NatWest Group, the banking and financial services organization that serves around 19 million UK clients, has reportedly become the first major banking institution to sign-up and support the Good Business Pays campaign.
NatWest Group is one of the largest business and commercial banks in the United Kingdom, supporting approximately 1 in 4 or 25% of businesses with reaching their real potential by eliminating financial barriers.
The bank confirmed that it will be reinforcing its commitment to small businesses in the UK by signing up to the Good Business Pays campaign, which was introduced in May of last year to encourage large firms to expedite their payments to small suppliers.
Alison Rose, CEO at NatWest Group, stated:
“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.”
Rose added:
“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 Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has revealed that as much as £60 billion of additional revenue could be tapped into for SMEs if their large clients actually paid them on receipt of invoices, adding substantial capital to the country’s economy as they continue to tackle the challenges resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic while creating around 460,000 new jobs.
Terry Corby, Chair of the Good Business Pays campaign, remarked:
“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 recognizes 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.
Corby added:
“It’s really encouraging to see a major organization 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 organizations, 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.”
As noted in the update, the Good Business Pays campaign plans to get companies paying on time. It’s calling on other large firms to join NatWest Group in signing up to show their support by adopting a set of pledges, including:
- Complying with the Prompt Payment Code principles;
- Exploring digital solutions that enable small supplier invoices to be paid when they need it;
- Providing access to data that helps drive the fast invoice payment agenda for small businesses;
- Making sure payment performance data is published as required by the ‘duty to report’ on large businesses;
- Undertaking a quarterly review of feedback from suppliers on payment performance.
The Good Business Pays campaign is supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI, manufacturers group Make UK, the BCC, IoD and the Creative Industries Federation.