How to pay your business bills with a credit card using Bluechain
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This article has been sponsored by Bluechain
The goal of any self respecting HfP reader is to maximise their points, including those earned on reward credit cards.
Many HfP readers who own small businesses had been doing just that by using Billhop to pay their invoices. Billhop exited the SME market in April 2023 however, and there was no-one else offering the same service. (To clarify, Billhop IS still available to apply for if your business has a minimum revenue turnover of €2 million and over 10 employees).
This has now changed with the launch of Bluechain in the UK. From its publicised launch last year, with American Express, Bluechain has now filled the gap left by Billhop’s exit.
What is Bluechain?
Bluechain is a B2B payments platform that allows you to manage invoices and pay any of your suppliers with a credit card, helping to manage cashflow, save time on financial admin and maximise the reward points you can get from your credit cards.
How does Bluechain work?
You can use Bluechain to pay any registered UK business including sole traders. The system is very straightforward. To pay invoices you need to:
- Add invoices – Simply add invoices manually or connect to your accounting software to automatically pull in all unpaid invoices.
- Choose how you want to pay – With a debit or credit card, and whether you want to pay in full or split the payment into parts.
- Choose when you want to pay – Pay now, on the due date or schedule for another date.
Bluechain takes payment from your card on the date selected, pays your invoice via a standard money transfer and automatically reconciles it in your accounting software.
Bluechain is rapidly expanding their platform and will soon include new features such as bank account payments, cross border payments, the ability to bill your own customers through the platform and even easy access to business finance.
What are the costs of Bluechain?
There are no set up costs or subscription fees with Bluechain. It makes its money on transaction fees for payments made through the platform.
Current payment fees are:
- American Express 2.3%
- Mastercard and Visa 2.5%
Bank payments and cross border payment are coming soon.
What sort of invoices can be paid via Bluechain?
Bluechain can be used to pay any registered UK business or sole trader, with the bonus of being able to pay companies, such as Google Ads, with a credit card when they no longer accept direct credit card payments.
The only notable exception is that Amex no longer accept payments to HMRC (even through Bluechain) although you can still pay HMRC with Visa or Mastercard on the platform.
How can Bluechain help my business?
Whilst the ability to earn points by (effectively) settling your invoices on a credit card will be the key selling point for HfP readers, Bluechain offers much more.
- Boost cashflow – Taking advantage of the interest free period on your credit card will allow you to manage your cashflow, and if you are getting a good interest rate on your cash balances then it will also partially offset the Bluechain fees.
- Early payment discounts – Take advantage of discounts from suppliers by using your credit card to pay invoices as soon as they come in. This provides an opportunity for real bottom line savings.
- Streamline your payment processes with automation – Bluechain can save you time and money. You can manage all your payments from a single dashboard, so no more juggling multiple payment methods or losing track of due dates. Bluechain integrates with popular accounting software Xero and Sage, automatically pulling in your bills and reconciling payments. This can not only saves you valuable hours each week, but also reduces the risk of errors with minimal effort.
- HMRC payments – Although Amex have now stopped any payments to HMRC, including those made through Bluechain, you can still use other credit cards to pay HMRC through Bluechain.
- Keep paying Google Ads with a credit card – Businesses who use a credit cards to pay for Google Ads could increasingly benefit from using Bluechain as Google continues to phase out credit card payments.
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