Helping Money Flow into Your Business

The way we as consumers pay our bills can look to change radically in the next few years, in large part thanks to the innovations like those unleashed by Open Banking.

The pandemic accelerated digital transformation trends, instead of typing out credit card numbers for one-off purchases, we’re not far off settling bills quickly and securely at the push of a button.

It’s been a tough year for the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses, particularly where their customers haven’t been paying them on time.

Yet, that’s the reality for a significant number of SMEs. For example, in last year’s Business Payments Barometer, 89% of firms admitted to paying some suppliers late, usually for strategic reasons, such as protecting cash flow.

The report also found that 58% of decision-makers viewed the financial fraud loss as part and parcel of running a business. Nationally, that’s a write-off running into the tens of billions (a shocking sum), but this doesn’t have to be the case.

Direct Debit plays an essential role here. What you might call the Netflix subscription model – of agreeing in advance to take cash from a customer’s bank account – is now an everyday reality.

In this supplement, learn how to take control of your cash flow and free yourself from chasing payments to focus on what matters most — growing your business.