Chipi removes financial barriers that reflect not only antiquated methods of dealing with mistrust and control, but that also reflect systemic biases built up over decades that lock-out certain groups.

Chipi gives the project owner or funder the mechanism to pay for the bulk of the needed materials. This alleviates the requirement for the front-line builders or suppliers to do so and hence removes the main financial requirement that triggers a need for capital and banking. A smarter payment workflow delivers better construction outcomes while enabling financial inclusion. 

Yes! If you’d like data interoperability with Chipi, you can request that we integrate with your system (if not already done so) or you can access Chipi API’s to integrate with us. 

Chipi enables you to use the same dollars used for your construction project to also be placed directly into communities by making direct payments to the local suppliers on behalf of local builders. Eliminating the financial hurdle of materials procurement is the equivalent of placing capital directly into these small construction businesses. In doing so, you are achieving deep and direct penetration into supporting a community without adding costs or risks.

Also, because you are making payments directly to suppliers, you have a catalog of each SBE/UBE you are directly benefitting and the amount of that benefit. 

Less risk and a new income source!

1) Chipi will enable the owner to capture financing arbitrage.

2) Financially weak sub-contractors have been shown to create project delays.

3) Subs/Trades will often mistime deliveries and hence miss schedules because they try to manage a just-in-time materials ordering process as a cash-flow management technique. JIT requires planning tools and sophistication that is typically beyond their capabilities so failures should be expected.  Chipi removes this just-in-time cash-flow pressure so that materials can be ordered with proper lead times that account for the realities of logistics.

4) Collaboration is often disrupted as slow progress payments lead to mistrust and finger-pointing rather than working through issues. Collaboration requires trust but financial distress turns into a virus of mistrust that infects all parties. Removing financial distress allows collaboration to blossom.

5) Eliminates operational risks. Including small businesses on your team does introduce the risk of operating continuity.  Construction margins are so thin that small mistakes can put people and firms out of business. 1 in 4 construction businesses will fail within 1 year. Chipi minimizes or eliminates this risk.

Faster and better project delivery! Since you are removing a major financial obligation for your subs and trades, they are in a better position to work efficiently and to collaborate without the overhang of payment discussions.

Use your purchasing power! You can negotiate better materials prices than a small front-line trade. Because Chipi is representing your resource depth in the payment process, you can achieve better pricing and service.

Attract the best talent! Eliminating financial costs and problems will enable you to attract the best talent since your project is relatively more attractive than others.

Develop a new workforce! Eliminating financial barriers is a market based solution that will elicit a market response. Once people realize a new opportunity exists that doesn’t require start-up capital and ongoing cash-flow, they will reveal themselves to you enabling you to broaden and deepen your talent base.

Less risk! The financial vulnerability of small subs and trades is no longer a performance risk for you. Pre-lien / Preliminary Notice workflows and mechanics liens risks from suppliers are eliminated.

Build community wealth and capacity! The elimination of the capital requirements needed to properly support your project enables you to hire local people from all backgrounds. This not only increases wealth retention in a community but builds a renewable resource of skills and experience to deepen your impact.

See our pricing page.

There are no costs for any part of the value chain except for materials suppliers (note: individual property owners will see a $15 transaction fee).

How it works: when Chipi makes the final payment to a supplier on behalf of the funder, we withhold an early-pay discount which is widespread in the industry. For institutional projects, the exact discount is determined by the project owner or Prime GC in advance so you will know your cost before participating. The cost will certainly be lower than the cost of providing trade credit and will enable you to make larger sales to your customers (since there is no credit extension or credit risk). For small projects, Chipi will withhold your current or standard early-pay discount, subject to a minimum that will be available for review prior to engaging in a Chipi process. 

There are no additional risks for anyone. Indeed the Chipi process reduces risks for all parties.

The owner does have an edge case risk in the circumstance where a subcontractor has been fired for poor installation. In an extreme case, materials may need to be repurchased (since the owner has paid for materials prior to installation).  The economic value of this risk is a small fraction of the financing arbitrage value alone. Further, the value of this edge case risk is also a fraction of the risks and costs mitigated by the Chipi process:

• eliminating value chain cash flow problems that lead to delays in progress
• eliminating pre-lien document workflows and mechanics liens from suppliers
• intercept and eliminating progress delays due to untimely materials delivery that starts with subcontractors holding orders until the last moment to manage cash flow or credit limits
• intercept and eliminate untimely materials delivery. The cycle starts with sub weak cash flow –>delaying materials order –>missed delivery schedule –> missed project schedule
• collaboration breakdowns born of friction around payment timing
• economic and social impact of unequal access to financing and construction ecosystems