As part of their commitment to delivering innovation to support their suppliers, Coles selects Earlytrade Verify to launch new Small Supplier Payment Program.

Coles has teamed up with Australian financial technology provider Earlytrade to ensure small suppliers to Coles Supermarkets, Express and Liquor stores can be paid within 30 days.

In December 2018, Coles Group was the first major food and liquor retailer to sign the Business Council of Australia’s Small Supplier Payment Code, with a commitment to commence paying small suppliers within 30 days, from 1 July 2020.

Under the terms of the code, companies with annual turnover of up to $10 million are eligible to be paid within 30 days, excluding businesses that are part of larger groups or subsidiaries of foreign-owned entities.

To make it easier for small businesses to confirm their eligibility, Coles has teamed up with Earlytrade to enable suppliers to securely and confidentially confirm their annual turnover using Earlytrade’s Verify platform.

Guy Saxelby, co-founder and CEO of Earlytrade, said Coles’ small business suppliers would be able to verify their eligibility for 30-day payment terms in as little as 5 minutes.

“Earlytrade makes it easy for suppliers to verify their small business status in minutes while providing a secure environment for the management of their sensitive financial information”, he said.

The launch of the Coles Small Supplier Payment Program follows a successful trial in recent months with a small number of suppliers, while Earlytrade Verify has already been adopted by several major companies in the Australian consumer goods sector.

Coles suppliers can complete their application by visiting coles.earlytrade.com.