THIS FROM THE SCOOP NEWS WEBSITE Monday 31st May 2010 “Building the Recovery” - a small business perspective Interface Financial group sees spike in small and medium businesses seeking cashflow assistance The government is confident that the budget will greatly assist in economic recovery. Hence the “Building the Recovery” slogan. But have we really begun to recover? Is the recession, in fact, over? If you look at the macro or headline indicators, then it might appear so, but for many...
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As The Interface Financial Group grows internationally, there are more opportunities for us to be involved in trade finance transacitons and fund cross border invoices.Interface has grown significantly in Australia in recent months. There are now 3 offices open, in Perth and Sydney. Enquiry levels have been brisk in recent months and some interesting transactions have been completed.A mining services client in Townsville Queensland wanted to exapnd and take on larger clients. Standard terms of 60 days from existing clients...
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Interface is once again a finalist in the Vero excellence in business support awards. In a months time we will know if we've been successful in winning our category. The awards process has been very useful in the review of our business and its key indicators. A very thorough desk and face to face review of IFG has taken place. It has been a very worthwhile business review and planning process. It will prove to be even more wothwhile if...
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The annual IFG conference at Wairakei in February hosted some important international visitors with a host of experience in the factoring industry; George Shapiro our Group Chairman from USA, David Banfield our President from Canada.Also present were the two new Australian managers for Interface. It was a great opportunity to engage with our international partners about our market position here in NZ. For a small country we were pleased to be informed that IFG NZ is punching well above it’s...
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The Interface Financial Group Jumbo Tennis 7s Tournament took place for only the second time on 5 March 2010 at the Wellington Renouf Tennis Centre. Approximately 30 business teams of 4 members each vied for the coveted cup and many other prizes. Organised by the local Wellington Rotary Club and IFG being Prime Sponsor - all proceeds from sponsorships and team entry fees were donated to two very worthwhile causes – The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and Wellington Junior...
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Interface is pleased to welcome aboard Pat Everest. Pat has many years experience in the factoring industry, franchising and business banking, and is well known to the Interface team.Pat is based in Auckland and can be contacted on 021 118 6950 or pat@interfacefinancial.co.nz. ...
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Interface Financial are pleased to introduce their latest franchisee, Matthew Peacey. Matt will be based in Nelson and will also be covering Marlborough and the West Coast of the South Island.Matt is looking to developing his Interface business and networking with the business community in Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast. Explaining how he came to join Interface, Matt told us " I am a trained scientist specializing in molecular biology. I completed my Doctorate in 2007 developing a viral-based vaccine...
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Auckland based Interface franchisee, Pat Everest, completed the Taranaki Cycle Challenge 2010 today. Having completed the course 2 weeks previously in another event, Pat was looking for a good time as the conditions were perfect.He did not disappoint his supporters, with a very creditable time of 4 hours and 28 minutes for the 150km course. This was just 2 minutes outside his best time and included 5 minutes lost for a puncture !See the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4GoQm3pbLE ...
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The latest ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Survey http://nz.biz.yahoo.com/100121/3/gsr4.html shows that people are continuing to be more up beat about the economy in New Zealand. The effect on the business community seems to be a trend toward activity levels increasing again as we come out of the slump. The Interface New Zealand team is finding that the banks are still in a very conservative pattern around their lending and so many small businesses are finding it hard to access the working...
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The Interface Financial Group is expecting an increase in demand for its services in 2010. As we come out of the recession and start to grow again, activity levels in many sectors will increase. This will put pressure on cash flow for many businesses, as they take on staff and have to fund their growth. With the credit market still tight and many businesses having used up any cash or credit reserves they have had, businesses will need to ensure they...
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Business support awards finalists announcedNBR staff | Friday December 18 2009 - 02:01pmA pool of more than 160 nominations has been whittled down to a strong field of 37 finalists in 10 categories for the Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards 2010.The awards, which are sponsored by Vero and BDo, are run by Bizzone and are a key event in the lead-up to the Bizzone Business Expo.The New Zealand Business Excellence Foundation selected the finalists.“Excellent business support assists New Zealand businesses to...
