A “powerful new Fintech platform,” GFTM (Good For The Money), has launched to help UK builders’ merchants identify bad payers in real time — at no cost to those who share data.
Purpose-built for the construction materials supply chain, GFTM is said to enable merchants to securely collaborate on payment risk, without sharing commercially sensitive information. The launch comes at a crucial time for the UK builders’ merchant sector, with “bad debt and late payments at crisis levels, costing the construction supply chain over £1 billion in 2024 alone.”
Payment failures are destabilising merchants’ working capital, pushing small businesses into insolvency, and straining the entire construction materials ecosystem. GFTM’s development was supported by a £100,000 Innovate UK grant under its AI Competencies in Key Sector programme, “recognising the platform’s potential to revolutionise credit risk management in the merchant trade.”
Unlike traditional credit agencies, whose insight can lag behind fast-changing market conditions and rely on outdated Companies House filings, GFTM states that it delivers real-time, actionable data directly from merchants and other suppliers — ensuring the most relevant and current credit signals are always available.
Jeremy Price, CEO and co-founder of GFTM, said: “This isn’t just a platform — it’s a shift in how construction suppliers protect themselves. Bad debt impacts everyone in the supply chain, even competitors. GFTM allows the industry to work together to tackle the problem, while keeping every contributor anonymous and secure.”
How It Works — Real-Time Payment Intel for Builders’ Merchants
GFTM connects directly to major cloud accounting solutions, including Xero, QuickBooks, and Sage, allowing merchants to contribute anonymised payment performance data securely and effortlessly. All supplier data is aggregated into high-level indicators — such as average days to pay, payment trends, and risk flags — without ever exposing individual invoice details or identities.
Merchants gain instant access to payment insights on shared customers, so they can spot issues before they become write-offs.
Jeremy continued: “It’s such a simple concept. If one customer stops paying a supplier, all other suppliers to that customer are told about it, there and then. By working together, bad actors can be highlighted and removed from the supply chain.”
Key features for merchants include:
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Free access for all merchants contributing anonymised data
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Syncs seamlessly with Xero, QuickBooks, Sage, and all other cloud accounting packages
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Strict confidentiality: No details of invoices or merchant identities are visible to others
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AI-powered debt chasing: Sends tailored reminders based on merchant-customer history
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Real-time CCJ alerts and credit limits
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Automated trade referencing for faster, more confident credit decisions
Whether independent or part of a national chain, late payments threaten cash flow, growth, and survival for merchants at every scale. GFTM helps merchants pool knowledge, strengthen credit control, and respond rapidly to changing risk — all while protecting supplier anonymity.
“We deal with a wide range of contractors across the UK, and late payment can quickly undermine even the best projects,” commented Jason Hinsley, Director at IM Solutions Ltd. “GFTM’s ability to give us real-time insight, while keeping our client data confidential, is a game-changer.”
Sustainable, Transparent Revenue Model
GFTM is free to all merchants and suppliers who contribute data, and instead generates revenue by selling only aggregated, anonymised insights to third parties such as insurers, lenders and builders — never exposing individual merchant data or trading relationships.
For more information, visit www.gftm.ai
