Invoice finance statistics: BPFI figures for Q1 2026

• Funds advanced: over €1.3 billion at end-March 2026, down 1.4% year on year.
• Total funds available: over €3 billion, up 1.9% year on year. This is the amount advanced plus funding agreed but not drawn.
• Client businesses: 1,351 at end-March 2026, down 47 (3.4%) on a year earlier.
• Average funds advanced per client: almost €1 million, stable on end-March 2025.
• Client sales: over €9.5 billion in Q1 2026, virtually unchanged on Q1 2025.
• Average debtor days: 43, down from 45 in Q1 2025.

The data comes from four BPFI member lenders: AIB Commercial Finance, Bank of Ireland Finance, Bibby Financial Services Ireland and Close Brothers Invoice Finance. Brian Hayes, BPFI Chief Executive, said members are seeing take-up particularly in manufacturing, agriculture, transport and logistics, services and recruitment, and that lower debtor daysThe average number of days it takes customers to pay, usually calculated as trade debtors divided by annual credit sales, multiplied by 365. indicate client customers were, on average, paying their invoices more quickly.

Three points stand out.

• It is mainly used by established businesses. An average of almost €1 million advanced per client suggests that users tend to have substantial sales ledgers and regular business-to-business invoicing.
• Much of the agreed funding sits unused. Less than half of the funds available was drawn at end-March, so many companies treat their facility as headroom they use when they need it.
• Payment times matter. A 43-day average is a reminder that many Irish customers pay well after the invoice date. Every day you wait is cash your company has already earned but cannot use.

Which type of invoice finance?

The BPFI figures cover factoring, invoice discountingA confidential form of invoice finance where a company borrows against its unpaid invoices but keeps control of its own credit control and collections. and other invoice finance together. For how the types differ, see our guide to factoring vs invoice discounting.

The BPFI report does not break the figures down by product type, sector or region, so it cannot show which of these is growing fastest.

The figures cover only the four reporting lenders, so the whole Irish market, including other non-bank providers, may be larger.

How does it compare with bank lending?

For context, the Central Bank reports €14.5 billion of outstanding bank loans to Irish SMEs at the end of June 2026. Over €1.3 billion of invoice finance from the four BPFI reporting lenders is under a tenth of that, although the two series measure different things at different dates. Funds advanced were also up on the over €1.2 billion BPFI reported for the end of 2025, even though they were slightly lower than a year earlier.

1. Work out your own debtor days: trade debtors divided by annual credit sales, multiplied by 365. Compare it with your payment terms and with your cash conversion cycle.
2. Tighten credit control first, and use your rights under the late payment rules where customers pay late.
3. If you still need funding against invoices, read our guide to factoring vs invoice discounting. Selective invoice finance lets you fund individual invoices rather than the whole ledger.
4. Check whether the facility is with or without recourse, how fees are charged, and the notice period to leave.
5. Ask each provider for the total annual cost, including service fees, discount chargesThe interest-like charge in an invoice finance facility, calculated on the money advanced for the days it is outstanding. and any minimum fee, then model it with our invoice finance calculator.
6. Check what happens if a customer does not pay, and whether existing lenders hold charges over your debtors that would need to be released or waived.

If the underlying need is working capitalThe money a business has available to fund day-to-day operations, calculated as current assets, such as cash, stock and debtors, minus current liabilities, such as suppliers and short-term debt., our panel can consider working capital loans, stock finance and trade finance, subject to approval. Tell us what your company needs and we'll tell you honestly whether our panel can help, or where to apply instead. Welcome Finance is a commercial finance broker, not a lender, is not regulated by the Central Bank of IrelandIreland's financial regulator and part of the Eurosystem., and arranges business-purpose finance only for companies registered in Ireland (LTD, DACA type of Irish private company under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2014 that keeps an objects clause in its constitution, limiting what it can do, and uses the suffix DAC., PLCA company type under Part 17 of the Companies Act 2014., ULCA company under Part 19 of the Companies Act 2014 whose members have unlimited liability for its debts.).