London fintech continues to support small businesses with partnership extension

GoCardless, the bank payments company, has announced it is renewing its strategic partnership with Xero, the global small business platform, for another five years.

The agreement builds on a long-term relationship which started in 2016, focused on helping small businesses get paid faster. For GoCardless this also represents a doubling down in the accountancy space, a key sector for the fintech as it executes on its ambitious growth plans.

The news comes as small businesses around the world face some of the most challenging economic conditions in recent history, and the pressure is impacting business owners.

According to Xero’s Global state of small business owner wellbeing report, the wellbeing of small business owners is at a level below that of the general population, weighed down by a range of challenges, including cash flow.

Through this partnership, Xero’s small business customers can improve their cash flow and get paid up to twice as fast by connecting their online invoice payments to the GoCardless platform. The partnership enables Xero’s customers to use GoCardless directly within the Xero platform to easily collect recurring and one-off payments without hidden fees.

This is through both direct debit, which minimises the likelihood of late payments, and a GoCardless feature to collect instant, one-off payments powered by open banking in the UK and PayTo in Australia.

In addition, small businesses can reconcile payments directly in the Xero platform, reducing administrative burden. For accountants and bookkeepers, the integration provides an accurate and up-to-date picture of a company’s financial position. This eliminates the need to follow up with clients about their accounts.

Leigh O’Neill, EGM - Money at Xero, commented: “We’re excited to strengthen our relationship with GoCardless by renewing our partnership. Our partnership with GoCardless offers Xero customers the ability to tap into GoCardless’ global bank payment network so they can get paid faster.”

Seb Hempstead, VP of Partnerships at GoCardless, added: “Our relationship with Xero started with our shared ethos of supporting small business. Throughout the years our joint customers have told us how much this strategic partnership has transformed their business, from freeing up hours of valuable time to solving their cash flow woes.

“As we ‘renew our vows’ for another five years, we look forward to bringing the latest in bank payments to millions of small businesses to help them win and retain customers, save time and money, stress less and get paid on time.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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