Prompt payment

Prompt payment is a commercial discipline which requires businesses to:

In the UK, businesses are encouraged to sign the Prompt Payment Code to testify to their commitment to adopting a prompt payment culture. As at 22 March 2015, 1824 businesses had signed the code. The Code is hosted and administered for UK government by the Chartered Institute of Credit Management. The UK Government issued a consultation document in February 2015 aimed at 'challenging grossly unfair payment terms' and 'strengthening the Prompt Payment Code, and the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill made further provision to 'improve prompt payment reporting'. The UK government also introduced proposals in the 2015 Enterprise Bill to penalise delayed payment of insurance claims.