Online marketplace for peer-to-peer finance, Beehive Asia, has partnered with Thanachart Bank (Tbank) to offer invoice finance to SMEs in the region.

Beehive Asia, part of Beehive Global Group, which launched in 2015, is a digital platform based in Thailand that seeks to expand upon Beehive’s existing peer-to-peer (P2P) offering in the UAE.

The deal with Tbank, Thailand’s sixth-largest bank by assets, represents Beehive’s first collaboration with a bank in Asia.

In a statement on the venture, Anuwat Luengtawekul, executive vice-president of chief retail and small business banking at Tbank, explains that the new offering entails  unsecured lending, with low interest and a maximum 90% of invoice value. It also has no front-end fee and is available for businesses that are not currently Tbank customers.

Thai SMEs can access invoice finance from THB50,000 (US$1,596) with terms of up to 120 days. Finance can be accessed within 48 hours of application.

Justin Wright, Beehive head of Asia, says: “The value chain financing programme offers significant potential for Thanachart Bank to strengthen its SME product portfolio. We look forward to a strong collaboration with a view to further expansion of the partnership in the future.”