01
Solve a visible cash constraint
Help a suitable client settle the supplier balance and keep the shipment moving, without asking the client to renegotiate anything it already has in place.
Partner program · Advisors to US importers
Pay supplier earlier. Fund inventory in transit. Add value as the advisor.
Rhofin finances the eligible supplier balance on your client's ocean imports, secured on the goods it finances. Your client keeps its bank line, its lender and you. Rhofin carries the credit process and the transaction controls.
70% of the invoice
Paid direct to the supplier at shipment, on 30/70 terms.
Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance.
Priced per transaction, and charged as interest rather than a markup on the goods.
Secured on the shipment.
Rhofin's standard collateral consists of the specific financed cargo and its identifiable proceeds. Rhofin does not ordinarily take a blanket lien over unrelated business assets. The financing is full recourse, and any additional credit support is disclosed before signing.
Your transaction-specific APR, total financing cost and repayment date are shown before you commit. A default margin applies to amounts unpaid from the sixth day after maturity.
The problem
A profitable importer can still be short of cash at the wrong moment.
The supplier balance falls due at shipment, while the cargo is still weeks away from becoming sellable inventory. That cash gap usually lands on the advisor's desk first.
01
The supplier wants the balance when the cargo ships.
02
The client already owns the goods but cannot yet sell them.
03
The bank line may be reserved for payroll, growth or domestic working capital.
04
You are asked to find liquidity without disrupting the client's existing financing.
What is in it for the advisor
Help the client fund the shipment without becoming the lender.
Add a transaction-specific financing option while keeping your advisory mandate and the client's existing lender relationship, without a blanket lien over the rest of its business.
02
Protect the existing financing stack
The client keeps its bank line and its lender. Rhofin funds one shipment at a time, so nothing your client already has in place has to be renegotiated or replaced.
03
Get paid on every introduction
One signed agreement covers your introductions from then on. Compensation applies to each eligible transaction Rhofin funds.
What Rhofin does
Funded at shipment. Repaid before release.
Two moments per shipment. Between them sits cargo your client already owns and cannot yet sell.
01 · Shipment
Shipment confirmed, bill of lading issued
Your client pays its usual supplier deposit. Once the cargo is under agreed logistics control, the eligible balance is paid directly to the supplier.
02 · Release
Client repays before cargo release
Repayment falls due when the cargo arrives at the destination CFS. Your client repays, the release instruction is issued within one business day, and the cargo keeps moving.
What does not change
Bank relationship
Your client keeps its bank line and its lender.
Your role
You remain the client's advisor. Rhofin does not take it over.
Your balance sheet
You do not underwrite, lend, guarantee or collect.
Supplier terms
Your client buys from its own supplier, on its own terms, and holds title to the goods.
Structure and responsibilities
A secured advance, not a purchase of the goods.
Rhofin sits alongside the purchase transaction as the financing provider. It does not become the buyer, the seller, the importer of record or your client's advisor.
ResponsibilityWho handles it
Purchase contract and title to the goodsThe importer
Importer of record, duties and taxesThe importer
Ongoing financial or operational adviceYou
Qualification, underwriting and financingRhofin
Security interest in the financed goodsRhofin
Cargo-release control after repaymentRhofin and the logistics provider
What it costs your client
Do the arithmetic before your client does.
One illustrative $50,000 order on standard 30/70 supplier terms, financed from shipment through to arrival at the destination CFS 45 days later.
One shipment, worked
Goods value on the commercial invoice$50,000
Deposit your client already pays (30%)$15,000
Balance paid direct to the supplier at shipment (70%)$35,000
Cost of financing over 45 days, at rates from 1.45% per 30 days$761.25
Total repayment before release$35,761.25
Total cost: $761.25.
Illustrative example at our lowest currently available rate. Interest accrues on the supplier balance advance only.No origination, arrangement, documentation, wire, platform or monthly fees. A default margin applies to amounts unpaid from the sixth day after maturity.
Illustrative example only. Not an offer of credit. Your amount financed, APR, total cost and repayment date are quoted in full before you commit. See Important information clause 5.
The 60-second fit check
Which clients should you have in mind?
When in doubt, talk the situation through with us before naming anyone. Qualification is on us, once your client has given written consent to share its information with Rhofin.
Introduce clients who...
- Are US incorporated business entities importing ocean containers.
- Pay a deposit and the supplier balance at shipment (FOB or FCA).
- Move non-perishable, resalable goods.
- Ship roughly four or more times a year.
- Have shipment values around $25,000 and up.
Skip the client who...
- Buys DDP or CIF, so the supplier controls the freight.
- Needs receivables finance rather than goods-in-transit finance.
- Imports perishables, hazardous goods or pharmaceuticals.
- Moves overland cargo from Canada or Mexico.
- Is a consumer, sole proprietor, general partnership or in serious financial distress.
How the partnership works
Start with a conversation, not a client commitment.
No client information or shipment documents are needed for the first discussion.
01
Submit your inquiry
Tell us about your advisory practice and the kinds of importers you support. No client information is required.
