The Interface Financial Group Offers Alternative Funding Solutions to Growing SMEs as Struggling U.S. Banks Call In Loans

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Jan 6, 2012) - According to the Interface Financial Group (IFG), invoice factoring is a growing source of alternative funding for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). With struggling U.S. banks under pressure to raise capital and cut risks, some are severing the credit lines of select small-business customers, demanding that they pay off their balances rather than continue making monthly payments. IFG offers alternative funding solutions to SMEs to explore the cash flow benefits of factoring for sustained growth in 2012.

"Although consumer confidence is improving due to stronger manufacturing and steady improvements including about 100,000 jobs being added monthly, many small businesses are concerned about the news of banks severing credit more and calling in loans," said George Shapiro, chairman and chief executive officer of The Interface Financial Group (IFG). "In addition, payments from customers may still be slow. The good news is that this has created the ideal environment for factoring as an alternative funding strategy which will help them finance continued business, and sustain growth at a steady pace through 2012."

The United States Labor Department released the promising new jobs report indicating economic recovery in 2012. Even as the government said 200,000 new jobs were added and the nation's unemployment rate was at a lower 8.5 percent in December, from a revised 8.7 percent in November, SMEs must still take risk mitigation steps to insulate their businesses from the impact of cash flow volatility.

Shapiro continued, "The Labor Department's latest job statistics mean economic recovery is promising for small business enterprises, yet the recovering economy will continue to impact SMEs more so than larger enterprises because smaller businesses typically do not have large cash reserves. As a funding strategy, factoring is ideal to cover short-term cash needs during periods in which the small business needs exceed cash flow."

IFG offers spot factoring solutions that will enable an SME to sell its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash within less than 24 hours. Unlike a loan, factoring services are the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts. There are no upfront fees and no co-signers required. IFG has no minimum sales volume requirement, and professional fees are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged.

Private label solutions include export factoring, providing factoring services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; Construction Factoring; and Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they must expand and purchase inventory.

IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables and professional rates are competitive. The program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money, to spend the minimum fees, plus guarantee adequate cash flow.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)
The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources, including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, and offers cross-border transaction facilities. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 39 years of experience, IFG provides innovative accounts receivable factoring services and solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.