Flexibility and relationship quality are key drivers of satisfaction with invoice finance funding

Paragon Bank research shows flexibility and quality of the relationship are the key drivers of satisfaction with an invoice finance provider for both SMEs and introducers.

Paragon surveyed introducers and SMEs to explore what they want to see from the invoice finance market to drive satisfaction and encourage customer retention.

Among introducers, 72% are very satisfied with the invoice finance industry as a whole. This is due to the flexibility, pricing, variety of options available and the speed of delivery. Some introducers call for more “best practice” consistency in support and more transparency with regards to fees and charges.

When working with Paragon, 100% of introducers perceive staff as informative and knowledgeable, with 94% demonstrating a good relationship with Paragon’s invoice finance team. Over 80% of respondents also see Paragon as a good business partner with strong market knowledge. Respondents highlighted that they were satisfied with Paragon’s “speed of decision making and the ease of access to funds”.

Among SMEs, 100% of respondents are either very satisfied or satisfied with the services offered by the invoice finance market, with lack of flexibility being the main driver for switching lenders. Over 64% gave word of mouth as the reason for switching to their chosen funder.

SMEs strongly perceive Paragon’s invoice finance team as professional, efficient and personable, with overall satisfaction scored at 4.8 out of 5. Over 96% of SMEs are either satisfied or very satisfied with the level of support received from their dedicated account manager, with respondents commenting that “you can talk to Paragon”.

Adrian Taylor, head of invoice finance at Paragon, said: “Businesses need our support now more than ever and the feedback from this research is reflective of our commitment to continually improving our support of both our current and new-to-bank clients, particularly during the recent difficult times.

“We were really pleased to see such high levels of satisfaction amongst both SMEs and introducers and hugely value the insight into aspects that are the most important to both groups. As a result of the research we are moving swiftly to launch auto-drawdown of funds. Additionally, we are adjusting procedures so the processing of cash is completed quickly to ensure clients receive the maximum drawdown as early as possible.”