At Hokodo, we believe that B2B trade has been broken for a long time, and we’re on a journey to fix it. Put simply, we make it easier, faster and safer for buyers and sellers to conduct business with each other.
B2B commerce has been hindered by inadequate payment methods for too long. That’s why we’re changing the way they’re designed and delivered, by empowering merchants with the ability to offer credit terms to businesses of all sizes, in real-time. We offer a seamless Buy Now, Pay Later solution that benefits everyone, in a way that’s simple, safe and supported. Driven by rich data and backed by Lloyd’s of London to insure payment and ensure peace of mind, our purpose is to power the B2B digital economy, making it fair and accessible for buyers and sellers alike.
Unlike consumers, businesses generally expect to pay on credit terms. To manage this risk, sellers traditionally resort to paper-based trading account applications and manual credit decisions. While this process works in traditional offline trade, which is by nature asynchronous, it is not adapted to the fast paced and frictionless world of online commerce.
Hokodo removes all the risk and hassle associated with offering payment terms online, and streamlines the entire process, allowing sellers to make credit decisions in real-time when the customer reaches the checkout.
The Hokodo solution is quick to set up, easy to integrate, and offers credit decisions on the spot even for first-time buyers, so merchants can get up and running in a week and offer payment terms in seconds, not days, with no more frustrating forms or painful processes. We help our customers to understand and assess their needs, structuring the right solution to increase their revenue.
On average, merchants using the Hokodo solution experience a 40% increase in conversion rate. Businesses buying on Hokodo’s payment terms spend 30% more on average and make 24% more purchases per month than those who pay upfront.
One of our key customers tells us that our Buy Now Pay Later solution has resulted in basket sizes 40% larger – equating to an average increase of €140 per order. Meanwhile, another marketplace has experienced an uplift of 50% in average order value for customers taking advantage of our payment terms.
Our digital platform combines instant credit assessments and fully automated limits management, all served up via APIs in less than 1 second. Right now our solution is available to B2B merchants and marketplaces in the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands but we’ve got big ambitions for the future, starting with imminent plans to expand into Spain by the end of the year. In 2022, we want to help even more businesses and their customers across Europe and beyond.
At the heart of Hokodo is people. We exist to make the lives of B2B merchants and buyers easier and simpler. Our solution means they can spend less time filling out tedious paper applications or running manual credit checks, and more time doing what they do best: running their businesses.
Fundamentally, our mission is to create the tech stack for B2B e-Commerce. Companies such as PayPal, Stripe, Shopify, Klarna and Affirm have set high standards in B2C and created the first generation of infrastructure for e-commerce. In contrast, the payment infrastructure for B2B is not adapted to the digital era. This is partly explained by the fact that B2B is more complex – larger transactions, more risk, more customisation required. Yet, B2B trade is just as large if not larger than B2C. In the six countries where we operate B2B trade amounts to $12 trillion, of which around $690 billion happens online. The online proportion of B2B trade is growing at double digit rate, supported by the initiatives of companies like Hokodo.
Hokodo unlocks tremendous growth for the B2B economy by enabling companies to trade safely. Our solutions are backed by Lloyd’s of London via the Channel Syndicate. This means that merchants using our solutions are no longer exposed to the risk of non-payment. In the UK alone, more than 50% of all invoices are paid late and about 25% of business failures are caused by the late or non-payment of an invoice.
Thanks to Hokodo, businesses have the confidence to grow and offer their customers the payment terms they deserve. Hokodo’s services support the whole economy – SMEs in particular – by making B2B trade more fair and transparent, for buyers and sellers alike. As such, Hokodo was the winner of a €2m Horizon 2020 grant from the European Innovation Council in the SME Instrument category, in recognition of the positive impact of Hokodo’s solution on the economy.
Hokodo prides itself on bringing together a diverse team of cutting-edge technologists and seasoned business practitioners from diverse backgrounds and nationalities, cutting across the traditional silos. We are a team of financial services practitioners, engineers, data scientists and designers supported by expert sales, marketing, operations and people teams, all working together to create a better way for businesses to buy and sell to one another. It’s our people who make a difference to the lives of our customers and as a group we strive every day to live up to the five core values that we set ourselves:
Own the outcome.
We all have the power to make our company better. We think like entrepreneurs, we envision the possibilities, we anticipate challenges and embrace what could be. We think big and strive for excellence, it’s the results that matter.
Trust and build trust.
The faith we have in each other is critical to team success. We’re low ego and see everyone in the team as an equal. Trusting each other to make the best decisions and putting the interests of the collective and the company as a whole above individual ambitions.
Never be satisfied.
There is no time to be complacent. We believe that things can always be improved, and our ambition and hunger drives us to constantly learn more and do more. We continuously look to bring out the best in ourselves and each other. Failure is not something to be feared as long as we fail fast and learn from our mistakes.
No passion, no point.
We are passionate about our work because we care about making a difference. Our work is serious, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We have fun whilst getting the job done. What’s the point in working on something if you don’t enjoy it? If there’s no passion, there’s no point.
Be genuine (no BS).
We don’t do things for appearance’s sake. We recognise that being open and honest with our team and customers is vital to our success. We’re independent thinkers, guided by our principles and always believe in doing the right thing – there are no hidden agendas.
We started out with a small team and a big ambition: to revolutionise the world of B2B commerce. Since then we’ve refined our approach, grown our team and rolled out across several European locations. We now have over 20 merchant partners and more than 15,000 buyers transacting on our platform. But we’re just getting started.
Our next mission is to enable 1 million businesses to access a better way to pay by 2025. Making it easier for sellers to sell and buyers to buy. Opening up the online economy to more participants, more ideas and more innovation. Growing wealth and opportunity for everyone. It’s the first step towards a world in which every company has access to the financial tools they need to buy, sell and do more.
Don’t you think it’s about time businesses got the credit they deserve?
