In this edition:

• October with the Small Business Commissioner

• Online market places and payment providers guidance

• 400 Fair Payment Code Awardees

• AI Survey

5 minute read

October with the Small Business Commissioner

Welcome to October’s newsletter, which I am pleased to say is reflective of another strong month at the OSBC as we continue on a mission to make life easier for small businesses. This month, we reached another Fair Payment Code milestone, with over 400 Awardees now on the Code! It’s great to see businesses of all sizes demonstrating their commitment to fair payment. We also launched new guidance for small businesses trading via online platforms, with major market places pledging to support their small business customers. In other news:

New Minister

The month started with a meeting with Blair McDougall MP, the new Minister for Small Business. During our meeting, the Minister, once a small business owner himself, expressed the stress he used to feel chasing payments and his personal commitment to tackling this issue. I’m looking forward to working closely with him over the coming months.

Late Payments Consultation

The Department for Business and Trade consultation on legislative measures to reduce late payments and increased powers for the Small Business Commissioner has come to a close. Thank you to all who responded - we’ve received such a large and diverse set of responses. I’m hopeful that we can find a solution that works for all businesses.

Free the Founder

On 13th October, I hosted my first major event with the OSBC - Free the Founder. The name of this event was inspired by the latest UK Government research, which demonstrates that small businesses spend 86 hours chasing late payments. Hosted by ICAEW, and supported by Starling Bank, I was joined by industry leaders and senior government officials to discuss ways of reducing this number of hours and how that might contribute to growth. See my summary here.

To keep up to date with the rest of our work, subscribe to my weekly newsletter below.  

Emma Jones

Small Business Commissioner

As part of our event, Free the Founder, we were excited to launch a new guide for small businesses trading / considering trading via online market places. This guide offers a brief outline of what small businesses should consider when selecting providers; it identifies the reasons why your account might be placed on hold or funds held, and in partnership with a wide range of providers, establishes a voluntary code of payment conduct that the sector has agreed to sign up to.

It was great to be joined at the event by some of the companies that have already signed-up: PayPal, Ebay, Stripe, and Temu. See the full guide and list of companies that have signed up by following the link below. Please do share this guide with your networks if useful.

We are thrilled to announce that since launching in December 2024, over 400 businesses of all sizes and a range of industries, across the UK have become Fair Payment Code Awardees.  

Emma Jones, Small Business Commissioner, said:

“It is fantastic to celebrate this milestone for the Fair Payment Code with businesses across the UK.  Code Awardees are leaders in fair and quick payments, getting money moving through the economy, and encouraging growth in supply chains. But this is just the start, I want to see more businesses applying to the Code so we can continue to build a positive payment culture where paying on time is simply seen as the right thing to do.”

Ken McHugo, Head of Supply Chain at NatWest Group and recent Fair Payment Code Gold Awardee, said:

“NatWest Group the biggest backer of businesses in the UK with more than 1.5 million customers, from start ups and SMEs to multinational companies. We know first-hand from our business banking customers how important prompt payment is to cash flow, success and growth. By being a Gold Awardee on the Fair Payment Code, we have shown our commitment to supporting our suppliers through our efficient payment processes.”

If you’ve yet to achieve your Award, you can start the simple application process today by clicking the link below.

We are looking at how businesses are using AI. We know that some businesses are integrating it into their day-to-day operations, and others don’t know where to start. Please let us know where you are with AI by completing our short survey.