Tradeshift's Fast Contractor Payment Model Attracts New Investors

HSBC and American Express Ventures are part of a $75 million investment in Tradeshift, a company that speeds payments between companies and suppliers.

Tradeshift, which was founded in Copenhagen in 2010 and is now based in San Francisco, is valued at more than $500 million, according to the The Wall Street Journal. Tradeshift's investors also include PayPal and Intuit.

Tradeshift attempts to fill the time gaps that can exist in business payments, particularly between large companies and suppliers such as outsourcers or freelancers.

The company collaborates with banks to offer cash advances to small companies while they wait for invoices to get paid. Tradeshift used the cloud to link to the client's accounting and enterprise resource planning systems. It competes with companies such as Bill.com, Fiserv, BillTrust and Payplant, which uses a fund to issue the advances to outsourcers.

Tradeshift reports it has 800,000 users, though that figure refers to the number of people accessing the system as opposed to corporate clients. Its clients include the Danish government and the U.K.'s national health service. It plans to use the funding to enter new businesses such as trade financing and receivables management.