UK’s Peasy Offers Rewards For Faster Invoice Payments

Peasy, a new U.K.-based startup, wants to help businesses get invoices paid faster, according to a press release.

The idea behind Peasy is to link a company with automated accounting software and offer cash incentives for paying earlier. The sooner the payment, the bigger the reward.

The rewards are funded by the supplier, usually at 1 percent to 5 percent of the invoice values, the release states. The idea is touted as one that can boost cash flows.

The pandemic has drastically worsened the state of late invoice payments. In the U.K., 68 percent of business owners surveyed said they were concerned about cash flows, according to the release. Before the pandemic, 24 percent of businesses said late payments jeopardized their survival.

Using Peasy’s technology, in trial with the National Association of Shopfitters, 20 percent of payments were made within two weeks, marking a 49 percent improvement on the current state of invoice payments, the release states.

Peasy Co-Founder and CEO David Landsberg said the company is hoping to use its tech to “level the playing field” with incentives to help struggling businesses.

“We believe that as businesses return to a sense of normality following lockdown, they can leave behind their old collection practices and focus on improving their cashflow and strengthening the economy without having the distraction of chasing debtors,” he said in the release. “It really is time for businesses to draw a line in the sand and take control of their cashflow for greater certainty ahead.”

Peasy has partnered with Avios to offer travel rewards, and there will be options to donate the rewards to partnering charities, such as NHS Charities, Cancer Research UK and Trees for Cities, the release states. The program is free to use and has no other costs.

Late invoices have caused trouble on all sides of the B2B payments chain since the pandemic, with businesses finding themselves on shaky ground when payments aren’t made on time due to the unstable economy, and others finding it difficult to run smoothly while working from home. The problems have caused a rapid shift toward accounts payable (AP) automation.