The programme empowers the best of Britain’s emerging designer talent to fast forward their business growth and generate more revenue by making their collections shoppable to millions of ecommerce customers worldwide. This launch comes at the end of another successful London Fashion Week, of which Clearpay is the principal partner.

As part of the BFC’s business development programme, designers enrolled in the ‘BFC 2022/2023 Initiatives’ programme can participate in Square and Clearpay’s eCommerce mentoring package and receive access to Square Online free of charge, for one year. This exclusive offer is available to the first 10 designers that register their interest. Further benefits include:

• eCommerce processing fees waived for up to £10,000 in sales processed, and thereafter processing is charged at Square’s standard rates1;
• Free one-year access to the Square Online Performance Plan - a sophisticated eCommerce platform designed to drive online growth for small businesses with fulfillment options, abandoned basket tracking, product reviews and advanced reporting worth more than £2002;
• Upfront consultation, mentoring and training to guide designers through the creation of their retail website;

Paula Corcoran, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Square Online, said: “We’re delighted to offer such a robust eCommerce opportunity to a group of truly innovative designers. We know how important it is for any business to build their own unique online presence and be able to accept payments in multiple ways. We can’t wait to see what comes of merging Square and Clearpay’s tools and expertise with the ‘BFC 2022/2023 Initiatives’ designers, a network known for their innovation and talent.”

Rich Bayer, UK Country Manager at Clearpay, said: "By offering the British Fashion Council's emerging designers complimentary access to the Square eCommerce platform, we are delivering one of the core objectives of our London Fashion Week principal partnership, which is to support British retail and new designer talent. Through the Clearpay integration within the Square platform, designers will automatically be able to offer Clearpay and tap into our audience of young and engaged shoppers to build business success."

Caroline Rush, CEO of the BFC said: "We greatly appreciate the commitment that Clearpay has demonstrated to emerging designers throughout its principal partnership of London Fashion Week, through financially supporting all of the programmes that we run in aid of our emerging designers. By offering our current cohort of designers, free access to ecommerce integration, we are supporting them to take another key step in becoming an established brand, driving their business forward.”

Square helps sellers run and grow their business with its integrated ecosystem of commerce solutions. Clearpay allows customers to pay for items in four instalments over six weeks and is completely free for customers who pay on time3. Together, Square and Clearpay are building innovations to evolve businesses into the future, following the integration of Clearpay across Square’s ecosystem earlier this year.

Square Online allows any business to digitise and run online with a free eCommerce website. Key product features include:
• Square Online lets you launch a beautiful mobile-ready site in just minutes. The tools are purposefully designed to optimise the experience for mobile users as this is where customers shop the most.
• Square Online comes with Clearpay built in, allowing customers to pay in four interest-free instalments over six weeks, while businesses get paid in full right away.

• Seamless integration between Square Online and any Square point of sale means business owners can efficiently manage online and in-store sales from a single unified system. For Square customers using any of our POS solutions already, extending a retail business to online sales is quick and easy since Square Online seamlessly integrates with existing in-store inventory.