Business data FinTech ForwardAI has teamed up with working capital platform C2FO to offer C2FO's small business customers access to ForwardAI's cash flow forecasting and planning portal.
As the companies said in a news release Thursday (June 23), the partnership allows C2FO to integrate cash flow forecasts with its online platform, which in turn lets clients streamline their day-to-day cash flow management and operations.
See also: C2FO Debuts CashFlow+ Card to Speed Invoice Payments
The partnership comes a week after C2FO debuted its CashFlow+ Card, which lets businesses expedite their invoice payments without the traditional discount for early payments.
Customers who use the card can select invoices they want to be paid early, then have the entire balance of each approved invoice transferred to their cards, which can be used any place Visa cards are accepted.
"Our partnership with ForwardAI bolsters the features that the C2FO platform offers to our customers with a new cash flow forecasting module," said Ragui Selwanes, chief product and technology officer for C2FO. "The ability to make educated predictions about the future state of cash flow will be priceless for our customers daily, but in particular as they continue to navigate the many challenges all businesses are currently facing due to supply chain woes and inflation."
ForwardAI’s Co-founder and CEO Nick Chandi noted that cash flow forecasting can often be difficult for business owners, who have to sacrifice work hours combing through spreadsheets.
“Direct accounting data-based cash flow forecasting allows for deep business insights and will help C2FO's customers manage their working capital even more efficiently,” he said.
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PYMNTS spoke to Chandi last year about his company’s technology, which both pulls data from accounting systems and pushes it back in.
That means when a bank integrates with this technology and allows access to its payment rails, bills and due dates can be delivered, outstanding invoices can be paid, and accounting systems can be updated.
“We have heard from two very large financial institutions so far, where they’re very interested in solving this payment problem for their customers,” Chandi said, noting their preference to use their own rail rather than outside processors like PayPal.
“These FinTechs or banks are competing to keep customers on their website [by] offering them more features, more functionality and keeping them more engaged,” Chandi said.
