, giving businesses an accurate overview of their cash-flows.

Liberis’ signature product, business cash advance, is repaid as a pre-set proportion of future card transactions. This means there is no precise term for the advances; they are repaid more quickly if a borrower’s business is booming, and more gradually if things are quiet.

“We use repayment technology that makes it simple for business owners to access and then repay the finance they need to grow, with an automatically diverted, pre-agreed percentage of every card transaction being sent to Liberis until the advance is repaid,” explained Liberis CEO Rob Straathof (pictured). “Crucially this means that instead of a fixed amount every month, repayments are flexible and proportional to the revenue of the business.”

The tight-knit partnership between the two firms will allow small businesses to more easily reconcile their bank accounts and liabilities.

The accounting data that Xero stores on its small business customers will be a powerful source of information for Liberis to base its lending decisions on, and should serve to grease the wheels in this partnership.

Liberis has announced a string of these sorts of partnerships over the past year. In addition to Xero, the lender is also integrated with Worldpay and Sage Pay, and struck a referrals deal with Just Eat in March.