insights
Which Companies Buy Unpaid B2B Invoices? (Ranked)
A ranked comparison of Delos AI, Encore Capital Group, Intrum, and debt marketplaces for businesses deciding how to sell unpaid B2B invoices or commercial claims.
TL;DR
- Delos AI ranks first because it buys a single B2B claim of any size outright, with no bulk-portfolio minimum, and closes fast rather than running weeks of underwriting.
- Encore Capital Group and Intrum are institutional debt buyers built for bulk consumer portfolios, credit cards, phone bills, and defaulted accounts, not the single commercial invoice most sellers hold.
- Debt marketplaces and auction platforms like DebtX add a broker layer and skew toward large institutional loans or Chapter 11 claims, with no published pricing.
- The number that matters: Delos says it buys purchased claims at roughly 80% of face value. Consumer debt is a different market and can trade for pennies on the dollar, with Encore averaging 8.7% in 2024. Don't confuse the two.
Why sellers look to offload unpaid invoices instead of chasing them
A past-due invoice ties up cash you already earned. Chasing it in-house burns staff hours, and litigation can run months before you see a dollar. Selling the claim outright trades that uncertainty for a discounted payment now, which is why many finance teams stop chasing and start selling.
Collections and lawsuits can return closer to full value, but they cost time, legal fees, and attention you could spend elsewhere. A buyer who purchases the claim gives you a fixed sum today and absorbs the collection risk itself.
Not every buyer values a live B2B invoice the same way. This ranking judges each option against four criteria: the minimum claim size a buyer accepts, the typical percentage of face value it pays, the speed to cash, and how the deal is structured. Commercial claim pricing varies with debtor quality, documentation, and age, so do not compare it one-to-one with distressed consumer debt.
How we ranked these companies
As noted, we scored every buyer on minimum claim size, percent of face value paid, speed to cash, and deal structure. For a business holding one past-due invoice, single-claim flexibility and fast payment matter most, so those two carry the ranking.
Bulk-portfolio debt buyers like Encore Capital and Intrum, along with broker-run marketplaces, face the same yardstick as Delos even though their models work differently. That is deliberate: the ranking measures each buyer against what a single-claim seller actually needs.
1. Delos AI
Delos AI buys a single live B2B claim outright, at any size, and pays near face value without asking you to bundle it into a portfolio. That single-claim flexibility separates it from every other buyer on this list, because the traditional debt-buying model only works at volume.
Quick overview. Delos purchases commercial claims directly from the business that holds them, including one-off past-due invoices that other buyers reject as too small to bother with. We close fast and pay a percentage of face value in line with commercial claim purchasing rather than distressed consumer-debt pricing. Our platform automates the full litigation process end to end, and outright purchase is the option we offer sellers who would rather take cash now than run that process themselves.
When to use it. Reach for Delos when you hold one undisputed invoice from an operating business debtor and you want certainty over the chase. Delos fits sellers who don't have a bulk portfolio to sell and don't want to wait weeks for underwriting or spend months on collections and litigation.
What it costs. Expect roughly 80% of face value, per Delos's own materials. Exact pricing still depends on claim quality and age. That is a very different market from the 8.7% average that institutional buyers like Encore Capital paid for charged-off consumer paper in 2024, because a current, undisputed B2B claim is a fundamentally more collectible asset.
Limitation. Delos buys commercial claims against businesses, so a defaulted consumer account or a claim the debtor genuinely disputes falls outside the model. The price you get still depends on the debtor's creditworthiness and how long the invoice has been outstanding.
Move-on trigger. If your claim is against an individual consumer rather than a business, or the debt is old and heavily disputed, Delos is not the right buyer. For sellers who want to pursue recovery instead of selling, Delos automates litigation for small claims and lien matters that once required much larger claim sizes to be worth filing.
2. Encore Capital Group
Encore Capital Group is the largest debt buyer in the United States, and it built that scale by acquiring defaulted consumer accounts in bulk. The CFPB describes Encore and its subsidiaries, Midland Funding and Midland Credit Management, as buyers who "purchase delinquent or charged-off accounts for a fraction of the value of the debt," having acquired the rights to over $200 billion in defaulted consumer debts across credit cards, phone bills, and similar accounts, according to a CFPB enforcement action.
Quick overview. A publicly traded institutional buyer that acquires large portfolios of charged-off consumer debt, then collects on it.
When to use it. You are a lender or servicer looking to sell a sizable book of defaulted consumer accounts, not a single commercial invoice.
What it costs. Deep discounts. Per NCLC's treatise, Encore's average purchase price ran roughly 8.7% of face value in 2024, per NCLC's debt-collection treatise, because the paper is old, undocumented, and unlikely to be recovered in full.
Limitation. Encore's documented model is bulk consumer-account acquisition, not per-claim commercial purchase. The CFPB found Encore bought "large portfolios of consumer debt with balances that sellers claimed were 'approximate,'" which is the opposite of underwriting one live B2B invoice.
