Cisco Capital Launches Payment Deferral Program For Cash-Flow-Conscious Customers

Launched Wednesday, the Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Program helps customers adopt Cisco technology without struggling financially. Partners can extend the payment deferral program to their end customers.

Cisco Systems partners and customers facing market uncertainty and financial challenges can now continue to invest in technology with the help of the tech giant’s financing arm.

The Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Program unveiled Wednesday will provide access to the technology that businesses require as they digitally transform to meet the needs of their own end customers, especially at a time when cash flow could be a roadblock, Andrew Blacklock, vice president of strategy and product development for Cisco Capital, told CRN.

“One of the things that we’ve been hearing more recently from our customers is that there’s a general feeling of uncertainty in the market and they’re looking for a little bit of clarity. We thought about how we can we provide certainty at this time, and one thing we thought was particularly valuable was cash flow certainty,” Blacklock said.

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The new program lets customers purchasing Cisco hardware, software and services before July 29, 2023—the end of Cisco’s fiscal 2023—defer payment until no earlier than Jan. 1, 2024.

Payments deferred until 2024 would be based on the total amount financed and contract terms. All Cisco hardware, software and services are eligible for the program, according to the San Jose, Calif.-based company.

The Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Program gives partners a flexible payment option they can extend to their customers. This gives these businesses the ability to buy Cisco technology while maximizing cash preservation. At the same time, Cisco partners can resell Cisco technology while being paid in full by the new program and while also offering a payment-over-time option to their end customers via the deferral, Blacklock said.

“While this is an end customer benefit, it’s a way for the partner to sell a solution with these same payment terms but pass that risk and obligation back onto Cisco Capital,” Blacklock said.

Cisco Capital has worked with customers individually in the past, but there’s never been a formal program that’s provided a payment deferral for this long a time period, Blacklock said.

“One of the things we learned is sometimes our customers don’t always know what is available,” he said. “We felt like this was a great way to get the message out to a broad base of our customers as well as our partners so that they know they can offer it to their customers.”

Cisco’s Refresh portfolio of Cisco certified remanufactured products is also eligible for the Cisco Capital Business Acceleration Program. This option gives businesses access to competitively priced and ready-to-ship hardware, Cisco said.

Cisco Capital offers flexible financing and remanufactured equipment for Cisco gear across the globe, the company said.