At a time when the UK and US tech sectors were exposed to what can only be described as financial chaos, Payhawk, the spend management solution for domestic and international businesses throughout Europe, the US, and the UK, continued “to show their dedication and support to the startup industry by launching a new emergency Visa credit card.”
As reported by the firm earlier this month, the solution “offers credit with zero-interest rates and 30 days payment terms available to businesses in the US and UK.”
While the UK and US Governments were quick “to avoid or minimize potential damage as a result of the Silicon Valley Bank disruptions, and whilst the acquisition by HSBC alleviates the initial concern and makes it possible for these businesses to access their cash, there’s still considerable market uncertainty.”
Now more than ever, there “is greater fragility to traditional banking institutions thanks to the supersonic speed of information in a tech-enabled world.”
Broadly speaking, “over-reliance on any one vendor, supplier, or partner presents a significant business risk, in these unpredictable times.”
As a result, companies should “look at credit lines as a way of diversifying cash flow to avoid being caught in the eye of the storm.”
The term ‘bridging credit’ has traditionally been “used to offer short-term solutions to cash flow issues. However, we’re now seeing a shift, with companies opting to use emergency financing with a level of trust previously reserved for offline banks.”
Hristo Borisov, Co-founder & CEO at Payhawk, stated:
“We are eager to provide this product to businesses in need as we have been monitoring the situation with Silicon Valley Bank since Thursday. It was extremely important for us not to take advantage of the situation and contribute to the bank run during Thursday and Friday, but now that there is a real risk of cash crunch at businesses on Monday, we wanted to ensure that we can help those businesses given our strong position as a company in the space.”
If you need to open a bank account or gain access to a Visa credit card to pay immediate expenses, you can “submit your application request to emergency-credit-card@payhawk.com and the Payhawk team will prioritize your application immediately.”