What is invoice discounting in Singapore?

Invoice discounting is a whole-book financing facility where a lender advances cash against your entire receivables ledger on a rolling basis, kept confidential to your debtors. You collect as normal and remit to the lender. It's the most discreet of the three invoice-finance products but is reserved for larger, established SG SMEs.

How is invoice discounting different from invoice financing and factoring?

Invoice financing typically funds individual invoices on demand. Factoring sells invoices and the factor collects from your debtor. Discounting funds your whole receivables book on a revolving basis and stays confidential — you remain the collector and the debtor never knows there's a facility in place.

What SG SMEs qualify for invoice discounting?

Typically established SMEs with SGD 5m+ annual revenue, 3+ years trading history, audited accounts, a diversified debtor book and strong internal credit-control. Banks (DBS, OCBC, UOB) and specialist factors (IFS Capital, Bibby FS Singapore) are the main providers.

Singapore · Whole-book confidential

Invoice discounting Singapore

The most discreet of the three SG invoice-finance products: a revolving facility against your whole receivables ledger, kept confidential to debtors. Reserved for established SMEs with strong internal credit-control.

Get a shortlist

In one paragraph

Invoice discounting funds your whole receivables book on a revolving basis. The lender advances a percentage of the ledger value (typically 70–85%), tops it up as new invoices land, and gets repaid as your debtors pay you. Critically, it's confidential — your customers never know there's a facility in place. The trade-off is eligibility: lenders only offer it to SMEs with the credit-control discipline to run collections cleanly themselves.

When discounting fits

You need ongoing rather than spot funding

Discounting works as a rolling facility. If you only need to finance the occasional large invoice, invoice financing per-deal is simpler and cheaper to set up.

Debtor disclosure would hurt the relationship

In some industries (consulting, professional services, premium B2B) signalling financial stress via factoring could damage the customer relationship. Discounting hides the facility entirely.

You have strong internal credit-control

You're the collector — the lender expects clean DSO management, accurate ledger reporting and prompt remittance of collected funds.

You're established enough to qualify

SGD 5m+ revenue, 3+ years trading, audited accounts and a diversified debtor book are typical thresholds. Smaller SMEs are better served by invoice financing.

Who offers it in Singapore

Invoice discounting is mostly a bank and specialist-factor product. Fintech P2P platforms generally don't run discounting lines because the underwriting and collateral-monitoring overhead is high.

· DBS, OCBC, UOB, RHB — bank SME teams, cheapest pricing if you qualify, longest onboarding
· IFS Capital — SGX-listed factor with a discounting line for established SMEs
· Bibby Financial Services Singapore — specialist factor offering confidential discounting alongside disclosed factoring

Per-provider profiles with eligibility, advance %, fee ranges and KYC requirements land at /providers/ as the directory build progresses.

Common SG invoice-discounting questions

What is invoice discounting in plain English?

A revolving facility against your entire unpaid-invoice ledger, kept confidential to your debtors. The lender advances ~70–85% of the ledger value and gets repaid as your customers pay you.

How does it differ from invoice financing?

Invoice financing typically funds individual invoices on demand. Discounting funds the whole book on a rolling basis and is reserved for larger established SMEs.

How does it differ from invoice factoring?

Factoring is disclosed — the factor collects from your debtor. Discounting is confidential — you collect as normal.

Do I qualify?

Usually only if you have SGD 5m+ revenue, 3+ years trading, audited accounts, strong internal credit-control and a diversified debtor book. If you don't qualify yet, invoice financing per-deal is the right alternative.

What does it cost?

Per-deal pricing. Banks are typically cheapest; specialist factors slightly more. Costs include a discount rate on advanced funds plus a service fee on the facility size.

See your real options

Tell us your revenue, debtor profile and funding amount. We forward your enquiry to up to three SG providers — discounting, financing or factoring as your profile suggests — so you can compare real terms.

Get a shortlist