Friday 15 November 2013

Business Direct Debit use overtakes cheque payments







Business transactions made via Direct Debit outstripped cheque payments for the first time in 2012, underpinning new research showing that SMEs overwhelmingly favour Direct Debit over alternative payment methods.

The new study comes from from Bacs Payment Schemes Ltd (Bacs), the company behind Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit in the UK, and offers an intriguing insight into how SMEs view paying and being paid for goods and services. Data from ‘Understanding SMEs attitudes to payment methods’* shows 66 per cent of SMEs view Direct Debit as the preferred way of collecting money and ensuring it arrives on time.

The report also found that 60 per cent more SMEs are using Bacs Direct Credit than five years ago, while 55 per cent of SMEs expect their use of Bacs Direct Credit to increase as a means of making payments.

The news comes as the Payments Council’s 2013 UK Payments Statistics Report shows that businesses made a staggering 384 million Direct Debit payments last year, 21 million more transactions than by cheque, and an increase of 27 million Direct Debit payments compared to 2011.

The 'Understanding SMEs attitudes to payment methods' reports can be downloaded from from the Bacs website - www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/Resources/Pages/Publications.aspx

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