What happened: British e-commerce financing provider Storfund has teamed up with TikTok to offer a cash-advanced product for its users in the US (PYMNTS). A creator or brand that is using the TikTok marketplace in the US to sell products to its followers can now use the product called Daily Advance to receive funds as soon as they have shipped the products to their customers.
My comment: Cash advance products are the new normal for marketplaces. Faster payouts mean merchants can re-stock faster and sell more products on the marketplace. But on the other hand, marketplaces need to ensure the merchants have a sufficient balance for returns. The two companies claim this is the first of its kind offering in the US, but likely they are referring to very specific product elements. Because Amazon and eBay are just two major examples of US marketplaces that have launched cash advance products in the past. I am not sure how many marketplaces are not offering a built-in cash advance product yet, but likely this number will continue to shrink.
