FCI (formerly Factors Chain International) will soon roll out a new supply chain finance platform to enable its network of 400 banks and factoring firms to fund their clients’ suppliers anywhere in the world.

Under the name FCIreverse, the initiative will be based on the Demica platform, with the first pilots expected to be launched in Q3 2017.

Demica, a specialist provider of working capital solutions, already facilitates the funding of over US$60bn of trade receivables a year for more than 3,000 large corporates and SMEs in Europe, North America and Asia.

Through the new platform, FCI members will be able to partner with other users who have the necessary licences and operational capabilities to onboard suppliers in countries where they themselves do not operate.

“This will help to open up the reverse factoring market beyond the large corporates with revenue greater than US$1bn that are to date the primary market using this product,” FCI says in a statement.

The platform will be open to the network’s members on a pay-as-you go basis, which the FCI says will allow smaller members who focus on companies with less than US$1bn in revenue to economically offer reverse factoring.

The launch of FCIreverse has been underway for more than two years, and is, according to FCI, much needed to facilitate what is now “one of the fastest growing segments of trade finance”.

FCI selected Demica out of three finalists after an extensive request for information process in 2016 and a request for proposals in 2017.

Commenting on the decision, FCI’s secretary general Peter Mulroy says: “The key step was to identify a proven platform provider with a strong background and experience in buyer-led payables programmes that was able to meet our members’ technology, security and compliance policies needs but also ensured a sound user experience for the anchor buyers and their domestic and international suppliers. Demica has already been adopted by a number of global banks within the FCI network, and with its recent release of new interfaces and supplier onboarding tools it stood out as our partner of choice.”

Demica’s CEO, Matt Wreford, adds: “The partnership with FCI will add a large number of new users and funders to our platform: this will not only accelerate the number of working capital programmes managed by Demica but will also help us achieve our goal to have the most comprehensive global funding network in the world.”