Online payments start-up GoCardless has announced the launch of a new tool that for the first time enables any SME to collect variable payments by Direct Debit. Until today, millions of SMEs have been excluded from taking Direct Debit payments by the banks, which allowed only the largest businesses access. With this new tool, GoCardless empowers any business to take control of when they’re paid with the cheapest and most reliable payments.
Getting paid on time has never been so difficult: UK SMEs are owed a staggering GBP30bn in late payments, and waste on average 14 days a year chasing them. In contrast, their corporate competitors use Direct Debit to control when they are paid. Excluded from the system due to its complexity, SMEs are left with nowhere to turn but expensive providers like PayPal or manual bank transfers.
Founder Matt Robinson said today: “Direct Debit is the most reliable way to take payments, but until now SMEs, from wholesalers to service companies, were shut out. GoCardless gives them instant, easy access to the payment method their larger competitors have been using for years.” He continues, “At GoCardless we want to ensure that small businesses across the UK, just like ours, can access the best payment method for them. We believe that taking payments should be simple, and cheap.”
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