02
Review the program
Rhofin explains client fit, transaction mechanics, attribution and partner economics on a 30-minute call.
03
Sign the introducer agreement
The referral terms are documented and signed before your first introduction. This is the step that puts every later introduction on a footing.
04
Introduce clients from then on
Get your client's written consent to share its information with Rhofin, then make a transparent introduction. Rhofin handles qualification and the financing process. Every introduction after this point sits under the same agreement.
Common questions
What advisors usually ask first.
Does Rhofin replace me as the client's advisor?
No. You keep the advisory relationship and continue providing the services you provide today. Rhofin's role is limited to qualifying, documenting and funding eligible transactions and coordinating the required cargo controls.
When is partner compensation payable?
Only under an executed partner agreement, and only on eligible transactions Rhofin actually funds. Eligibility, attribution and payment terms are set out in that agreement and remain subject to employer or professional-body approval and applicable law.
Does Rhofin take title to the goods?
No. Your client buys directly from its supplier and continues to hold title. Rhofin advances funds so the eligible supplier balance is paid, holds the bill of lading, and takes a purchase money security interest in the specific goods it funds.
Does this affect the client's bank facility or other assets?
Rhofin's standard collateral consists of the specific financed cargo and its identifiable proceeds. Rhofin does not ordinarily take a blanket lien over unrelated business assets. The financing is full recourse, and any additional credit support is disclosed before signing. Rhofin's rights extend to that cargo and its identifiable proceeds, as described in the transaction documents and applicable UCC filings, and your client keeps its existing bank relationship; any existing lender rights are reviewed at onboarding.
Do I underwrite, lend, guarantee or collect?
No. You are not the lender, you do not fund the transaction, you do not guarantee the importer and you do not collect repayment. Rhofin carries the credit process and the financing responsibilities.
What does Rhofin charge the client?
Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance. No origination, arrangement, documentation, wire, platform or monthly fees. The charge is separately stated interest on the supplier balance advance, not a markup on the goods. Pricing is risk-based, so the published rate is a floor rather than the rate a given client receives. This is what Rhofin tells your client before it commits: Your rate depends on your credit profile, the shipment, the route, the supplier and the jurisdiction. Your transaction-specific APR, total financing cost and repayment date are shown before you commit.
Which importer clients are generally a good fit?
Established US incorporated businesses importing repeat ocean shipments of non-perishable, resalable goods, particularly where the supplier balance falls due at shipment and the shipment value is generally $25,000 or more. Not sole proprietorships, general partnerships or individuals.
What client information do you need for the first conversation?
None. The first call is about your practice, the program and whether it is relevant to your client base. If a particular client later proceeds, Rhofin requests what it needs directly from that client.
How does a client introduction work?
Once your client has given written consent to share its information with Rhofin, you make a transparent introduction. Rhofin then handles KYB, credit, supplier checks, transaction documents and payment. You stay involved only to the extent you and your client agree.
Who controls cargo release?
The carrier, NVOCC, consolidator, CFS or warehouse that already controls release follows a procedure agreed with Rhofin before the first transaction. Rhofin issues the release instruction within one business day of repayment. The advisor is never expected to hold or release cargo.
Start a partner conversation
Tell us about your advisory practice.
Submit your details and then choose a time for a 30-minute introductory call. No importer or shipment information is required. If there is a fit, the call ends with an introducer agreement to sign.
Key terms
Rhofin lends to the importer, secured on one shipment. You are the introducer or the cargo partner, never the lender. These terms apply every time.
- You are not the lender.
- Partners do not fund, guarantee repayment or take credit risk on the financing, and do not act as the importer's adviser. Clause 14
- Get consent before you send anything.
- An introduction needs the importer's prior written consent to disclose its information to Rhofin. Do not send client information without it. Clause 14
- Rhofin pays you, not the importer.
- Any referral fee and any cargo control fee comes out of Rhofin's own margin, under an executed partner agreement and only on eligible financed shipments. Both are disclosed to the importer. Clause 14
- What the importer pays.
- Rates from 1.45% per 30 days on the supplier balance advance, priced per transaction. The importer's own APR and total cost are shown to them before they commit. No origination, arrangement, documentation, wire, platform or monthly fees. Ocean freight is advanced at no financing charge. A default margin applies from the sixth day after maturity. Clause 6
- What the importer gets.
- A secured commercial loan against one shipment, full recourse, repaid on arrival of the cargo at the destination CFS. The cargo is released only against Rhofin's release instruction. Clause 7
- Out of scope.
- Perishables, hazmat, pharma, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, sanctioned or high UFLPA risk supply chains, overland cargo from Canada or Mexico. Clause 9
- Figures on this site are examples.
- An importer's amount financed, APR, total cost and repayment date are quoted to them in full before they commit. Clause 5
This is a preliminary enquiry, not an application. No credit check is run at this stage. Clause 3
Each term links to its clause in Important information, the full terms.
This is a preliminary enquiry and not an application. It creates no offer or commitment. See Important information clause 3.