What is FCI (Factors Chain International)?
FCI is the global association of factoring companies. It was set up in 1968 as Factors Chain International, a non-profit association, and is based in Amsterdam. On 1 January 2016 it merged with the other big association, the International Factors Group (IFG), and the merged body kept the name FCI. It says it has "over 350 member companies in more than 90 countries" (FCI). For a UK business, it matters mainly if you export and want to fund invoices to overseas customers.
Key facts
| Name | FCI, originally Factors Chain International |
| Set up | 1968, as a non-profit association |
| Based in | Amsterdam, the Netherlands |
| Merger | With the International Factors Group (IFG), 1 January 2016 |
| Members | Over 350 companies in more than 90 countries |
| Rules | General Rules for International Factoring (GRIF) |
Sources: FCI, About FCI; the original name from FCI's tribute to its first Secretary General. Checked 11 October 2026.
What FCI does
FCI links factoring companies in different countries so they can work together on export invoices. It runs a shared set of rules, the General Rules for International Factoring (GRIF), and an online system called edifactoring that members use to send each other credit requests and messages. It also represents the factoring industry worldwide. Membership is open to companies that provide factoring (FCI).
How the two-factor system works
When a UK business sells to a customer abroad, two factoring companies can be involved: your own lender (the export factor) and a factoring company in your customer's country (the import factor). FCI describes the steps like this:
- Your lender asks the import factor to approve your overseas customer.
- The import factor checks the customer using its local credit information and sets a credit limit.
- You ship the goods and send the invoice. Your lender advances you part of the invoice.
- The import factor sends the customer reminders and collects the payment in the customer's country.
- The import factor sends the money to your lender, which pays you the balance less its charges.
- If an approved customer has not paid because it is insolvent 90 days after the due date, the import factor pays your lender.
The import factor only covers customers it has approved, up to the limit it has set. Check the approved limit before you ship.
What it means for UK exporters
- Ask your lender whether it is an FCI member, and which import factors it uses in your customers' countries.
- Ask how long credit approval takes for a new overseas customer.
- Ask for all the charges, including any fee the import factor takes and the cost of changing currency.
For how export invoice finance works and who offers it, see export invoice finance and export finance.
Common questions
What does FCI stand for?
It started as Factors Chain International. Today the organisation calls itself FCI. When it merged with the International Factors Group (IFG) in 2016, the merged body kept the FCI name.
Is FCI a lender?
No. FCI is a membership association. It does not lend to businesses. Its members, which are factoring companies and banks, do the lending.
Is my UK invoice finance lender an FCI member?
Ask the lender, as membership changes over time. If you export, also ask which import factors the lender works with in your customers' countries.
Founder & Managing Director, Muswell Rose, founder and PSC of Best Business Loans Ltd
Adam is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and a founder of Best Business Loans Ltd, the company behind Market Invoice. He spent over three years as managing director of Penny, a UK invoice finance business, and his career runs through insurance, mortgages, commercial finance and fintech lending. He writes the Market Invoice library.
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