Cashflows launches Anytime Settlement to give businesses access to payments in hours rather than days

Cashflows, the platform that makes it easy for merchants to accept payments, has launched Anytime Settlement. The new service enables businesses to access funds in a matter of hours following a transaction, rather than the industry average of three working days. With more than 250,000 businesses set to collapse this year without support, Anytime Settlement aims to give merchants greater control of their funds in the wake of ongoing cash flow challenges. 

The launch comes as research conducted by Cashflows late last year, reveals that 42% of UK retail and financial services payments decision makers say having more predictable cash flow is important to their business - compared to 32% before the pandemic. 67% confirm their businesses have been negatively impacted by Covid-19 with 76% believing the future has been irrevocably changed.  

Worryingly, 15% said they don’t feel in control of their payments. Over half (54%) say being able to control remittances would give them security/peace of mind, this figure rising to 63% of those in financial services. 

With Cashflows Anytime Settlement, business leaders will now have the freedom to choose when and at what frequency they receive funds following the receipt of payments. This ability will therefore allow them the flexibility to reinvest funds as needed to support changing business priorities. 

Businesses across all industries have been forced to adapt to life with Covid-19, with 2 in 5 (41%) of survey respondents having reviewed or changed their business model as a result. 72% agreed that the momentum of technological innovation has accelerated due to Covid-19 and remote working. 47% said that Covid-19 is the single biggest concern for their business, followed by making profits (13%) and Brexit (10%).

Amanda Mesler, CEO, Cashflows, said: “2020 was the most challenging year for businesses that we’ve seen for decades and 2021 doesn’t seem like it will be much easier. We all know that the payments industry has long been hindered by archaic processes and infrastructure. The events of the last 12 months have really highlighted a need to improve this to give SMEs - the life blood of our global economy - the best possible chance to thrive in difficult circumstances. Anytime Settlement is simple - it’s about giving businesses access to what is already theirs, whenever they need it. With so much outside business leaders’ control, we believe they should at least have freedom over how they manage their funds.”