NatWest Group, the leading banking and financial services organisation that serves 19 million UK customers, has become the first major bank to sign-up and support the Good Business Pays campaign.
NatWest Group is the largest business and commercial bank in the UK, helping around 1 in 4 businesses reach their full potential by breaking down financial barriers.
Today the bank is reinforcing its commitment to small business owners by signing up to the Good Business Pays campaign, which was launched in May 2021 to encourage large companies to fast track their payments to small suppliers.
Alison Rose, Chief Executive at NatWest Group, said: “As the largest supporter of UK businesses, we understand the difference that prompt payment makes to businesses throughout the supply chain which is why we are supporting the Good Business Pays campaign. Throughout the pandemic we have maintained immediate payment on goods and services receipt, which exceeds our commitment to the Government’s Prompt Payment code.
We are proud to have been awarded the Fast Payer Accreditation by Good Business Pays for 2021, and we will continue to meet this standard as a bank that is committed to helping SMEs thrive and achieve their potential.”
Research commissioned by Good Business Pays from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has shown that up to £60bn of additional revenue would be unlocked for small businesses if their large customers paid them on receipt of invoices, adding much needed capital to the nation’s economy as we continue to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and creating up to 460,000 extra jobs.
Terry Corby, Chair of the Good Business Pays campaign commented: “We are delighted to have the support of NatWest Group, a company that has long shown its commitment to the business sector. NatWest Group is also a great example of a large company that recognises and takes seriously its responsibility to pay small suppliers on time and quickly. It was one of the first major banks to receive the Good Business Pays Fast Payer Award in 2021.
“It’s really encouraging to see a major organisation continue to support the recovery and growth of small businesses in such a competitive environment. I look forward to working with NatWest Group, alongside our other supporting organisations, to bring an end to our culture of late payments. According to the latest data from the FSB, this is threatening to force almost half a million UK small businesses to close down.”
The Good Business Pays campaign aims to get businesses paying not just on time, but working towards payment when small fast. It is calling on other large businesses to join NatWest Group in signing up to show their support by adopting a set of pledges:
1. Complying with the Prompt Payment Code principles;
2. Exploring digital solutions that enable small supplier invoices to be paid when they need it;
3. Providing access to data that helps drive the fast invoice payment agenda for small businesses;
4. Making sure payment performance data is published as required by the 'duty to report' on large businesses;
5. Undertaking a quarterly review of feedback from suppliers on payment performance.
The Good Business Pays campaign is backed by the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI, manufacturers group Make UK, the BCC, IoD and the Creative Industries Federation.