Just published: Supplier insight study on virtual card adoption trends.

Previse celebrates the success of Good Business Pays, one year on

It is almost a year since we launched Good Business Pays, so it's time to celebrate some of the wins and successes of the movement.

It is almost a year since we launched Good Business Pays, and we wanted to update you on the successes of the movement. We created Good Business Pays to focus on the culture of slow payment here in the UK, and on the power of modern technology to transform working capital finance for SMEs globally.

Previse’s founding purpose is to improve access to capital for SMEs who are critically dependent on cash to survive and drive our economy forwards. The statistics speak for themselves. Payment times can be as long as 120 days, and the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) estimates that 50,000 SMEs a year are put out of business as a direct result of failure to be paid promptly. At the same time, even when loans are available they are often expensive, invasive and inflexible. Technology and data enable radically improved working capital finance solutions – which Previse delivers as embedded finance through existing B2B networks.

With billions of pounds locked up in the slow payment terms offered by large corporates, Previse along with the FSB, decided a new type of campaign was needed to bring about change.

Collage the logos of companies supporting the Good Business Pays campaign

Since then, the campaign, which is led by Terry Corby, has attracted a wide range of backers, including the CBI, Mastercard, Natwest, and others who collectively work to promote the interests of millions of SMEs. It works closely with the Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay and over 60,000 businesses have used the online tools it makes available to improve transparency on payment practices.

Six months ago, Good Business Pays created a league table highlighting the payment performance of the FTSE 350 companies, which earned national media attention. Since then, the average time to pay an invoice for the 20 worst FTSE350 companies has moved from 81 days to 71 days. There is still a long way to go for these companies but evidence shows that things are improving.

On the other side, the campaign has celebrated good practices with 105 businesses handed a Fast Payer Award for playing their part in ending slow payments. Winners who have received the award include household names such as McDonalds, Amex, Aviva, and United Utilities.

We’re excited about the plans to build on the momentum in 2022 and a small preview of what’s in store can be found in the recent competition that was run to engage the creative community’s help. It got an overwhelming response from freelancers, designers and copywriters across the UK all keen to express their feelings.

As a key progress enabler behind the campaign, Previse plays a pivotal role in helping Good Business Pays realise its goals. We’re delighted to bring our AI-driven solutions, and data analytics to help support the cause and the businesses it helps.

SMEs are facing an increasingly hostile economic climate. Against a backdrop of sharply rising inflation and supply chain disruption, it is more important than ever to tackle the deep-rooted issue of slow payments. Good Business Pays has been instrumental in rising to this challenge and Previse will continue spearheading the campaign to help.

Continue reading about Good Business Pays and watch this space for the latest updates!

See also

Previse leads the charge on embedded finance

Related articles