Embracing project bank accounts (PBAs) is crucial for Welsh businesses.
We recently issued a PBA survey which discovered nearly half of the SME respondents either had no knowledge of PBAs or a basic understanding but were unclear about how they worked or the benefits of using one. It also highlighted misconceptions about ‘red tape’ and additional costs affecting take up by SMEs in public sector sub-contractor supply chains.
To raise awareness of the benefits of PBAs, SEWSCAP published Project Bank Accounts are a Win-Win. PBAs act as a mechanism for making payments to sub-contractors within 7-14 days as opposed to 60-90+ day payments terms. In Wales, PBAs are offered by several major retail banks including Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Barclays.
Embracing PBAs is crucial with more than 17,500 Welsh business finding themselves in significant financial distress during the third quarter of 2022, a 5% rise on the same period in 2021. Construction businesses in the region are the most affected, with 2,796 companies in significant financial distress.
For more information on our policy and implementation, visit WPPN 03/21 and WPPN 04/21.
If you have any queries, please e-mail: CommercialPolicy@gov.wales