Hokodo and Fuse Collaborate to Enhance Credit Offering in UK

Hokodo, a provider of digital trade credit solutions, has joined forces with Fuse, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered transaction analytics firm, to enhance Hokodo’s credit offering for businesses in the United Kingdom.

By leveraging Fuse’s credit risk and income verification tools, Hokodo aims to provide more personalized and appropriate credit products, enabling businesses to access credit options that were previously unavailable to them, the companies said in a Tuesday (Sept. 12) press release.

This partnership is set to streamline the lending process and expand credit lines for existing customers while also catering to the needs of sole traders and others who often struggle to access credit through traditional channels, according to the press release.

Hokodo’s collaboration with Fuse allows lenders to gain a more accurate profile of a borrower’s financial vulnerability and affordability, the release said. Fuse’s credit risk and income verification tools enable Hokodo to evaluate customers, providing insights into repayment patterns on previous loans. By utilizing these tools, Hokodo can offer finance options to businesses that were previously excluded from credit.

Noting there are over 3 million sole traders operating in the U.K. alone, the companies said their partnership highlights the significant potential of the micro-business finance market, per the release.

Hokodo recently obtained a full European payments license, marking a significant milestone in its journey to enhance B2B payment options across Europe with its B2B buy now, pay later (BNPL) offering, according to the press release.

With operations now available in seven of Europe’s largest markets, Hokodo aims to enable 1 million businesses to access a better way to pay by 2025, the release said.

By leveraging Fuse’s AI transaction analytics and open banking data, Hokodo can make better risk decisions, offer credit to more buyers and gain a deeper understanding of buyer behavior in a B2B context, per the release.

Merchants need to deliver the same frictionless and seamless purchasing experiences that younger B2B buyers are used to enjoying when making purchases as consumers, Hokodo CEO Louis Carbonnier told PYMNTS in an interview posted in August 2022.

“In their day-to-day purchases from [marketplaces like] Amazon, these [millennials] have a great seamless experience and then they come to the workplace, and they have to procure on email and blue screens,” Carbonnier said. “That [only] makes the disconnect [bigger].”

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