Can Expanding the Role of CRBs Through Trade Data Sharing Enhance Business Credit and Improve Cash Flow Management?
There is a growing need to expand the information shared with Credit Reference Bureaus ( CRBs) to include trade data. Many manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers have reported cash flow challenges due to difficulties in recovering debts from their customers. This often results in their ability to restock or pay suppliers, further straining their operations. In Kenya, trade agreements frequently rely on informal arrangements, with limited legal recourse due to delays in the judicial systems. Could CRBs play a more significant role in addressing these issues?
As businesses increasingly rely on data to drive decision-making, it’s evident that CRBs, which currently hold financial data related primarily to bank and mobile loans, could greatly enhance their scope. While the inclusion of traditional credit data has boosted financial inclusion, expanding this to cover trade credit information especially from manufacturers, service providers, and wholesalers could revolutionise how businesses extend and manage credit.
If this trade data were collected and shared under a regulatory framework, it could enhance credit trading, improve business relationships, and further financial inclusion. Regular purchasing and payment data, when synthesized, could help businesses evaluate potential customers, set credit limits, and make informed decisions beyond traditional borrowing data.
Accounts receivable teams often struggle to recover overdue debts from customers extended credit without proper risk assessment. Introducing legislation to compel specific entities to share trade data based on factors like turnover or invoice value could help manage risk, reduce legal disputes, and cut down on costs associated with unpaid receivables.
Moreover, the Kenya Revenue Authority could benefit from improved tax collection, as greater financial discipline would be encouraged to avoid negative CRB listings, which can impact a company’s ability to do business. This would also help reduce the burden on the Judiciary, where countless civil cases related to unpaid debts remain unresolved, leading to significant business losses.
Properly managing and sharing trade credit information could streamline the business environment, improving cash flow and financial planning. Additionally, incorporating trade credit data into CRB decision making tools could help boost an individual’s or entity’s creditworthiness when seeking traditional loans. On an individual level, high value asset purchase, such as land and vehicles, could also be evaluated using shared credit sales and receipts data, providing both buyers and sellers with insights into the financial reliability of potential customers.
In conclusion, expanding the data shared with CRBs could significantly improve risk management, debtor control, and financial stability, creating a more transparent and efficient trading environment for businesses of all sizes.
By Francis Shikuku
Accounts Assistant, Creditinfo Kenya
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