Knowledge base · Industry knowledge · 7 minuten · 9 Sep 2026

Direct financier or broker: who are you dealing with?

In working capital finance two roles get mixed up. The party that arranges your funding, and the party that provides it. This article sets out where that difference sits, and what the SOOF Finance terms and conditions record about it. Useful if you are assessing a provider for yourself or for a client.

Two people at a meeting table with a single agreement between them

Why this question comes up more often

The offering outside the bank has grown in recent years. SME finance through Dutch fintechs rose by 27 per cent in 2024 to 3.2 billion euros, while outstanding SME credit at the three large banks fell by 0.7 billion euros.¹

More providers also means more kinds of provider. And that makes the question of who you are actually dealing with more relevant.

For an accountant or a controller that is no detail. It determines who you approach, what documentation sits in your file, and who is responsible when something changes.

What a broker does

A finance intermediary brings supply and demand together. They take stock of your situation, put it to financiers and guide the application.

You then enter into the agreement with the financier that accepts the application. The intermediary is not a party to it.

That model has real advantages. You get several options, and after a decline the same application can go to the next party.

It also has a downside. On questions about your facility there is a link between you and whoever decides.

Who you enter into the agreement with at SOOF

At SOOF it works differently. The definitions in the terms and conditions state that SOOF Finance B.V. of Katwijk, or an affiliated company, is a party to the agreement with you.

The finance agreement is therefore an agreement between you and SOOF. You do not enter into a contract with a financier introduced through SOOF.

Who does the assessment

The assessment is the heart of the difference. SOOF itself establishes the identity of you, your directors and your ultimate beneficial owners, and carries out the checks that law and regulation require.

SOOF also tests the creditworthiness of you and of your debtors, with the help of third parties where needed, and repeats that testing during the term. Buying in credit information is normal there and those costs are passed on.

The outcomes are decisions by SOOF. SOOF may refuse a debtor, set a debtor limit and adjust that limit during the term.

If the risk increases materially, SOOF may reduce the facility or require additional security. That happens with written reasons.

Who pays out and who holds the security

Under factoring, SOOF decides which receivables are taken over or advanced against, and SOOF advances a percentage of the invoice value. The remainder follows once your debtor has paid in full.

The security is granted to SOOF. SOOF also releases it, as soon as you have settled everything and no obligations remain.

If SOOF handles the receivables management, SOOF decides how and when reminders go out. That is exactly the kind of operational question where an intermediate link becomes awkward.

What a financier may do with your funding

There is a nuance here that often gets left out. Contracting with the financier itself does not mean a third party never comes into view.

The terms provide that SOOF may transfer rights and obligations under the agreement to a third party, and may transfer or pledge claims against you. That is customary among financiers and it changes nothing about what your agreement says.

If you want to know how that is arranged in a concrete proposal, ask about it at the quotation stage. How the fees are built up is set out under rates and fees.

Where you can check this yourself

You do not have to take our word for it. The definitions, the acceptance and continuing assessment, the security and the specific provisions per form of finance are all in the terms and conditions.

If you are assessing this for a client, for accountants is the quickest starting point. What you need to get an application over the line is set out in what your accountant needs.

What it comes down to

The question is not whether a broker or a financier is better. The question is who decides, who pays out, who holds the security and who you approach when something changes.

At SOOF that is the same party on all four. If you want to put it alongside another proposal, get in touch and bring the terms with you.

Sources

De Nederlandsche Bank, Financiering via Nederlandse fintechs in drie jaar tijd meer dan verdubbeld, 6 October 2025.

About the author

Jaap van Aalst

Commercieel directeur, SOOF Finance

Jaap van Aalst started his first business almost thirty years ago, in staffing and secondment. That is where he saw for himself how many opportunities are lost when money sits too long in unpaid invoices.

Around eighteen years ago he moved into the factoring world, as commercial director. Since then he has sat across the table from countless business owners and seen at first hand what financing questions look like in practice. He looks further than the balance sheet: what the business does, where the opportunities are, and which form of finance genuinely moves it forward.

That is also the basis of his work at SOOF Finance. His starting point is simple: finance is not an end in itself, but a means by which a good entrepreneur delivers on their plans.

Ask your question

Frequently asked questions

With SOOF Finance B.V. of Katwijk, or an affiliated company. That is set out in the definitions in the terms and conditions.

SOOF. SOOF carries out the identification, tests the creditworthiness of you and your debtors, and decides which receivables are advanced against.

Yes. The terms allow SOOF to transfer rights and obligations under the agreement to a third party. That changes nothing about the arrangements in your own agreement.