Empowering growth for e-commerce: Interview with Ricardo Pero, CEO of SellersFunding

By Edlyn Cardoza

In today’s digital world, e-commerce is unquestionably reshaping the retail industry, and small and medium e-commerce businesses operating in this space are the main force in driving this change. As entrepreneurs pave the way for new brands and unique business opportunities are created, it’s only natural that a need for a tailored financial infrastructure emerges – and that’s where SellersFunding comes in.

SellersFunding is a global financial technology company on a mission to empower growth for small and midsize e-commerce sellers. It currently is a leading FinTech provider for sellers on Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and other marketplaces.

In conversation with Ricardo Pero, CEO of SellersFunding, IBS Intelligence discusses the growth of the e-commerce industry.

Could you give us an overview of your service offering and client base?

The SellersFunding digital platform delivers a suite of financial solutions that streamlines global commerce for millions of marketplaces, including working capital, cross-border cash management, and business valuation. Bypassing the outdated process of banks and traditional lenders, SellersFunding is making the acquisition of working capital more seamless and attainable than ever before. E-commerce sellers can complete an online application form in under five minutes to receive funding up to $5 million that can be deposited in as quickly as 48 hours, giving sellers the financial freedom and control they need during these unprecedented times.

How is SellersFunding Wallet disrupting the payments industry and helping e-commerce businesses?

Throughout the pandemic, SellersFunding has been instrumental in helping companies shift from brick & mortar to e-commerce sales solutions. SellersFunding has originated approximately $300 million in loans over the past year, and, to date, with the help of SellersFunding’s solutions, clients’ annual sales have exceeded $8 billion.

SellersFunding enables instant pre-approvals for loans under specific amounts and leverages AI models that assess the performance of e-commerce businesses to help get sellers the most value possible from the SellersFunding suite. Sellers can complete an online application form in just under five minutes to receive e-commerce funding. If approved, funding amounts up to $5 million are deposited into their bank account within 48 hours. Traditional lenders and banks make it challenging for online sellers to be validated and approved through their complicated funding application forms, which, if accepted, could take up to 6 months to be distributed. SellersFunding is automating and improving the process for receiving funding when e-commerce sellers need it the most.

Part of the SellersFunding suite of financial solutions is the Digital Wallet. The Digital Wallet helps clients save time and money safely and securely. In just a few clicks, clients can easily receive payments in over 35 currencies, whether in their local currency or if they need to convert the currency. Unlike similar competitors in the space, clients using the SellersFunding Digital Wallet will never be charged to withdraw their payments to their bank accounts or ever incur any hidden cost.

In addition to receiving payments, the Digital Wallet also allows clients to quick-pay or automatically pay suppliers in addition to receiving payments. Many SellersFunding clients have reported that when they pay suppliers in their local currency, they can often negotiate discounts for materials and services, which gives them financial freedom and control.

Recently, SellersFunding achieved a 300% year-over-year growth. What does this mean for the company?

We are poised for even more opportunities ahead. We plan to continue to grow our suite of technology and payments products and support our operational and international expansion. We aim to continue growing our global customer base to assist underserved markets better than traditional banks have failed to support, which currently spans North America, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and Australia. To further support our growth, we will also look to bring even more talented professionals onto the team.

We recently launched our app that can be found in the Apple store. We will also continue to make advancements like this to make our services easily accessible and seamless.

All in all, we see there is a massive opportunity for e-commerce businesses right now, and we are thrilled to help even more customers navigate the industry, grow with us, and get them in touch with the lending options they need.

What are the trends to look forward to in the e-commerce sector in 2022?

We are keeping our eye on a variety of trends.

One trend we are seeing is the interest for newer, smaller sellers to go direct-to-consumer. They want to bypass the middleman and control ownership of their products and sales. This is especially interesting as we see the introduction of more marketplaces than ever, spinning off from various brands from Walmart to Macy’s.

Another significant trend for sellers to keep top of mind is the consumers’ preference for an omnichannel experience. They increasingly expect to find their brands across the different channels they like to shop, whether in-store, online, via mobile or social media. Sellers must consider where their audiences are and align where their products should be.

Something that is not going away anytime soon is the disruption to the supply chain. Sellers should continue to think ahead, prepare their inventory accordingly and top up their capital needs to get ahead of peak seasons.

Currently, how is FinTech playing a role in growing the e-commerce sector?

FinTech is helping to reduce the traditional barriers that have served as a roadblock to e-commerce growth in the past. FinTech solutions are assisting sellers in accepting payments worldwide easier and faster than ever and overall serving to help them manage their finances more efficiently. FinTech players, like SellersFunding, help sellers receive access to capital and other growth solutions more easily, making growing and expanding achievable. The primary reason small businesses fail is a lack of funding or working capital. A business owner is typically aware of how much money is needed to keep day-to-day operations. The real challenges lie with how in tune they are with how much revenue is generated by sales of products or services. These disconnects lead to funding shortfalls that quickly put a small business out of operation. That’s why it’s crucial to have the right capital in place if sellers wish to thrive in this industry and outshine their competition.

Another way FinTech is influencing e-commerce is through the growing use of real-time analytics. Information pulled from across sellers’ various channels can help them make better data-informed decisions about how their business is performing, which products are driving their business goals forward, future revenue performance and more. We created a tool called Sellers Signals, which does just this. Every user has access to this tool, and the easy-to-use dashboard helps clients track their stores’ key metrics and delivers over 10 reports that monitor the financial health of their channels. In addition, it also gives users access to exclusive offers to help them improve their performance and connect with the industry’s top influencers and growth partners to grow their business.