Greensill provides much needed cash to England’s Pharmacies

Thousands of pharmacies are to be offered material financial assistance thanks to a groundbreaking advanced payment system developed by Greensill, Britain’s leading fintech provider of working capital finance, and NHS Business Service Authority (NHSBSA).

Greensill is using state of the art technologies and data analytics to forecast the value of prescriptions to be filled by a pharmacy, enabling payment a month in advance of the medicines being dispensed.  This will allow pharmacies to pay for medicines instantly rather than signing up to costly finance terms offered by pharmaceutical companies or banks.

The first of these payments was made this week to some 1,000 pharmacies Greensill works with across England. A further 10,000-plus pharmacies now have the option to use this advanced payment programme. The new approach delivers payments faster, in advance, and in a more streamlined process.

Greensill has worked with over 1,000 pharmacies since July 2018, making more than £1.2 billion of supply chain finance payments a year to ensure these vital frontline community health providers are paid faster.

Greensill’s new data enhanced payment programme identifies patterns in the way prescriptions are written to determine the value of medicines to be dispensed in a given period.

Bill Crothers, Vice Chairman of Greensill, said: “Paying pharmacists in advance at ultra-low rates will help these vital businesses at a time when so many rely on the essential services and medication they provide. We are always delighted to be able to use our technology to remove finance costs from a supply chain but never more so than when we can support small businesses that play such a key role in supporting our nation’s health.”

Martin Kelsall, Director of Primary Care Services at NHSBSA, said: “We are proud that English pharmacies can now receive, for the first time ever, payment in advance of dispensing medication.  This ground-breaking, innovative service allows them to be paid in advance for the prescriptions they dispense to provide vital frontline community health care. Our work with Greensill is a key example of our response to what pharmacies tell us they need at this extraordinary time.”