This is called factoring and is common in corporate finance where Y net-N (payment after N days or Y% discount at 10 days) is standard operating procedure.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factoring_(finance)" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factoring_(finance)</a><p>The Red Cross would sell their invoices from the telephone companies at a discount to a third party. Although, the possibility of fraudulent contributions may complicate this plan.