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The Interface Financial Group now has a presence in Western Australia. Perth based Hitesh Jethwa was appointed Area Developer in August of this year.The New Zealand team is very please to see Hitesh coming on board and hopes that this will encourage more trans Tasman business within the Interface Group.Go to http://www.franchisebusiness.com.au/c/The-Interface-Financial-Group/The-Interface-Financial-Group-franchise-heads-to-Western-Australia-n856764 for more information....
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The article below was printed in the New Zealand Herald on 29th November 2009. Clearly firms are running risks if they start using eachother as the bank............... New Zealand firms that habitually settle bills late are hurting each other and setting themselves up to be locked out of the credit market, according to research released today. Dun and Bradstreet (D&B), a leading credit reporting, sales and market data and debt collection company, said the research showed that eight in ten firms were...
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The Interface Financial Group is pleased to announce the opening of an office in Singapore. Michael Yuan is our new franchisee there. For a full press release, go to http://refinancing.ro/the-interface-financial-group-opens-office-in-singapore/ This is an exciting devlopment for our group. We now have a presence in the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and Australia. This naturally enhances our ability to conduct international transactions when the opportunity becomes available. The team in New Zealand takes pleasure in welcoming Michael aboard and wishes him every succes...
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We are delighted to have established fully operational offices in Napier and Dunedin in recent months. Providing a local solution is critical to our business model. We are rapidly achieving effective nationwide coverage with the opening of these new offices. Napier – our office in owned and managed by Bernie Morton - pictured. With many successful years of banking experience in NZ and the Pacific, Bernie brings a wealth of relevant experience to IFG. Bernie is putting this experience to...
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IFG Wellington is sponsoring the inaugural charity Jumbo Tennnis tournament. This event will raise money for the City Mission and Junior Tennis in the region.George Rota (pictured) from our Wellington office is thrilled to be involved in this event and is looking forward to a fun packed day and helping the organisers raise money for two worthy causes.Click on this link for more info:http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wellington/2249804/Conchords-play-ball-for-city-mission...
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Tim Levchenko-Scott from our New Plymouth office was featured in the Taranaki Daily News along with Chris Reid, the Interface National Director when Chris visited New Plymouth recently.Some great coverage for Interface. Local businesses will hopefully pick up on the flexible cash-flow service we offer....
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The IFG NZ conference 2009 was held at Wairakei resort near Taupo last week. It was the biggest yet with 10 franchisees in attendance, as well as representation from HQ in Canada and several guests. Pictured are most of the attendees under our banner, which would seem to be more apposite than ever in the current banking and economic environment - IFG is New Zealand's leading alternative funding source for small business.National Director Chris Reid was pleased to report that IFG had...
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IFG New Zealand have been nominated in the finals of the prestigious Vero Excellence in Business Support Awards. Chris Reid, IFG's New Zealand National Director said "We're absolutely thrilled to be selected as finalists for these important awards. It's a reflection of how far we've come in the past 5 years since we first established a presence in New Zealand".Interface were nominated in the "High Growth Sector" category.The Vero awards are recognised as a benchmark of excellence for New Zealand businesses. ...
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The Interface Financial Group (Wellington) has secured the naming rights to The Rotary Club of Wellington inaugural Jumbo Tennis 7's Tournament. This is a charity event in aid of The Wellington City Mission and Wellington Junior Tennis.First introduced by the Rotary Club of Port Moresby, it is now Wellington's turn to experience a high spirited rendition of this high society sport.Played to the same rules as table tennis (players take alternate hits), jumbo tennis is sure to capture the attention of...
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A four page feature in this week's The Independent, a national business publication, featured an article about 'As you need it invoice discounting for viability'. Naturally, Interface was the star of the show. There were two case studies featured, one from New Plymouth based franchisee, Tim Levchenko-Scott, and another from Hamilton based Marty Sheppard.The business press seem to be picking up on the importance of cash flow at the moment, and what products are available for businesses to help with this...
