BNP Paribas and startup Libeo announced a partnership on Tuesday that will enable the bank’s corporate clients to use Libeo’s e-account management services.
First of all, we are talking about SMEs and ETI. The goal is to be able to receive, manage and pay electronic invoices on a centralized platform. The BNP Paribas Instant Payment API has also been added to Libeo to facilitate payments.
“This partnership allows BNP Paribas corporate clients to enjoy both the leading banking offering in Europe and one of the most efficient and innovative e-invoice management solutions in the French market. Together we are joining forces to enable business leaders to remain efficient and competitive in their operations,” emphasizes Marc Espagnon, Head of Payments and Cash Management at BNP Paribas.
National regulations in sight
This partnership is part of the upcoming rules aiming to transition to e-invoicing from 2024. All types of companies will gradually come under the law. Please note that from July 1, 2024, all companies registered in France will be required to accept e-invoices. With regard to the mandatory issuance of electronic invoices, this will happen in stages from 2024 to 2026.
This regulation is relevant for Libeo, which started its activities in 2019 in the field of account management. The startup is aimed at SMEs and accounting firms and is currently expanding into France, select European markets and the UK.
Electronic invoices, which must have a very specific format (Invoice-X), will go through a partner dematerialization (DPD) platform used by both sender and recipient. These platforms must be accredited by the tax administration. Libeo is currently working on such a platform, the management team told .
Switching to electronic accounts has a number of advantages. This allows “to reduce late payments and reduce the administrative burden” by encouraging “connectivity,” comments Pierre Dutaret, CEO of Libeo. By centralizing invoices and receipts from customers on the platform, SMEs can thus “automate the payment and collection cycle,” suggests Pierre-Antoine Glandier, Libeo’s product partner, at . So far, the tricolor startup claims to have 300,000 companies connected to its platform.