– The new ‘GoCardless for Xero’ payment solution launches in Australia as Xero’s app ecosystem helps more companies expand to new markets –

GoCardless, the UK-based online payments service today announced that it has launched internationally with the help of Xero, the global small business platform and its app-ecosystem.

From today, GoCardless’ integration with Xero will allow small businesses in Australia to automate their payment collection and reconciliation via Direct Debit, improving cash flow and reducing administration for businesses around the world. GoCardless integrated with Xero 18 months ago in the UK and has been a catalyst for its launch in Australia following improvements in cash flow for Xero small businesses in the UK.

British-born business GoCardless was built to become the best system for taking recurring payments and now processes £3 billion worth of transactions for over 30,000 organisations across the UK and Europe. The technology aims to fight the late payment epidemic, seen through Xero’s Small Business Insights data which revealed that UK small businesses were paid in 40 days on average for invoices with 30-day payment terms over the last year.

By using Xero’s GoCardless integration, small businesses can collect payments automatically as soon as they are due avoiding those uncomfortable conversations chasing up their overdue invoices. This in turn makes it much easier to accurately forecast cash flow as business owners know when their invoices will be paid. In the UK, 80% of Xero small businesses surveyed have seen reductions in payment times and improvements in cash flow as a result of taking payments through GoCardless.

The integration provides a seamless set up experience, connecting a user’s GoCardless and Xero account with no additional configuration required. Once the simple set up is complete and customers have signed up, payments are automatically collected and marked as paid within the Xero account, saving hours of admin time and ensuring accurate data within the accounting platform.

Edward Berks, EMEA Director, Fintech & Ecosystem at Xero , Xero UK, said: “The success of GoCardless’ integration with Xero has been proved by the faster payments and cash flow improvements our UK customers have reported. More payment options mean we are levelling the playing field for small businesses, and the expansion of GoCardless to Australia shows how our app marketplace can help innovative tech companies to boost their growth across the world, improving effectiveness and efficiency for businesses everywhere.”

Hiroki Takeuchi, Founder and CEO, GoCardless, said: “GoCardless is democratising Direct Debit for small businesses. We have modernised the process with innovative technology partners such as Xero and removed the stress and complexity. We’re delighted to extend our existing successful partnership beyond the UK and help small businesses take control of payments to ensure they get paid on time, every time.”