In a survey of 512 senior managers who make procurement decisions for businesses in the UK, Barclaycard found that nearly three quarters think their supplier relationships are more mutually beneficial than they were five years ago.

One area that still has room for improvement is paying suppliers on time, with respondents saying that this happens 73% of the time, on average. More than 60% say they are more concerned about this now than they were five years ago.

When asked why they might not meet agreed payment terms, three in 10 cite slow internal processes as one of the main reasons. The same proportion say that they would like to simplify their procurement processes to ensure suppliers are paid more quickly, in order to improve supplier relationships.

To help cut late payments, Barclaycard has built Presionpay Hub, a service designed to remove obstacles in the existing procurement process, making it easier for buyers and suppliers to interact and get the payment process and terms to suit them both.

Once a buyer has invited a supplier to join Precisionpay Hub, the supplier can request payment for goods and services directly through the platform. That payment request then goes through an approval process and is then scheduled for payment using a Precisionpay virtual card or bank transfer.

Suppliers using the service will gain the opportunity to reduce DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) by requesting early payment from the buyer in exchange for a discount. For the buyer, Precisionpay Hub will take friction out of the payment process, saving time processing invoices, says Barclaycard.

Marc Pettican, CEO, Barclaycard Commercial Payments, says: "With the launch of the Precisionpay Hub, we are proud to be the first UK issuer to provide a platform to help buyers and suppliers manage invoice settlement. By connecting businesses directly to their suppliers, we hope to simplify the procurement process, saving both parties time and money, while ensuring suppliers get paid on time more often."