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A Flexible Trade Account (FTA) is a payment account and working capital facility that provides an advance against your unpaid invoices, designed to feel simple and flexible in day-to-day use. You have access to funds up to an agreed limit, and you can draw down as needed.

Behind the scenes, the account is supported by your unpaid invoices. We continuously assess your eligible invoices to make sure there is sufficient receivables value supporting the facility. In most cases, your agreed limit is what determines how much you can use, but if the value of eligible invoices falls below a certain level, this can reduce the amount available.

Unlike traditional invoice finance or factoring, the Flexible Trade Account is designed to feel like a simple and streamlined credit facility - you don’t need to manually submit invoices or request funding against individual invoices, and there is no third-party involvement in your credit control. Invoice data is used in the background to support the facility, while your day-to-day experience remains straightforward and flexible.

Your customer payments against your invoices are used to repay the facility, automatically and seamlessly. You remain in control of your customer relationships and credit control.

Your customers can continue paying into your usual business bank account. Payments are identified there and automatically swept into the Flexible Trade Account using Open Banking, so no change to customer payment details is required.

Both options are designed to be simple to manage, and you remain in control your customer relationships and credit control.

You can use funds from your Flexible Trade Account for normal business purposes, such as paying suppliers, covering payroll, managing short-term cash flow gaps, or supporting day-to-day trading and growth.

Use of funds is subject to our terms and conditions. Payments from your Flexible Trade Account are currently supported to UK bank accounts only.

Once your Flexible Trade Account is approved, activated, and connected, funds are available immediately. As new invoices are raised and become eligible, your available funding updates automatically without needing further approval.

In normal day-to-day use, your available funding is typically driven by your agreed facility limit. In the background, we also continuously assess the value of your eligible invoices. If the value of invoices supporting the facility falls below a required level, this can reduce the amount available. Your current available funding is always shown to you clearly on your Flexible Trade Account portal while your facility is live.

Your facility limit is set during onboarding, based on an assessment of your business’s performance and trading activity. We use data from your connected accounting software and bank accounts to understand factors such as your sales, customer payments, cash flow patterns, and overall financial health.

This information is used to determine an appropriate credit limit and other key parameters of your account. Once your facility is live, your limit typically determines how much funding you can use day to day, with invoice data monitored in the background to ensure the facility remains supported.

The Flexible Trade Account is designed for UK-based B2B businesses that invoice their customers and need flexible access to working capital. It is particularly suitable for businesses that want a simpler, more responsive alternative to traditional overdrafts or invoice finance.

The Flexible Trade Account is delivered through a partnership between NatWest and Bourn. NatWest is the funding partner, and Bourn provides the technology platform that powers the digital experience - including onboarding, monitoring, and the day-to-day operation of your account. If you’d like further information, please reach out to your Relationship Manager at NatWest or to Bourn support at [email protected].