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Please click here if the newsletter does not display properly THE INTERFACE FINANCIAL NEWSNovember 2008THE RIGHT ALTERNATIVE FOR TODAY'S MARKETAccording to recent research, the environment for small business funding and cash management has never been more difficult. Recent debtor payment surveys show a very gloomy picture: § Dun & Bradstreet survey for the September quarter measured average debtor days at 50.2 - easily the worst since these surveys began. It is not just small companies - the large company average...
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James Weir in the Post today quoted Westpac as saying that the economy would slow to a crawl. http://www.stuff.co.nz/4757763a13.html One of the main reasons is a significant shrinking in credit growth. This naturally means it's going to be harder for businesses to access funds. Interface is noticing an increase in enquiries. Chris Reid, NZ national director says "it is important for small businesses to get facilities in place before it's too late. We can always sign clients up to ensure they...
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Rod Oram in the Sunday Start Times http://www.stuff.co.nz/4755086a1865.html explains that the Aussie interest rate cut and the reluctance of the Australian banks to pass on the reduction are indications that lending is tightening from the banks and is likely to become even more difficult to secure.In this environment, having alternative sources for working capital becomes even more important for smaller business....
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Chris Reid, National Director of The Interface Financial Group, appeared on TV1's business programme this morning. Chris explained how invoice discounting could prove invaluable to small businesses in the present environment as it is becoming increasingly difficult to increase bank facilities.Follow the link below: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/video_popup_windows_skin/2224085...
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The Independent newspaper published an article this week about how invoice discounters are helping small and medium sized businesses as debtor payments stretch out and put pressure on business' cash flow.Chris Reid, our New Zealand director was interviewed for the article and explained that we are now experiencing an increase in enquiries from larger businesses than usual. "we're talking about businesses turning over $2million plus, not just the smaller owner-operators who were our stock in trade."Chris also explained that the...
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A timely article in NZ Business this week about invoice discounting and The Interface Financial Group. Ray Schofield, the CEO of Business Mentors expands about the benefits of invoice discounting for small and medium sized businesses in the current economic climate. ...
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The Interface Financial Group was pleased to sponsor a hole at the New Plymouth National Bank's fund raising golf day for The Cancer Society. Pictured is our much travelled sign at the 11th tee along with some willing participants, who seemed to be enjoying the day. It was a well attended event, and we're sure the National Bank will have raised a decent sum for a very worthy cause....
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Interface has had its best 2 months trading since it commenced operations in New Zealand in 2004. Figures for July and August 2008 show a 46% increase on the same period in 2007. "As a group, the Interface team of franchisees has grown the volume of business significantly every year, but the last couple of months have been exceptional", said Chris Reid, New Zealand National Director....
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As we reported earlier, Interface had a presence at the Wellington Small Business Expo again this year. We've now got some great photos of the event, which was well attended. Pictured are George Rota, Chris Reid (in T shirt) and Tim Levchenko-Scott (on phone)....
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With the credit crunch starting to bite in New Zealand, businesses are finding it more of a challenge to find working capital. The banks have plenty of cash as folk look for safe refuge from the finance company fall out, but they're hanging on to it, in anticipation of some difficult times ahead.Re-financing property is not an option for most people now, as the property market hits a slump. So, accessing working capital through facoring and similar solutions,like invoice discounting, is becominng more...
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With over 20 New Zealand finance companies either closing their doors or experiencing serious difficulties over the past two years, some commentators have been describing the finance company model as 'broken'. Investors have lost confidence in finance companies and reinvestment rates have tumbled. Without new funds coming in, the finance companies experience liquidity problems, as much of the money they have loaned out is on much longer terms than the money that has been invested by the public. This is then compounded...
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Interface is please to welcome Laurie Lowther as its latest Auckland based franchisee. Laurie has extensive business experience. Laurie was a computer engineering specialist for many years. Then, he and his wife, Vicki, made an investment in a small drycleaning business comprising 2 retail outlets in 1989. This grew by 1993 to 7 retail outlets. Laurie at this point took over the day to day operations. In 2002 the businesses were sold having grown to 22 retail outlets, 2 large factories, some 17 mobile...
