We are excited to announce that Alibaba.com has partnered with Balance to launch “Pay Later for Business”—a new way for eligible U.S. business customers to access instant payment terms and defer payment for up to 90 days after shipment. The experience is fully embedded within the Alibaba platform, making it easy to fund purchases without disrupting the buying flow.
With Balance powering the solution, Alibaba.com can offer flexible B2B payments to their customers without taking on credit risk or operational overhead. Everything from onboarding, credit approval, collection and reconciliation is automated by Balance, giving business customers more freedom to grow, and Alibaba.com a seamless way to support them.
Meeting the Cash Flow Needs of Today’s B2B Buyers
In B2B commerce, timing and access to capital can make or break a deal. Small and midsize businesses often face a familiar dilemma: they need inventory or supplies in bulk, but cash flow constraints limit their purchasing power. To compound the problem, traditional financing options often take too long to obtain, or aren’t accessible at all for these less established companies.
Traditional bank lenders and even SBA loans suffer from slow processing and disbursement, with small businesses often unable to wait 90 days for loan approval, especially those with working capital needs or operating in tight-margin industries. This reality has created demand for financing solutions built directly into business workflows. According to Balance’s analysis of B2B transaction data, over 80% of SMB buyers that obtained financing used embedded financing products offered directly on the platforms where they buy and sell, compared to just 11% who took bank loans and 8% who used direct lending platforms.
Recognizing the growing cash flow challenges that U.S. businesses face, particularly in light of continued tariff uncertainty, Chinese commerce giant Alibaba.com aimed to deliver a timely and effective solution.
A New Way to Buy on Alibaba.com
With the launch of “Pay Later for Business”, Alibaba.com is giving U.S. customers a smarter way to manage their cash flow and fuel growth.
When choosing “Pay Later for Business” at checkout, Alibaba’s customers enjoy:
- More time to pay: Unlike credit cards with fixed billing cutoffs, Pay Later gives you a full 90 days after shipment to pay.
- Better cash flow: Instead of paying cash upfront or maxing out their credit cards, businesses can preserve working capital while securing the inventory they need to scale.
- Credit that scales with their business: Unlike traditional credit cards, the Pay Later credit limit grows automatically based on customers’ order history and timely repayments.
- Easy access, no friction: Application and payment are done right within their Alibaba.com account.
“Flexible financing is essential for business customers who want to grow,” said Yiran Li, Head of Customer Retention Strategy at Alibaba.com. “By embedding Balance directly into our checkout, we’re making it easy for customers to buy on their terms, without being limited by cash flow constraints.”
How “Pay Later for Business” Works
U.S. business customers complete a fast, digital application on Alibaba.com and receive approval within seconds. Once approved, they gain access to a revolving credit limit that appears as a standard payment option at checkout. As customers pay their balance, their available credit replenishes and may grow, providing ongoing purchasing power for future orders.
The buyer journey is designed for speed and convenience:
- Fast application process: A one-time digital application delivers credit decisions in seconds, not days.
- Platform-specific credit: Approved customers receive a credit limit exclusively for Alibaba.com purchases, which automatically replenishes as they make payments.
- Seamless checkout: “Pay Later” appears as a standard payment method at checkout, with no redirects or additional third-party logins or steps required.
- Self-service management: Customers can track their balance and payment due dates and make payments through Balance’s branded payment portal, easily accessible through their Alibaba.com account.
Powered by Balance: Scalable Financial Infrastructure for B2B Commerce
This partnership with Balance enables Alibaba.com to offer flexible B2B payments without building the infrastructure themselves, or adding risk or accounts receivable overhead.
Behind the scenes, Balance’s infrastructure handles the entire process: from real-time credit assessment and instant decisioning to payment management and processing, as well as credit risk coverage.
Balance’s AI risk engine is not limited to traditional credit data. It is also using proprietary, real-time transaction and bank data to deliver instant decisions and 4x higher approval rates, including for small businesses typically underserved by legacy systems.
Balance’s infrastructure is designed for scale. It supports high transaction volumes and autonomous credit management, and gives customers a simple payment experience through a Balance-branded self-service portal.
The implementation came together quickly, thanks to Balance’s robust APIs and pre-built hosted components, which enable enterprise-grade embedded financing with minimal lift and full buyer-facing functionality. In just three streamlined steps, Alibaba.com launched a seamless “Pay Later” experience: embedding a Balance-hosted credit application in each customer’s “My Alibaba” page, integrating Balance as a payment method in the checkout experience via API, and embedding Balance’s payment portal directly into the customer’s Alibaba.com account.
Looking Forward
As B2B platforms look for new ways to strengthen buyer relationships and increase sales, embedded financing and efficient “Pay-by-Invoice” programs are no longer a nice-to-have, they’re a strategic lever. By embedding Balance, Alibaba.com is setting the standard for how embedded credit should work in B2B commerce: fully integrated, autonomous, and efficient.
