Choco Launches Instant Pay to Tackle Late Payment Challenges for UK Food wholesalers and suppliers

17.12.2024

New Product Alleviates Cash Flow Pressure and Empowers wholesalers and suppliers to Focus on Growing Their Business By Ensuring They Get Paid On Time, Everytime

LONDON, UK – Choco, the leader in digital solutions for food wholesalers and suppliers, announces the launch of Instant Pay, an innovative financial solution designed to relieve cash flow constraints for food suppliers. With Instant Pay, Choco customers can receive reliable, upfront weekly payments, giving them consistent cash flow and alleviating the widespread burden of overdue payments that many small businesses face today.

Late payments have become such a serious issue in the UK that the government is considering a package of new laws to clamp down on the problem, which has contributed to a significant cash flow crisis for SMEs and the closure of 50,000 businesses per year. Research from Dun & Bradstreet has found that the average SME is owed £147,141 in late payments, and is being forced to wait nearly eight weeks to be paid. This situation is particularly problematic in food and beverage: the last quarter of 2023 saw the highest number of restaurant closures ever recorded in the UK, with 5.3 going insolvent every day, many of whom left their suppliers with unpaid invoices.

“Our customers tell us again and again that chasing down payments is one of the most stressful and time-consuming aspects of working in food wholesaling, as well as one of the biggest barriers to growth,” said Daniel Khachab, CEO of Choco. “This is why Instant Pay will be truly transformative for the industry. We’re stepping in to remove the pain point of delayed payments, allowing wholesales and suppliers to operate with confidence, invest in their businesses and accelerate growth like never before.”

With Instant Pay, wholesalers and suppliers are paid upfront on a weekly basis for the value of all invoices sent the previous week, regardless of whether the payment terms are 15, 30 or 60 days. Choco guarantees these payments – regardless of whether the customer pays – allowing wholesalers to focus on expanding their businesses without worrying about defaults, unpredictable payment cycles and overall cash flow.

"Choco's Instant Pay has been a game-changer for us. It gives us immediate access to our cash, completely risk-free. With this support, we were able to expand to a second warehouse and are now planning for a third. It allows us to invest quickly in our business and our team as we prepare for national distribution,” said Karol Chamera, Founder of Mr. Lemonade, a supplier of craft drinks, snacks, and packaging.

Instant Pay includes the following features and functionality:

Credit checks: Choco’s integration with Companies House allows you to instantly perform a credit check for new customers, bypassing the tedious vetting process and speeding up client acquisition. And our open banking API allows them to quickly determine the best payment terms and set appropriate spending limits.
Flexible payment terms: Wholesalers and suppliers can offer customisable payment options to customers so they can settle bills in accordance with their own internal accounting practices.
Guaranteed payments: Choco assumes the risk for defaults and offers guaranteed weekly payments to ensure consistent cash flow so you can pay your own suppliers on time and invest into your business.
Powerful interface: Streamline payments with a single, easy-access portal where customers can easily view outstanding invoices and receive reminders, while suppliers can easily monitor payment status through search and filter tools.
Minimal administration: We help you scale your business without adding headcount or administrative complexity by handling collections and other payment processes. Credit notes and invoices are automatically generated via Choco's API integration, so you can seamlessly apply credit notes from previous orders to invoices in your ERP for faster, hassle-free processing.

Instant Pay integrates directly into Choco’s platform, which includes a powerful suite of tools that allow food wholesalers and suppliers to streamline and digitalise every aspect of their business, from sales to order management, and now payments.