Crowdz launches new anti-fraud tech for SMEs
Invoice financing and transaction company Crowdz, has today announced it will introduce fraud-detection application Invoice Check, by Trade Finance Market (TFM) as part of its SuRF Score product. Crowdz is working to create the market’s most accurate risk assessment technology for investors.
TFM will join a variety of inputs that comprise the Crowdz SuRF Score, specifically to pinpoint and combat invoice fraud, which is at an all-time high during Covid-19.
This collaboration will increase transparency and security for funders, and provide liquidity for hundreds of small businesses, many of whom have struggled to secure bank financing to bounce back from the Covid-19 crash.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Crowdz has experienced 5,000% growth in business users accelerated by a surge in demand to improve cashflow during the toughest economic downturn in decades. This growth has resulted in a $2.2m Series A+ reinvestment led by BOLD Capital Partners despite the pandemic.
CEO and co-founder of Crowdz, Payson Johnston, said the rapid increase in demand for financing meant the company would also need bolster its ability to create value and reduce risk for funders on the platform.
“In regular market conditions, let alone the current Covid-19 crisis, investors want to ensure invoice finance fraud, such as double-financing or defaulting, is not an issue.
“By introducing Invoice Check, to our SuRF Score risk assessment product, Crowdz can better protect its customers with secure, tamper-proof blockchain technology. We’re able to ensure the validity of invoices, encrypt transaction data, and mitigate double-financing. This feature comes at a crucial time when fraud is rampant, businesses are vulnerable,” he said.
Executive director of Trade Finance Market, Raj Uttamchandani, sees the collaboration with Crowdz as a demonstration of how fintechs are taking the lead in making it easier for businesses to access liquidity – much needed at this challenging time.
“Due to potential fraud, the inability to validate invoices is an obstacle for companies in obtaining finance quickly.
“Invoice Check provides a solution which utilizes blockchain in a way that has never been done before – providing funders with security and ensuring finance reaches the many small businesses which really need it, thereby protecting countless jobs and livelihoods,” he said.
