Halton Borough Council has become the first local authority in the UK to adopt a new fintech platform to provide an option of discounted early payments to suppliers.
It has signed up to use Saltare’s Early Pay, which the company has claimed can provide efficiencies and a boost to economic growth.
The platform works on the basis that once an invoice is approved it will notify the supplier with the offer of early payment in return for a small discount. The supplier can quickly accept the offer it wishes, and the platform will notify the buyer.
While there is no obligation on either side for any individual payment, it can boost cash flow for smaller firms and reduce invoice queries, and includes a suite of reporting tools for supply chain data and analytics.
Halton plans to integrate Early Pay into its systems over the next few months, so its suppliers will automatically receive invoice approval notifications and the option of early payment offers.
Social value
Its head of procurement Mervyn Murphy said the move will help it provide social value to the local community.
“Halton Borough Council recognises the challenges faced by businesses in these difficult times and has always looked for ways to better support them,” he said. “We have previously offered early payment solutions in this space, however, Saltare brings something different that complements our other payment options for suppliers.”
