What to use instead of Stripe Capital if you need invoice-level financing, not a merchant cash advance

Stripe Capital is a convenient option if you already accept card payments through Stripe and need cash fast. It works by offering loans and merchant cash advances based on your processing history. Repayments are taken as a percentage of future Stripe sales.

While that approach suits card-heavy B2C businesses, it falls short if you operate a B2B marketplace, platform, or SaaS product that relies on invoicing rather than card transactions.

If your workflows revolve around invoices, you may need:

Financing on a per-invoice basis
The ability to select which invoices to advance
Support for suppliers who do not process payments via Stripe
Controls and limits at the buyer, seller, and invoice level

This is where embedded invoice-level financing options like Aria become a better fit than a merchant cash advance model.

An alternative to Stripe Capital for invoice financing: Aria

Aria provides embedded invoice factoring for B2B marketplaces, platforms, ERPs, and SaaS products. Instead of tying financing to card transactions, Aria finances individual invoices and pays suppliers within the same interface your users already trust.

Aria underwrites the buyer, not the supplier. This allows you to support even the smallest suppliers and finance many small invoices at scale.

Aria also provides the capital. With €2 billion in financing capacity, you can typically offer same-day payments without using your own balance sheet.

How embedded invoice financing works with Aria

1. Onboarding stays inside your product

Buyers and sellers onboard directly in your interface. No redirects or separate forms.

2. Automated checks and credit limits

Aria runs KYC/KYB, credit assessments, and compliance checks. Around 92 percent of applications receive instant decisions.

3. Invoices flow via API

Suppliers submit invoices as usual. Your platform sends them to Aria via API without manual uploads or extra steps.

4. One-click instant payment for suppliers

Once a buyer validates an invoice, the supplier can request immediate payment within your product.

5. Buyers keep their regular terms

Buyers pay on their standard payment terms. Aria collects repayment and manages all credit risk.

For suppliers, this means fast access to cash and no payment chasing. Buyers retain their existing payment termsfinancial workflows. Your marketplace gets to increase retention across both sides.

Who Aria works with

Aria typically supports:

B2B marketplaces
Talent and staffing platforms
Vertical SaaS platforms
ERPs and corporate payment systems

Most partners process at least €200,000 per month and already manage invoices digitally.

If you’re a strong fit, you usually already have:

Structured data on buyers, suppliers, and invoices
A clear payment and fee flow
A technical team ready to embed an API

Even if a platform does not meet every criterion, however, Aria can still be flexible.

Why platforms choose Aria for embedded invoice factoring

1. API-first, embedded, and flexible

Aria’s REST API fits into your existing workflows. Flows can be adapted to your product and tech stack. You can also start with a manual dashboard and integrate fully when you’re ready.

Support includes:

Dedicated implementation manager
Key account manager
Access to product and finance teams

You can also set fee structures that align with your model: for example, you can absorb them or pass them on transparently to suppliers.

2. Built-in KYC/KYB, risk, compliance, and fraud controls

Aria embeds:

Global KYC/KYB checks across 100+ countries
Credit and solvency assessments
AI-based fraud detection
White-label invoice validation interfaces

3. Multi-country, multi-currency, and ready for scale

Aria supports instant financing in 100+ countries and multiple currencies, including EUR, USD, and GBP.

With €2 billion in financing capacity, the solution is designed for high-volume platforms processing at least €200,000 per month.

4. Proven with large platforms like Job&Talent

Job&Talent, which processes billions in annual payments, used to bridge long payment terms by advancing payments themselves and managing numerous factoring partners.

With Aria:

Invoices flow directly from NetSuite
Workers are usually paid within 24 hours
There has been a 60% reduction in operational workload

“If Aria disappeared tomorrow, we’d take at least a two-week cash hit and be forced back into heavy manual work to finance invoices elsewhere. ” – Zandre Coetzee, VP Finance at Job&Talent

Read the full case study here: From 20 factoring partners to one: How Job&Talent automated invoice financing across Europe

How to evaluate alternatives to Stripe Capital

When assessing the best alternatives to Stripe Capital for invoice-level financing, ask:

1. Can I finance individual invoices?

Merchant cash advances are tied to sales flow, whereas invoice-driven businesses need underwriting at the buyer and invoice level, with funding that matches specific invoice amounts and repayment aligned to invoice due dates.

2. Will the financing experience stay inside my platform?

If suppliers need to leave your platform, complete separate applications, or manage repayments in external portals, adoption and operational efficiency usually suffer.

Embedded financing should trigger directly from invoice events and return decisions in real time, without disrupting existing workflows. The closer the experience sits to where invoices are created and approved, the more adoption you can expect. This is why you should look for API-embedded onboarding, invoice validation, and payment flows that feel native to your UX.

3. Can I support small and long-tail suppliers?

If eligibility is tied to the supplier’s own balance sheet or sales history, smaller or newer businesses are often excluded – even when they invoice large, creditworthy buyers.

For marketplaces with diverse supplier bases, this creates uneven access to cash and weakens overall participation. Financing that evaluates the buyer instead of the supplier makes it possible to extend predictable early payment across the full supplier base, not just the largest accounts.

4. Who carries the credit risk?

Some financing models advance funds but leave the platform exposed if the buyer fails to pay, effectively transferring credit risk back to you. If you want to avoid defaults sitting on your balance sheet, ensure the provider offers non-recourse financing and manages collections professionally.

A true non-recourse structure means the provider absorbs non-payment risk and handles follow-ups, disputes, and recovery directly.

Conclusion

Stripe Capital works well for Stripe merchants that rely on card payments and need fast working capital. But B2B platforms built around invoices need a different model.

Embedded invoice factoring solutions like Aria allow you to:

Finance individual invoices
Pay suppliers within 24 hours
Maintain buyer payment terms
Avoid using your own capital
Outsource credit risk and collections

Aria enables invoice-level financing directly inside your product and scales with you as you grow into new markets and currencies.

If you want to explore how invoice financing could work within your own platform, you can request a demo.