Monthly Archives: November 2020

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Keeping 2021 simple for small and medium-sized enterprises

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Originally written by Partner Content on Small Business
Whatever form Brexit takes, it’s going to make life more complicated for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). But when placed in the context of a recession caused by a continuing global pandemic, it makes the route ahead incredibly uncertain – especially for those businesses trading overseas. Open Banking provides clues to a way forward for SMEs, but some major opportunities have been missed thus far. With a unique understanding of Open Banking, Currensea is providing SMEs with simplicity and transparency over their international transactions and helping them find the clearest route through 2021.
SMEs in 2020
In many ways, SMEs are the heart of the UK economy; in 2019, there were 5.9 million SMEs in the country, providing employment to 16.6 million people and seeing an estimated turnover of £2.2 trillion.
Up to 4.72 million of these SMEs trade internationally and a quarter of them have had to slow or halt overseas trading due to the restrictions of the pandemic. In fact, SME exports have dropped by around 10 per cent – this alone has cost the UK up to £20 billion.
But the pandemic is not the only complicating factor for SMEs; Brexit has been hanging

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Rishi Sunak ignores small business and self-employed in Spending Review

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Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
Rishi Sunak has mostly ignored small business hit by the pandemic and the struggling self-employed in today’s Spending Review.
The chancellor shrugged off calls for him to cut national insurance and help those self-employed such as company directors who have found themselves excluded from government Covid support.
He did however freeze any increase in business rates when they kick back in again in April. The Treasury estimates that this move will save businesses £575m over the next five years.
Indeed, there was more help for the employee than the employer, as Mr Sunak increased the National Living Wage to £8.91 per hour for those aged over 23 and announced a Restart Scheme to help the newly unemployed.
Jonathan Geldart, director general of the Institute of Directors, welcomes the Restart Scheme but said the chancellor missed a trick by not combining the scheme with a cut to employers’ NI contributions.
>See also: Rishi Sunak urged to help self-employed company directors
Nigel Morris, employment tax director at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, said that Sunak failed to deliver for businesses.
Morris said: “More help for businesses is essential to protect our economy, yet we saw no major support made available for them, for example

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