SAP and BNP Paribas team up on channel finance

Bank lends financial clout to software firm to help remove financial barriers to end-user investment

SAP has teamed up with BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions to allow UK resellers to offer financing packages for big-ticket software deals.

The software house and its banking partner claim the scale of upfront investment needed to roll out enterprise applications can be prohibitive for businesses. By offering low-rate financing deals – both through SAP directly and its channel partners – the two firms hope to remove barriers and drive uptake of the vendor's technology.

Under the terms of BNP Paribas' package, a £100,000 deployment would typically cost £112,000, repaid quarterly over a two-year period. But payments are directly linked to demonstrable return on investment. The offer runs until 16 December and, subject to terms, end users will not have to pay anything until next year.

Patrick Dunne at SAP Financing EMEA said: "SAP solutions are designed with the sole intention of improving operational efficiencies. The last thing we want our clients to consider is cutting back on investing now. However, given where we are in the economic cycle, this tie-up with BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions is timed perfectly and shows our intent to help our customers become best-run businesses."