ProjectPayit Reinvents Construction Payments Across UK, USA and Australia
Cashflow headaches, spiralling debts, and the constant juggling act with credit cards. That’s the reality for countless small contractors navigating the construction sector’s fragmented and delay-ridden payment systems. But ProjectPay, a London-based construction fintech, has decided enough is enough. Their latest innovation, ProjectPayit, promises to do more than ease the pressure—it aims to rewrite the rulebook entirely.
Launched in the UK, US, and Australia, ProjectPayit empowers contractors and subcontractors to purchase construction supplies interest-free and without credit checks, offering a lifeline to an industry plagued by insolvencies and broken promises.
Fixing the Fundamentals
The construction industry has long leaned heavily on credit card debt to finance materials, a reliance that often spells disaster when payments stall. ProjectPayit introduces a fundamentally different approach: direct access to working capital that doesn’t come with interest, risk, or dependency on credit scores.
ProjectPay Founder and CEO Louise Stewart pulls no punches: “We decided to bring forward the launch of ProjectPayit after the collapse of large UK government contractor ISG left subcontractors with huge credit card debts for supplies they purchased on government contracts that they will never be paid for.”
That collapse was more than a wake-up call—it was a systemic failure. In response, ProjectPay is offering something traditional banks and even Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) providers have failed to deliver: a payment system built specifically for construction.
Not Just Another Fintech
Unlike generic finance tools, ProjectPayit is deeply embedded within the existing ProjectPay platform. With over £13 million in government contracts flowing through the system, the company already knows when payments are due, and to whom.
This eliminates the need for manual approvals, automating eligibility based on contract entitlements. Using AI and new payment rails, funds flow faster than ever—often before a client has even processed the invoice.
Suppliers that join the platform can register their online stores, similar to Shopify’s model for retail, and start receiving instant payments for a small 4% merchant fee. With ProjectPay absorbing the payment risk, suppliers no longer need to offer extended terms that leave them exposed.
A Global Rollout Rooted in Local Realities
ProjectPayit isn’t just a UK solution. The platform has been tailored to meet challenges unique to the US and Australian construction ecosystems.
In Texas, Amanda Adams, founder of Our Legacy Construction, highlighted the gaping difference in legal protection: “US contractors are shocked to discover that mechanics liens do not exist in the UK or Australia and don’t understand how any small business in the sector can expect to be paid without them.”
While US laws around mechanics liens help mitigate bankruptcies, they also bog down the process in red tape. ProjectPay sidesteps this, delivering payments without the legal wrangling.
In Australia, meanwhile, ProjectPayit has partnered with government supplier Link to create a dedicated online store of 40-50 suppliers. Jeremy Blanch, CEO of Link, explained: “No BNPL provider understood the construction sector or how to resolve these payment risks… Louise and her team’s understanding of construction payments is unrivalled.”
Solving the Insolvency Epidemic
The statistics are sobering. Over 4,000 UK contractors went under last year alone. And with high interest rates tightening access to credit, SMEs are being squeezed out of the supply chain.
Ian McIlwee from the FIS, the trade body for the £10 billion finishes and interiors sector, minced no words: “This is not an acceptable environment for any small business to operate in. Credit card merchant facilities are still exposed to huge losses when large contractors collapse.”
ProjectPay isn’t just a tool for payments. It’s a mechanism to protect livelihoods. It removes the systemic risks that have dogged the sector for decades—risks that ruin businesses, destroy families, and delay critical infrastructure.
How It Works
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Interest-Free Supply Purchases: Contractors can buy materials without using credit, online or in-store.
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Automated Payment Approval: The system identifies payment entitlements based on works contracts.
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Instant Supplier Settlement: Suppliers are paid instantly, with no need to chase or wait.
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Government-Grade Infrastructure: Already trusted by major public sector projects.
And here’s the kicker: ProjectPay is free for project owners and government bodies. Instead, the platform collects a small transaction fee from contractors and merchants, with pricing scaled based on contract size.
Banking Agnostic and Future-Ready
ProjectPay doesn’t try to replace existing financial institutions—it works with them. The platform is fully bank agnostic, enabling Tier One contractors to integrate their own bank relationships into the system. This flexibility has helped secure partnerships across continents.
Contractors are now actively demanding that ProjectPay be mandated on public projects. And governments are listening. With compliance regulations in the UK requiring 30-day payment cycles, and US public contracts over $1.5 million demanding payment transparency, the platform ticks all the right boxes.
Humanising Technology with a Mission
At its heart, ProjectPay is more than code. It was born from personal experience. Louise Stewart, once retired, was drawn back into the fray after her husband’s subcontracting business collapsed under the weight of unpaid invoices on Australian government projects. With the law failing to protect small businesses, she built her own workaround—technology that restores balance.
“I invented a way to use technology that creates a trusted payments ecosystem without requiring laws,” says Stewart. “It eliminates risk and provides the necessary cashflow so that everyone in the supply chain can win.”
Now backed by major banks and recognised by the UK Women in Fintech Powerlist, ProjectPay is gaining ground rapidly. The platform has already bagged several awards, including the Best Small Business Payments Award and the UK Building Innovation Award.
A New Era for Construction Finance
ProjectPayit is more than just a new feature. It signals a new era of fairness, speed, and financial inclusion in a sector long overdue for reform. By integrating payment solutions directly into the workflow, ProjectPay removes friction and ensures no one is left behind.
From the UK to the US to Australia, the message is clear: slow payments and insolvency losses don’t have to be part of the job.
