GoCardless and Sage Expand Partnership to Launch Pay by Bank for SMBs

Quick Summary

GoCardless and Sage have expanded their partnership to integrate Pay by Bank functionality into Sage Business Cloud Accounting. This allows UK and Irish SMBs to accept instant open banking payments directly from invoices, reducing transaction costs by 54% and eliminating manual reconciliation through automated bookkeeping sync.

How Does Pay by Bank Solve Cash Flow Issues for SMBs?

The integration of Pay by Bank allows small businesses to bypass traditional card networks, which often carry high fees and the risk of expired details. By utilizing open banking technology, businesses can collect one-off payments for setup fees or extra services instantly. This direct account-to-account transfer method ensures that funds are settled faster than traditional methods.

• Reduces transaction costs by an average of 54% per payment.
• Eliminates risks associated with lost or expired card details.
• Provides a card-free alternative for instant bill settlement.

What Are the Operational Benefits of the Sage Integration?

By embedding Pay by Bank natively within the Sage ecosystem, the partnership removes the manual administrative burden that plagues finance teams. When a customer settles an invoice via the GoCardless portal, the payment status syncs automatically with the Sage dashboard. This real-time update ensures that books are reconciled without human intervention, saving hours of data entry.

• Automated reconciliation of open invoice balances.
• Seamless integration with Sage Business Cloud Accounting.
• Supports both recurring Direct Debits and one-off payments.

"Sage is a long-standing partner and their launch of Pay by Bank underscores our shared commitment to helping businesses thrive. For small businesses managing tight margins, high credit card fees and delayed payments are a massive burden on resources. This expanded partnership solves that pain point directly by combining automated recurring collections and instant open banking payments, allowing teams to protect their cash flow and keep card costs down." said Tom Metcalfe, Director, Global Partnerships at GoCardless.

How Does This Move the Needle for Open Banking Adoption?

This expansion signals a significant shift toward account-to-account payments becoming a standard feature in business software. By targeting the UK and Ireland markets first, GoCardless and Sage are demonstrating the practical utility of open banking APIs for the mass market. Small businesses can now manage their entire payment lifecycle—from recurring fees to one-off charges—within a single, unified financial platform.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This partnership definitely moves the needle by bringing Pay by Bank to the massive Sage user base. While open banking has often been discussed in abstract terms, this integration provides a tangible ROI through a 54% cost reduction. By solving the reconciliation headache, GoCardless and Sage are making account-to-account payments the path of least resistance for SMBs, likely accelerating the decline of corporate card dominance in the B2B sector.