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National Business Review ran a feature on debt factoring and invoice discounting in its' July 11th issue. There was a half page feature on The Interface Financial Group. Based on an interview with our Group CEO, David Banfield, it outlined how much Interface has grown in New Zealand in the last year or two and how the Interface solution can help smaller businesses access working capital from their debtors ledger.
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Yes, it's true ! Interface is sponsoring the All Blacks ! Well, sort of. Chris Reid, our National Director has a son, Michael playing for North Harbour Marist and North Harbour. Chris is sponsoring the warm up jerseys for Marist this year, and guess what, 3 current All Blacks (Tony Woodcock, Rudi Wulf and Anthony Boric) all play for Marist. So, when Graham Henry said the All Blacks all had to play for their club sides on the weekend between the England...
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Interface had a stand at the Wellington Small Business Expo in June. Franchisees George Rota - Wellington, and Tim Levchenko-Scott - Taranaki/Manawatu were supported by Chris Reid the National Director. The event was reasonably well attended and there was plenty of interest in the Interface service. We came away with a number of leads to follow-up, including potential clients as well as potential referers for our network.Chris Reid said he was much happier with the presentation and location of the...
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The Interface Financial Group assists a young entrepreneur to establish an innovative touch screen kiosk business for the retail market. Luke Irving was referred to Interface by the National Bank in the early growth months of his company Fingermark Limited. “We were probably high risk for a bank in the early stages” says Luke. With the assistance of the Interface funding solution the business began to flourish. After trading for six months the National Bank was able to come on board with an overdraft...
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These articles appeared in the September 2007 special report in NBR. From the article lead-in:"As business activity drops, a flood of payment defaults is expected,leaving many SME's with cashflow problems and little choice but to give credit on these accounts to stay in business. The problem is that if you give too much credit away then your cashflow dries up. NBR takes an in-depth look at the challenges facing New Zealand companies in managing and balancing credit and cashflow and...
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The Interface Financial Group has recently become a National Patron to Business Mentors, New Zealand. The mission of Business Mentors is to provide practical assistance to the small business market by the support of a mentor to assist businesses achieve their specific needs. This involves an experienced mentor giving fist hand advice and guidance. The Business Mentor programme is offered free to qualifying companies. The programme costs are funded by support from government and private sector patrons. Interface is now...
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When the wheels fly off small businessThe Dominion Post | Monday, 3 September 2007KEEPING THINGS SWEET: Adrian Owen, of Wellington design studio Sweet Chilli, says his income can be unpredictable. To smooth out his cashflow, he signed up with invoice discounter Interface Financial, which can give him 90 per cent of the face value of a bill the same day.A cashflow crunch is the big killer of small businesses. One way out of the hole is to sell your invoices....
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At the end of April over 70 delegates assembled at the Marietta Resort & Conference Centre near Atlanta for the annual group conference.
For the first time New Zealand was represented - Chris Reid from Auckland & Tim Lenchenko-Scott from New Plymouth made the long trip. It was an excellent opportunity to meet & network with other parts of our group. Our business in the USA has grown very rapidly over the past 2 years. We are now a significant...
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Appeared in NBR - 26 May 2006:
Some small businesses, strapped for capital, would not survive without it
Venkat Raman
Companies strapped for cash should consider invoice discounting as a viable option for short-term relief, an international expert says.
"It is not factoring where entrepreneurs sign contracts for a specific period of time and incur substantial costs as interest or commission. This is a solution to free up cash without any complicated systems or procedures," California-based Interface Financial Group president...
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Appeared in NBR - March 30th, 2007:
When a freight forwarding company in Wellington won a new contract to move building equipment and material to Auckland, the owner faced a dilemma. He needed $460,000 to buy an extra truck and to hire more staff.
He was turned away by two commercial banks but the third one
advised him to approach Interface Financial Group (IFG). In less than a week, he had the money in his bank account. Six months later,...
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