One of the oldest types of commercial financing is now on-chain. Managed by AQRU, a subsidiary of listed firm AQRU plc, the receivables financing pool launches with Intero Capital Solutions LLC as the sole borrower. Uncorrelated with crypto markets and secured by the underlying receivables, the pool enables lenders to generate interest targeted at ~10% return on USDC, from a relatively low-risk traditional finance instrument.

The pool is available on the Maple WebApp.

AQRU plc (AQSE: AQRU), is a company on a mission to remove financial intermediaries and offer more efficient and secure ways of providing financial services. Led by Philip Blows, the team has decades of experience in financial services and asset management. As well as launching a pool on Maple today, AQRU operates an accelerator programme to build, operate and scale fintechs in the UK.

AQRU seeds the pool with $3 million, and looks to extend a loan facility to $100 million with outside deposits from accredited participants seeking returns uncorrelated to crypto’s high market volatility.

The lending pool is secured by the underlying receivables purchased from qualified entities, owed by the US Government. Due diligence information can be found on the Maple WebApp alongside links to get in touch with the team and begin the lender onboarding process. 

lntero is a non-bank facilitator of traditional and digital funding mechanisms, with significant experience in the receivables space. The founding team has executed over $2 billion in receivables transactions and now operates a frontier receivables programme that provides advance funding to US companies eligible for IRS tax-credit refunds. 

Philip Blows, Chief Executive of AQRU, said:

“We are proud to join Maple as a Pool Delegate today. With Maple’s lending technology and the added benefit of its marketplace we cut intermediaries and overheads, and provide a leading player in the receivables space with a loan facility. We look forward to inviting risk-off holders of USDC access to a targeted 10% return by depositing into the pool.

We were impressed to see that lntero has the necessary origination, credit underwriting and transaction execution expertise to comprehensively underpin the structure of this funding programme. The compelling nature of the opportunity to work in this space with Intero as our borrower was apparent from the outset.”

Sidney Powell, CEO and Co-Founder of Maple Finance, said:

“Receivables financing is one of the oldest commercial finance products and we’re thrilled the pioneering team at AQRU chose our technology to disrupt the status quo. AQRU wanted low-cost, secure loan management and the marketplace to expand volume - we’re proud to be the chosen provider and wish the team every success with the pool.”

Intero leverages expertise in the receivables space to build sophisticated, bespoke platform solutions for their financing programmes, allowing for highly accurate data capture and enabling timely, well-judged decisions around risk assessment and commitment of funds. Intero focuses on providing US Government tax-credit receivables financing to corporates and institutions who are owed rebates from the IRS. 

Tom de la Rue and Darryl Steyn, Co-Founders of Intero, said jointly:

“Intero is passionate about our operational tax credit receivables funding programme. We have worked tirelessly with our partners to build an innovative and scalable advance funding mechanism which allows companies of all sizes across the US to benefit from early advance of their outstanding IRS tax credit refunds. Consequently, these companies are able to access much needed liquidity, at an earlier stage, that can be utilized to quickly strengthen their operations or grow their businesses. 

By partnering with AQRU as they open the pool on Maple today, we will unlock significant further commercial value in this exciting tax credit receivables ecosystem.

Pool details:

Open to: Accredited Investors 

Minimum Investment: $500,000

Lock up: 45 days

Targeted return: 10%

Digital asset: USDC

Pool capacity: $100 million

About AQRU Plc:

AQRU is an incubator specialising in opportunities in decentralised finance (DeFi), a disruptive technology using blockchain and cryptocurrencies to remove financial intermediaries from transactions, creating a cheaper, more efficient and more secure way of providing financial services. Listed on the Aquis Exchange in London, we apply our expertise to the business operations and strategic plans of FinTech companies in the UK, USA and Canada, and act as an accelerator for start-ups and early-stage companies.www.aqruplc.com

About Maple Finance:

Maple is an institutional capital network that provides the infrastructure for credit experts to run on-chain lending businesses and connects institutional lenders and borrowers. Built with both traditional financial institutions and decentralized finance leaders, Maple is transforming capital markets by combining industry-standard compliance and due diligence with the transparent and frictionless lending enabled by smart contracts and blockchain technology. Maple is the gateway to growth for financial institutions, pool delegates and companies seeking capital on-chain. https://maple.finance/

About Intero Capital Solutions LLC:

Intero actively provides high-quality, dynamic, and holistic funding solutions that fully exploit the inherent commercial value locked in quality receivables and other real-world assets. Intero achieves this by bringing together traditional and digital investors, asset originators, and other enabling entities to create and execute funding transactions. Through its partners, Intero also provides additional capabilities in longer-term project finance and other blockchain enabled structures that are complementary to the shorter term receivables programmes. https://intero.capital