Business Daily Media

The Times Real Estate

.

SYD construction lockdown: 'Fear and panic' as subbies scramble for faster payments through fintech, Earlytrade

  • Written by PR Newswire
SYD construction lockdown: 'Fear and panic' as subbies scramble for faster payments through fintech, Earlytrade

SYDNEY, July 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sydney construction subcontractors recorded a 500 percent spike in demand for early payments, as they scrambled to comprehend the unexpected Covid shutdown of the sector on the weekend.

Supplier payments fintech, Earlytrade[1], released data that showed the 'alarming' activity across Greater Sydney as subcontractors and site managers were given until the end of Sunday to close sites across the city.

Earlytrade chief executive and co-founder Guy Saxelby said the on-demand payment platform, the largest of its kind in Australia and New Zealand accessible to 60,000 suppliers, had not experienced similar behaviour from a single sector before.

"We're seeing fear and panic among Sydney subbies. The construction shutdown is seen as a slap in the face given these business owners kept the economy ticking in 2020," Mr Saxelby said.

"Subcontractors made more than 2,200 requests for early payments over the weekend. That's about five-times over and above usual levels in just 48 hours.

"This level of demand is highly unusual and alarming as weekends are typically dead quiet on our platform and our 20-day moving average sits at around 240 requests per day."

Mr Saxelby said construction subcontractors as a sector were already suffering from cash flow access and affordability issues with traditional lenders for no fault of their own.

"This shutdown could push subbies and their employees over the edge and the knock-on effects to projects, employment, and overall economic health will be devastating," he said.

---

Earlytrade is Australia & New Zealand's largest supply chain payments network, trusted by 60,000 suppliers across APAC

Earlytrade provides unique supplier and subcontractor management software that allows large businesses, like corporate clients to make fair and affordable cash flow available via early payments without the need for third party financing or lengthy approval processes.

Media contactDavid Robertson, 0478 067 732 david.robertson@earlytrade.com  [2]earlytrade.com[3]

References

  1. ^ Earlytrade (www.earlytrade.com)
  2. ^ david.robertson@earlytrade.com (www.prnasia.com)
  3. ^ earlytrade.com (earlytrade.com)

Read more https://www.prnasia.com/story/archive/3447008_AE47008_0

UNSW startup accelerator offers $200K to the next generation of Australian deeptech unicorns

UNSW Founders, Australia’s most recommended startup accelerator, has partnered with fund manager Luminary Partners to invest $200,000 each into 18...

The Future Is Now: AI Modernization Is Reshaping How Business Gets Done

The present business environment imposes stronger requirements on Australian organizations to match the fast-paced digital-first economy requireme...

Businesses losing an average of $493k from data integrity flaws

Managing data responsibly and effectively for the AI age can give organisations a strong competitive advantage, but many are failing to harness th...

AI shopping disruptor Zyft raises $7.5M to lead the next gen of retail tech

Zyft appoints new CEO, Richard Stevens, to lead the latest Waller Group success story, valued at $30 million SYDNEY, 28 April 2025: Zyft, the lea...

Little known law offers savvy Kiwis the opportunity to supercharge their retirement savings

A little-known legal amendment is being leveraged by savvy New Zealanders and expat Brits to supercharge their retirement savings. Not many peop...

Cutting edge AI technology designed for doctors to reduce patient wait times launched in NZ

New Zealand specialist doctors now have access to Artificial Intelligence technology to help reduce patient wait times and experts say it could be...

Sell by LayBy