Octet: trade finance, debtor finance and supplier payments

Picture a homewares importer with a container of stock due to leave Ningbo. The supplier wants paying before it ships, the goods will take weeks to land, and the retailers who’ll buy them pay on 60-day terms. From the day the supplier is paid to the day the retailer pays, the importer is out of pocket for months. Octet exists to finance that stretch, or shorten it.

Octet has been operating since 2008 and lists its head office in Surry Hills, Sydney, with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Shanghai. It says it acquired Bank of Queensland’s debtor finance and business finance portfolios, which tells you something about its scale in this niche.

Everything below comes from Octet’s website as at October 2026. Features, criteria and pricing change, so confirm details with Octet directly.

Which Octet products might you use?

Octet has six products, and they’re designed to work together:

Product	Purpose	Key published details
OctetTrade	Pays local and overseas suppliers now; you repay Octet later	Up to 120 days to repay, up to 60 of them without interest
OctetDebtor	Cash against unpaid customer invoices	Up to 85% advanced; funds typically within 24 hours of approval
Term Loan	A lump sum on top of an existing Octet facility	Up to $5m over six months to three years; balloon option
Buyer Protection	Cover for customer insolvency or prolonged non-payment	Up to 90% of eligible invoice value
OctetExpress	Pays suppliers using your own credit or debit card	No credit assessment; can start in as little as 24 hours
OctetPay	Payments platform with a pre-approved line of credit	Aimed at practices, agencies and franchise operators

Many of these also earn Velocity or Qantas points, up to one point per dollar repaid, subject to fees.

Why the two main facilities have very different entry criteria

Octet’s debtor finance and trade finance sit side by side on its website, but the bar to get in is not the same.

Criterion	OctetDebtor	OctetTrade
Australian ABN	Yes	Yes
Trading history	At least six months, with one or more debtors	Not stated; profitable in two of the last three reporting periods
Size	Receivables ledger of $100k or more	Annual turnover of at least $3m
Balance sheet	Evidence of the debts	Positive net worth, current management and financial accounts
Property security	Not required	Not stated

The logic is straightforward. With debtor finance, Octet is lending against your customers’ promises to pay, so the invoices carry most of the risk. With trade finance, Octet pays your supplier before anyone has bought the goods, so it leans on your own profitability and balance sheet instead.

That’s why a younger business with good customers may qualify for OctetDebtor long before it qualifies for OctetTrade.

Reading the “60 days without interest” carefully

The interest-free window is genuinely useful, but its value depends on how long your goods take to turn into cash. If stock lands and sells inside 60 days, you might repay before interest starts. If it takes 110 days, most of the term is charged.

A sensible way to test it: map your cycle from supplier payment to customer receipt, then ask Octet for the total dollar cost of a typical shipment at your real timing. Our cash flow gap calculator helps you measure that gap first.

Also keep the reward points in perspective. Points are a pleasant extra, but the decision should rest on cost and fit.

Wondering whether a trade facility, debtor finance or something else would suit your stock cycle? Send us the outline and one of our team will work through which side of the cycle needs funding.

What about OctetExpress?

OctetExpress is easy to misread. It lets you pay suppliers, including those that don’t take cards and the ATO, by charging your own linked credit or debit card. Octet says there’s no credit assessment and no setup fee, and you’ll need an ABN, bank account confirmation, ID and a business email address.

The upshot: OctetExpress is a payment tool rather than finance from Octet. If you pay a $40k supplier bill on a credit card, the debt sits on your card, at your card’s cost. It suits smaller teams happy to lean on card terms and collect points, but it isn’t a replacement for a working capital facility.

Who is Octet a good fit for?

Octet tends to suit:

• Importers, wholesalers and distributors paying overseas suppliers ahead of sale. See our page on importers and exporters.
• Established, profitable businesses above $3m turnover that want structured trade terms.
• B2B businesses with a $100k+ debtors ledger that want cash against invoices without offering property.
• Firms reliant on a few big customers, where Buyer Protection adds a layer of cover.

It’s a weaker fit for businesses selling mainly to consumers, those making a loss in recent years (for trade finance), and very small operators below the ledger and turnover thresholds.

Questions worth asking Octet

1. What are the service fees on debtor finance, and when are they deducted?
2. After the window without interest, how is the cost calculated, and what does a typical shipment cost in dollars?
3. Is the term loan secured, and does it need an existing facility?
4. What does Buyer Protection exclude, and is it an insurance policy?
5. What security interests will be registered on the PPSR?

If Octet isn’t the right fit

• Below the $3m turnover mark for trade finance? Moneytech and Fifo Capital both publish trade facilities with their own criteria.
• Want a larger debtor facility with a long-established name? Compare Earlypay and ScotPac.
• Need funds before you’ve invoiced or ordered? Import finance or an unsecured business loan may fit better.
• Unsure whether you need supplier-side or customer-side funding? Our comparison of supply chain finance and trade finance clarifies the difference.

Finance that matches your stock cycle

Importers and wholesalers rarely have a profit problem; they have a timing problem. The right facility depends on whether the pinch is on the supplier side, the customer side, or both, and on whether you clear the thresholds lenders like Octet publish.

That’s a conversation we have often. Answer a handful of questions on our form (budget a minute); no lender pulls your credit report because you asked. We keep the enquiry in-house instead of hawking it to a panel, so your mobile won’t light up with strangers. Instead a person here reviews your trading pattern and calls with a view. Accurate figures on turnover, profit and supplier terms help us suggest the right structure straight away.

Work out my trade finance options →