GoCardless partners with FSB to tackle late payments ‘scourge’

Bank payment provider GoCardless has partnered with the UK’s Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to help its members tackle late payments, by providing advice and guidance over when and how to get paid.

As part of the partnership, GoCardless is headline sponsor of the new ‘FSB GoCardless Late Payments Hub’, which includes practical tips on how to minimise payment admin and improve cash flow, how the payment experience can impact customer satisfaction, how to evaluate different payment methods, and how the right payment strategy can help to foster growth.

According to research published last year by FSB, more than half of the 5.5 million small businesses operating in the UK suffered from late payments in 2022, while a quarter reported an increase in late payments.

The findings revealed that 37% of small businesses had taken on credit to manage their cash flow.

Caroline Lavelle, chief commercial officer at FSB, called late payments a “scourge” which has “stunted” small businesses’ growth.

“Late payments can affect mental wellbeing alongside the financial strain. While there are wider issues at play, which FSB is campaigning on to address, there are practical steps that many small businesses can take right now to reduce the burden on their bottom line,” Lavelle said.

“I hope this new online hub will be a welcome resource to help our members with their financial wellbeing.”

Nicola Hamilton, vice president, marketing, brand and communications at GoCardless, said that small business owners are waiting too long to get paid, and the cost of receiving what they’re owed is too high.

“Hours spent chasing payments quickly add up, and small business owners often opt to let a late payment go rather than having that awkward conversation with a customer. This needs to change,” she said.

Hamilton added that working with FSB would help to put small business owners “back in the driving seat when it comes to collecting their hard-earned money”.

Back in April, GoCardless renewed its partnership with Sage, which provides accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology to small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs).

Through the partnership, millions of Sage’s SMB customers globally have access to GoCardless’ direct debit and Open Banking payment capabilities, enabling those businesses to manage one-off and recurring payments, while reducing manual admin.

Earlier this year, GoCardless joined Crown Commercial Service’s Open Banking Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS), becoming a government-approved supplier of Open Banking services.