Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs)
remain highly dependent on cheques, with 79 percent of the
businesses using them to pay other organisations, a new study has
found.
The research, conducted by Bacs, the business
behind UK direct debits and Bacs direct debit, found that 76
percent of SME’s are still receiving payment by cheque.
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Cheque clearing facilities are due to be
phased out by 2018 and a number of payment providers, including
CHAPS and Faster Payments, are vying for businesses use their
services as a replacement.
“SMEs should consider replacing the use of
cheques with automated payment methods sooner rather than
later,” said Mike Hutchinson, head of marketing at Bacs.
“Automated payments offer many benefits in
streamlining processes and helping cash flow, which companies can
take advantage of now to help combat late payments.”
The report also found 45 percent of SMEs have
experienced late payments. The average amount owed to a British SME
at any one time is £32,000 up from £25,000 in December 2009. The
total amount owed in late payments to British SMEs is £24.6billion
up nearly £600 million on last year’s figures.
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