Scott Denne – Wall Street Journal
Even with all the talk about reforming credit practices since last year’s collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., little has been done to help companies gauge the credit-worthiness of small-business customers.
“If anything, we’ve seen in last few years that we need to get a handle on” the lack of credit information about small businesses, said Jim Swift, the chief executive of Cortera Inc., a company that is making available today a platform for companies to share information about how well the small businesses they sell to pay their bills.
Cortera Credit Exchange enables companies to rate other businesses from one to five stars, share personal payment experiences, report detailed payment histories and follow-up with other reviewers.
The company likens itself to a business-to-business version of Yelp.com. Given the plethora of user generated feedback about consumer products available on the Internet, it was only natural for important things, like the credit risk of a potential customer, be vetted in a more open community, Swift said. “I don’t even buy a pair of shoes anymore without being influenced by peer reviews.”
"Cortera is one of the true innovators in our market. We've worked with them for years and I have only great things to say. Their new community approach to credit reporting is yet another example of their industry leadership."
"eCredit by Cortera created efficiencies for Xerox by centralizing credit information, shortening approval cycles and standardizing polices & reporting. The investment in Cortera's eCredit software has significantly improved customer relations & productivity. It's a great fit for our business."
