SmartDebit comment on new late payment scheme that may generate £1.5bn for UK councils

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SmartDebit

(PRWEB UK) 24 December 2012

Payment service provider, Oxygen Finance, has designed the ‘early repayment programme’. This programme will motivate buyers such as local authorities to settle their invoices quickly in exchange for a cash rebate. The scheme will issue those local authorities who pay their suppliers early will receive a rebate of at least 1 per cent of the amount they pay from Oxygen.

Oldham Council has already piloted the early repayment scheme and is set to generate an extra £2 million income over four years, from the £73 million that they are putting through Oxygen’s programme. The scheme could now be introduced by other authorities across the UK.

According to Roberto Moretti, European Chief Executive of Oxygen, small businesses spend an average of 14 days each year chasing payments, resulting in a cost of £680 million.

In the present economic climate, cash flow sits high in the priority list of many small businesses across the UK. An increasing number of companies are seeking automated payment facilities to collect from their customers or suppliers on a regular basis. A spokesperson from the Surrey-based Direct Debit Bureau SmartDebit, commented on the payments culture and the new scheme:

“Tackling the issue of late payment in the UK has proved difficult over the past few years, with many companies unwilling to provide more stringent payment terms for fear of losing business over it. The early repayment programme provides a great incentive to local authorities and businesses to settle their invoices earlier. The Direct Debit payment method has seen huge growth over the past decade with Bacs processing over 3.2 billion debits in 2011 alone. Our service is providing organisations across the UK with the ability to automate their payment collections, leaving them to concentrate on the core activities that will drive their business forward.”

About SmartDebit

SmartDebit is the UK’s leading Direct Debit Bureau, specialising in payment processing services since 1998. A Bacs approved Bureau, scoring ‘Excellent’ in all five categories of the Bacs audit, and ISO 27001 compliant. Providing a complete range of services: Outsourcing; SmartDebit-Admin cloud based portal; SmartDebit-Online payer sign up; SmartDebit-API integrated solution and SmartDebit-Contingency.

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