# Supply chain finance 
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-buyer-payment-agent/documentation/use_cases/business-payment-service/supply-chain-finance/index.md

The Buyer Payment Agent can indicate whether a payment instruction should be considered for supply chain financing when initially creating an account to account (A2A) payment instruction. For more specific information on supply chain finance, refer to the [tutorial](https://developer.mastercard.com/mastercard-buyer-payment-agent/tutorial/scf/index.md).
Note: In August 2021, Mastercard Track Business Payment Service introduced supply chain finance, which optimizes working capital for buyers and suppliers. With the October 2021 release, the supply chain finance functionality is available for use.

## How supply chain finance works {#how-supply-chain-finance-works}

Supply chain finance enables suppliers to receive early payments from a network of buyers and funders. The supply chain finance enhancement integrates with the current payment instruction workflow and enables Buyer Payment Agents to indicate when a payment instruction should be considered for supply chain finance.

The sequence diagram outlines the new steps for creating a supply chain finance payment instruction request and the funder.
Diagram a2ascf