PwC Debuts Small Biz Payment Reminder App With Bemo

One of the U.K.’s Big Four auditing firms, PwC, is teaming up with a small tech firm to make it easier for small businesses to make payments.

Reports in Insider.co.uk on Friday (Sept. 14) said PwC is debuting a mobile app for SMBs alongside Scotland-based Bemo. The company has already been collaborating with PwC in its SCALE program, an initiative aimed at promoting collaboration between large and small businesses through technology adoption.

Meanwhile, PwC is working to heighten its presence in the private sector, according to reports. Its small business mobile app, dubbed My Returns Reminder, provides small businesses with notifications about their HMRC payment deadlines, including corporation tax, confirmation statements and VAT payments.

While the platform cannot facilitate payments themselves, the solution intends to help small businesses prevent late fees.

“The launch of My Returns Reminder is a significant moment for our SCALE program, as it embodies what we are trying to achieve by illustrating how innovation works in modern business,” said Douglas Shand, PwC’s head of innovation and technology in Scotland, in a statement. “When PwC realized there was demand for such an app, Bemo was the obvious choice for collaboration. If we hold our SCALE partners up as exemplars, then we should be ready to step up ourselves to collaborate with them, and that is what we’ve done here.”

Bemo focuses on the small business market with its mobile technology solutions, though reports noted it also works with large corporates, including the BBC and Tesco Bank.

In another statement, Bemo Founder Matt Farrugia said small business owners “told us they wanted a form of peace of mind, as they have a responsibility to meet those deadlines” of tax and HMRC payments. “The app is essentially a must-do made easier.”