Digital procurement solutions provider PROACTIS wants to make payments faster for U.K. small businesses. The firm revealed only days ago that it has partnered with Inspired Capital and met with technology lawyers at Walker Morris to develop a new accelerated payment facility for Britain’s SMEs, a move that would expand Inspired Capital’s efforts beyond consumer-only services. PROACTIS is already a strong player on the B2B front. The business provides digital procurement and e-invoicing services between buyers and suppliers, and a new payments facility for businesses would fall under its existing Global Trading Network, which facilitates digital B2B trading. Inspired, the companies said, would accelerate invoice settlements between businesses through the PROACTIS platform. “More than ever, U.K. SMEs are being squeezed by larger players in the supply chain,” said Inspired CEO Brian Cole. “This new product will provide a powerful cash flow management tool for companies in the U.K. and form a key part of our financing proposition for SMEs, further supporting a heavily underserved market.” According to PROACTIS CEO Rod Jones, the new service is part of the firm’s strategy as a buyer-focused SaaS provider to a company that also enables B2B firms to finance their supply chains. The companies highlighted recent research from the Federation of Small Businesses released last December that found nearly 20 percent of U.K. SMEs suffer a “serious deterioration of payment practices.” The study suggested that buyers, often much larger than their small suppliers, are placing burdens on SMEs by extending their payment terms. The new accelerated payment facility, PROACTIS said, would speed up invoice settlements to combat these extended payment terms and ensure that small suppliers have sufficient cash flow to continue business. According to PROACTIS, the buyers who are already part of its consumer base are working with 1 million small suppliers, providing a wide client base potential for the new service. It could be especially lucrative as the U.K. continues to combat late payments, which sees small suppliers burdened by larger corporations delaying their payments. New regulations will aim to curb the matter, but many SMEs in the nation say they are skeptical that these rules will be sufficient to improve payment terms.
Digital procurement solutions provider PROACTIS revealed recently that it has partnered with Inspired solutions and met with technology lawyers at Walker Morris to develop a new accelerated payment system for Britain"s customers , a move that would expand " Capital"s efforts beyond consumer - only solutions .