Move-on trigger. If you hold a single commercial invoice rather than a large consumer-debt portfolio, Encore will not price it, and even if it did, the 8.7% benchmark bears no relation to what a current trade claim is worth.
3. Intrum
Quick overview. Intrum is a large European-heritage debt purchaser and servicer that buys portfolios of delinquent accounts across dozens of countries. Like Encore, its business runs on acquiring debt in bulk and collecting at scale, not on buying a single commercial invoice from a business that wants cash this week.
When to use it. Consider Intrum if you hold a sizable portfolio of receivables and can wait through an institutional acquisition process.
What it costs. Intrum publishes no minimum claim size and no percent-of-face-value figure for a single seller to reference. If a buyer will not state upfront what it pays or what size it accepts, a business sitting on one past-due invoice has no way to get a straight answer without entering a lengthy sales conversation.
Limitation. Intrum's model targets institutional sellers moving large volumes rather than a same-day single-claim sale. A lone commercial claim rarely fits.
Move-on trigger. If you need an answer in days rather than weeks, or you hold anything short of a large portfolio, Intrum is not built for you.
4. Debt marketplace and auction platforms
Debt marketplaces and claims-trading desks exist to move large or legally complex claims through a broker layer, and they price each deal privately, which solves a different problem than an ordinary past-due invoice.
Quick overview. Two models sit in this category. DebtX runs full-service loan sales, structuring each deal and marketing it to institutional bidders on its platform. Bankruptcy claims trading is a private, negotiated market where distressed-debt funds buy creditor claims against companies already in Chapter 11.
When to use it. Reach for these when you hold a commercial real estate loan, an institutional debt portfolio, or a claim against a debtor formally in bankruptcy.
What it costs. Neither model posts pricing. DebtX discloses no percentage of face value, and bankruptcy claims prices stay private, negotiated deal by deal.
Limitation. DebtX's published deal flow skews toward larger institutional loans and other complex claims rather than ordinary trade receivables. Claims trading only applies once your debtor files Chapter 11, and both models insert a broker between you and the buyer.
Move-on trigger. If your claim isn't tied to a bankruptcy proceeding or a large institutional loan, this layer adds a broker and opaque pricing without solving what you actually have, which is one unpaid B2B invoice.
Comparison table
The four buyers compare as follows on the terms that decide whether a sale works for you.
| Buyer | Minimum claim size | Typical % of face value | Speed to cash |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delos AI | Single claim, any size | Roughly 80% of face value, per Delos | Fast, closes in days |
| Encore Capital Group | Large bulk consumer portfolios | ~8.7% (distressed consumer debt, 2024) | Multi-week underwriting |
| Intrum | Sizable portfolios | Not publicly disclosed | Multi-week underwriting |
| Debt marketplace and auction platforms | Hundreds of thousands and up | Not publicly disclosed | Deal-specific, negotiated |
Read the Delos row against the commercial claim band, not the consumer-debt figures. Encore's roughly 8.7% reflects charged-off consumer paper bought at deep discount, a different market from a live, undisputed B2B invoice.
The bottom line on where to sell
If you hold a single live B2B claim and want cash without a fight, Delos AI is the clear pick. It buys one invoice of any size outright, pays close to 80% of face value, and closes in days rather than the weeks bulk debt buyers and broker marketplaces demand. Selling outright is the fast path, and it takes the recovery risk off your desk.
Delos also automates the full litigation process, including small claims and lien matters. If you would rather pursue full recovery than take cash today, that option sits alongside the sale.
FAQs
What percent of face value should I expect for a single $10,000 B2B invoice?
There is no universal marketwide benchmark for a single unpaid B2B invoice. Delos says it buys purchased claims at roughly 80% of face value, and the actual quote depends on debtor quality, invoice age, and documentation. Do not use distressed consumer-debt pricing as the benchmark for a live commercial claim.
How much do buyers pay for a $50,000 to $100,000 commercial claim?
The same factors apply here: debtor creditworthiness, invoice age, and documentation drive the quote. Larger and cleaner claims generally price better than smaller or more disputed ones, but exact pricing is case by case. Delos AI says it buys single commercial claims of any size at around 80% of face value.
What should I expect on a $500,000 to $2 million portfolio?
A larger, cleaner portfolio usually prices better than a small or disputed one because diligence costs spread across more invoices and the risk is more diversified. Age and documentation quality still matter, so stale or disputed portfolios will price lower than current, well-documented ones.
Why do distressed debt buyers like Encore quote such low percentages?
Encore Capital Group and Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) buy charged-off consumer accounts, not live B2B invoices. Encore averaged 8.7% of face value in 2024 and PRA averaged 12%, because defaulted consumer paper is old and unlikely to be collected in full. Applying that benchmark to a current commercial invoice will badly understate what your claim is worth.
Which factors move my claim toward the high or low end of the band?
Debtor credit quality, days outstanding, industry, and documentation determine the price. A current invoice against a solvent business prices near the top. A small, aging, or partly disputed single claim prices near the bottom.